Skip to main content

Intel processors may get a lot more expensive, giving AMD an edge

According to a new report, Intel might be about to introduce a substantial pricing increase on the majority of its catalog. Unfortunately, this also includes consumer-level processors. The company cites an increase in production and material cost as the reason why it decided to up its prices.

For the customers, it all comes down to one thing — PC hardware and pre-built desktops and laptops might get a lot more expensive. The two key questions are: How much worse will the prices get, and how will Intel’s competitors respond to this decision?

A render of an Intel Core HX chip.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The report comes from Nikkei Asia. According to the publication, Intel has already started informing its customers of the fact that it will raise the prices of the majority of its products. This change will affect microprocessors and peripheral chip devices, which boils down to consumer CPUs and enterprise-level products such as high-performance server chips. Intel also produces a wide range of other items, including various controllers and Wi-Fi chips.

Recommended Videos

It’s unclear as to how much higher the prices are going to be if this change comes into effect, and there’s no catch-all to refer to — the percentages will be different depending on the product. However, Nikkei Asia says that we can expect to see a fairly wide range, from single-digit bumps to as much as a 20% higher price.

Assuming that the price of some of Intel’s best processors will go up, this change will echo throughout more than just the PC hardware market. Intel’s processors are also found in all kinds of PCs, including pre-built desktops and laptops. Once the manufacturers of these devices are made to pay more to use an Intel CPU, they might have to, in turn, raise the prices of the end product. They might also turn their eyes to AMD Ryzen as a viable alternative.

Intel’s choice will likely ripple throughout the market. During the pandemic, the market was thriving in the manufacturer’s favor, although it was plagued by a chip shortage. There weren’t enough PCs and laptops to go around, but now, the situation has seemingly reversed. Nikkei Asia cites Acer chairman Jason Chen, who told reporters that the company no longer suffers from the chip shortage, saying: “Some of the chip suppliers’ CEOs even called me recently to buy more chips from them. The situation has changed.”

Core i9-12900KS processor socketed in a motherboard.
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends / Digital Trends

With inflation on a constant rise, the demand for electronics has been steadily dropping, which makes Intel’s move a risky one — but it’s not alone in its decision. TSMC has also allegedly told clients that it will be raising its prices by a single-digit percentage, beginning in 2023. Various other chipmakers and suppliers of chip materials are also cited as being about to increase their prices.

On the other end of the spectrum, Nvidia has seemingly finally chosen to cut down the MSRP of some of its best graphics cards, all due to an oversupply. There’s more than enough hardware and not enough people who want to buy it. It will certainly be interesting to see whether Intel’s main rival in the best CPU arena, AMD, will respond by raising its prices, or if it will stay around the same level and entice the customers who don’t want to pay Intel’s premium.

Nikkei Asia states that Intel itself had informed it about the upcoming changes, but until Intel itself confirms this, steer clear of treating this as a fact. While Intel might be planning to increase the prices on some — or all — of its products, we won’t know the true extent of it until everything is made official by the manufacturer. The next earnings call for Intel is set to take place on July 28, so it won’t be long before we hear directly from the source.

Monica J. White
Monica is a computing writer at Digital Trends, focusing on PC hardware. Since joining the team in 2021, Monica has written…
AMD’s upcoming 9950X3D might be surprisingly pricey at launch
The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D installed in a motherboard.

AMD is soon set to launch a couple of its best processors, including the Ryzen 9 9950X3D and the Ryzen 9 9900X3D. According to leakers, their launch date is merely a week away, as the CPUs are said to come out on March 12. Today, we got a peek at the pricing for the top chip in the lineup, the 9950X3D, and it looks like it might cost a hefty amount at launch.

The beastly gaming CPU was spotted by 9550pro on X (Twitter). The leaker used a price plugin to uncover how much it'll cost. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D was shown with a 5599 RMB (Chinese yuan) price tag, which translates to roughly $772 at the time of writing. Meanwhile, the 9900X3D is said to cost 4599 RMB, which means $634 -- nearly $140 less.

Read more
Nvidia’s RTX 5060 Ti might give AMD an unexpected edge
Logo on the RTX 4060 Ti graphics card.

Although still yet to be announced, Nvidia's RTX 5060 Ti is coming -- and according to leakers, it's coming soon. The card is said to be launching in two different models, much like the RTX 4060 Ti. However, the RTX 40-series equivalent really struggled to find its place among the best graphics cards.

I've been keeping tabs on various leaks related to the RTX 5060 Ti, and although there are some good news, it does seem that Nvidia is essentially creating an updated carbon copy of the RTX 4060 Ti. If there's one party that will benefit from such a decision, it's AMD with its competing graphics cards. For gamers, the RTX 5060 Ti might end up being a GPU that sounds great on paper but comes with its own challenges.
The RTX 5060 Ti will have a lot in common with its predecessor

Read more
Intel Panther Lake: Everything we know so far
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger holding a Panther Lake chip.

Intel's desktop processors might not be setting the world on fire in early-2025, but its mobile chips are still some of the best in the game, and that's only going to continue later this year. Panther Lake is Intel's next-generation Core Ultra CPU design, and though originally expected to be a desktop and laptop line of processors, it'll most likely be a mobile-only design. That's still worth getting excited over though, with early rumors suggesting some impressive onboard GPU performance and improved AI capabilities.

We don't have all the details just yet, but here's what we know about Intel Panther Lake so far.
Naming and release
Intel has slated Panther Lake for release in the second half of 2025, likely towards the end of the year. There's some suggestion that production of the new chips won't enter full swing until 2026, also, which might mean availability of Panther Lake laptops is initially quite limited, increasing as the new year rolls around.

Read more