Skip to main content

Parts shortages in the PC market are set to drive up costs

ThinkPad X1 Carbon
There might be more budget PCs on the market than ever before, but in 2016 we saw overall prices go up and sales go down — a trend that’s unlikely to change in 2017.

Prices fluctuate for a number of reasons, but component shortages will reportedly play a key role in the overall price hikes we’re already starting to see. According to CIO, shortages of RAM, SSDs, batteries, and LCD panels have already started driving up manufacturing costs.

During an earnings call, Lenovo’s chief operating officer, Gianfranco Lanci, confirmed that prices would continue to rise for manufacturers, as sourcing components becomes more difficult and expensive. Those increased manufacturing costs are already trickling down to customers, particularly users in the market for individual components.

According to PC Part Picker, RAM prices have gone up significantly since last year. Average prices remained relatively consistent in 2016, dipping down to about $40 for 4GB in May, but as of January 2017, the average price of 4GB is around $65.

Luckily SSD prices have remained relatively consistent so far, with no major upward spikes, but according to Lanci, the price hikes are very likely to be coming soon.

Component shortages are driving costs up at a peculiar time for the PC industry. According to CIO, millennials and gamers are more willing than ever to buy expensive, high-end notebooks and desktops, even as the overall PC market continues to fall short of sales expectations.

According to CIO, Intel’s chip prices increased by about 7 percent in 2016, but the popularity of VR-capable PCs kept them flying off the shelves, despite the price hike.

So, not only are component shortages driving costs up for manufacturers and customers, but the overall PC buyer profile is changing. It’s a volatile time for the PC market, and it remains to be seen how that will affect marketing strategies and sales numbers going forward.

Still, it might be a good time to stock up on those SSDs.

Editors' Recommendations

Jayce Wagner
Former Digital Trends Contributor
A staff writer for the Computing section, Jayce covers a little bit of everything -- hardware, gaming, and occasionally VR.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (2022) PC performance guide: Best settings for high fps
Characters facing forwards in Modern Warfare II screenshot.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, the 2022 reimagining, is here and available on PC. Like 2019's Modern Warfare, the sequel is a masterclass in PC gaming tech and graphics, but it can still take a toll on your system. If you want the highest frame rates, you need the best settings for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. 

I've spent the past week benchmarking the game, dialing in the best settings, and deciphering the differences between the game's various upscaling modes. It's a highly optimized game that can run on a wide range of hardware, but you'll still need to tweak some graphics settings if you want a competitive frame rate.

Read more
This new PC watercooler covers both your CPU and SSD
The TeamGroup SIREN DUO360 watercooler shown inside a PC case with the cooler's RGB lighting enabled.

TeamGroup has just launched a new PC water cooler. That might not be that interesting, you’re probably telling yourself. But with the new Sired Duo360, there’s an interesting wrinkle: This device cools both your CPU and your M.2 SSD at the same time.

It’s the first water cooler to do such a thing. Most of the best PC watercoolers stick to the CPU alone or add the graphics card into the mix. This is a different kettle of fish.

Read more
Uncharted Legacy of Thieves PC performance guide: Best settings for high fps
Nathan Drake swimming under water in Uncharted 4.

After nearly 15 years, Uncharted is available on PC. Or, at least, some of the games are. Uncharted Legacy of Thieves combines Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy into a single package on PC, enhanced with updated models, additional graphics options, support for ultrawide monitors, and upscaling features like DLSS and FSR 2.0.

It's another rock-solid port from Sony that can run on a wide range of hardware. To help you dial in your performance, we rounded up the best settings for Uncharted Legacy of Thieves, along with benchmarks and some comparisons between FSR 2.0 and DLSS. There's no frame rate cap on the PC release like there is on PlayStation 5, so get ready for Uncharted as you've never seen it before.
The best settings for Uncharted Legacy of Thieves PC

Read more