Motherboard Prices Set to Surge Up to 50% Amid AI‑Driven Component Shortage
A global shortage of DRAM, driven by massive demand from artificial‑intelligence data centres, is pushing up prices across the PC hardware market. Manufacturers of consumer motherboards such as ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI are preparing price hikes of up to 50 % for many models in the third quarter of 2026, with some premium boards facing even larger increases. The same supply squeeze has already caused DDR5 RAM prices in Germany to climb roughly 300 % over a ten‑month period (July 2025 – May 2026) and has led to GPU price rises of 20 % to 49 % in China for a range of ASUS and Gigabyte graphics cards. Major DRAM producers Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron have reportedly allocated most of their 2027 production capacity to AI customers, further limiting the stock available for consumer devices. The ripple effect is also being felt by smartphone makers; Apple’s new A20‑Pro chips require DRAM during assembly, and a reported shortfall at TSMC could delay iPhone deliveries. Together, these factors signal a broad and sustained increase in costs for PCs, laptops and related components.
Entities: ASUS · ASUS Corporation · Board Channels · Gigabyte · Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. · MSI · MSI (Micro‑Star International) · Micro-Star International (MSI) · Microsoft Corporation · Printed circuit board (PCB) · Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] DDR5 RAM prices in Germany rose about 300 % over ten months between July 2025 and May 2026. (German market reports)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron have allocated most of their 2027 DRAM production to AI customers. (DigiTimes report)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] GPU prices in China have risen up to 20 % for ASUS and Gigabyte models. (Board Channels via VideoCardz)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Apple’s new A20‑Pro chips require DRAM during assembly, creating a supply bottleneck that could delay iPhone production. (MacRumors citing analyst Tim Culpan)
- [● 4 SOURCES] ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI are planning price hikes for their consumer motherboards. (Board Channels reports)
- [● 5 SOURCES] Motherboard prices are expected to increase by up to 50 % in the third quarter of 2026. (Industry reports)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Some GPU models in China have price increases of up to 49 %. (Italian market report)
- [● 3 SOURCES] The price hikes are driven by a shortage of DRAM caused by AI data‑center demand. (Multiple industry analyses)