CPU shortage strikes! Starting March, Intel and AMD prices rise by 10%-15%, delivery times extended, with a maximum wait of up to 6 months.

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Intel and AMD’s CPU supply continues to be tight, adding further pressure to PC and server manufacturers who are already facing shortages of memory chips.

According to Nikkei Asia, Intel and AMD have each notified customers that they will raise prices for their entire range of CPUs starting in March and April respectively. Several insiders revealed that CPU prices have been raised multiple times this year, with average increases of 10% to 15%, and some products seeing even higher hikes. At the same time, delivery lead times have surged from the previous one to two weeks to an average of eight to twelve weeks, and in some cases as long as six months.

The tight supply is rapidly reshaping the landscape of the PC and server market. Multiple industry executives warn that the CPU shortage is likely to worsen further in the April to June quarter, and supply pressure on the X86 architecture is opening a bigger market window for processors based on the Arm architecture.

Supply-demand gap suddenly widens, HP and Dell bear the brunt

Nikkei reports that top PC manufacturers like HP and Dell began noticing a significant gap between their CPU demand and actual supply at the end of February, and the current situation is much worse than a few months ago.

An executive with a server manufacturer selling Nvidia, AMD, and Intel products said: "The average CPU delivery cycle used to be around one to two weeks, but now it has extended to an average of eight to twelve weeks." A server and PC distributor executive pointed out that in some cases, CPU waiting times have now reached as long as six months.

An executive from a gaming PC company bluntly described their dilemma: "It would be nice if spending more money could solve the problem. What worries us is that even paying extra may not guarantee supply. The CPU shortage is getting worse by the day—no less severe than the memory chip shortage."

Surge in AI demand at the root, ordinary server market far exceeds expectations

Similar to the logic behind the memory chip shortage, the explosive growth in AI computing demand is the core driver behind the current CPU shortage—raw materials and production capacity are being massively consumed by AI chip giants like Nvidia, Broadcom, Google, and Amazon.

Brady Wang, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, pointed out that demand for general-purpose servers and storage servers has far exceeded previous forecasts. "Not every server needs powerful graphics processors or AI accelerators. With the massive deployment of AI data center servers, more general-purpose and storage infrastructure are needed for support, all of which rely on CPUs."

A server manufacturer executive familiar with the situation added: "This year, the increase in general-purpose servers could be close to 15%, but Intel’s capacity expansion is only in the single digits, so the supply-demand imbalance is quite significant."

Intel and AMD both face capacity bottlenecks

Intel and AMD are both working to expand production, but progress has been unable to keep up with demand.

According to insiders, Intel is focusing on increasing its internal wafer fabrication capacity, but it will take time to scale up, and it is also facing constraints in chip substrate supply. AMD has fully outsourced its manufacturing to foundries such as TSMC and Samsung, and must compete with AI chip giants like Nvidia and Google for capacity.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said to investors at the end of January that supply constraints are limiting the company’s ability to fully capture core market opportunities. AMD CEO Lisa Su said at an investor meeting that the company has observed strong growth in server CPU demand and is working to enhance supply capability.

The supply shortage also shows signs of structural differentiation. Jose Liao, General Manager of Asus Systems Business, pointed out that mid-range X86 CPUs face a bigger supply gap, as Intel and AMD are more focused on high-end chips. "The supply gap is indeed widening and is expected to persist."

Arm architecture on the rise, X86 dominance faces challenge

The CPU shortage is accelerating a shift toward Arm architecture in the market. An executive from a supplier serving Asus, HP, and Dell said their clients are ramping up investment for products designed with Arm architecture CPUs in 2026. "I am indeed seeing some shifts, as the shortage of Intel CPUs is especially acute."

Jose Liao revealed that currently, about 30% of Asus Copilot AI PCs are equipped with Arm architecture CPUs—a significant increase from about 20% at the end of last year—and the proportion is expected to continue rising throughout the year.

For context, Intel and AMD use the X86 architecture for CPU design, which accounts for over 85% of PC processors and about 78% of server processors in 2025. This week, Arm announced the launch of its own server CPU product to grasp the AI wave, marking its transition from long-serving neutral third-party provider of software infrastructure to a market player—this move may further increase competitive pressure for the X86 camp.

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