GPU prices are already sky-high due to a shortage of them in the market and it seems that this shortage is not going to end soon and other PC hardware prices, like CPUs, DRAM, and Flash memory, will increase by the end of 2018 as Silicon Wafer manufacturers plan to increase the price.
Last year it was revealed that SUMCO plans to increase the prices for silicon wafer by 20% in 2018 and another 20% increase in the price is planned for 2019. Now, Taiwan’s GlobalWafers has joined SUMCO in this plan and has confirmed 20% increase in silicon wafer price.
For those who don’t know, SUMCO and GlobalWafers are silicon wafer manufacturers, these silicon wafers are used to make GPU, CPU, DRAM, and Flash makers. SUMCO is the largest supplier of Silicon wafer and controls 60% of the world’s silicon wafer supply.
With the 20% increase in Silicon wafers’ price, expect the prices of CPUs, GPUs, and other PC hardware prices to increase and with GPU prices already sky-high things are not looking good for those looking to own a new system.
GlobalWafers Chairwoman, Doris Hsu, noted to the shareholders that the company will increase the price of Silicon wafers by 20 percent this year.
The reason for this price hike is the shortage of 12-inch, 300mm wafers, and this specific wafer is used to manufacture PC hardware components such as CPUs, GPUs, and RAM. What this means is that we will see a noticeable increase in prices for PC hardware components and with GPUs already in short supply, PC gamers will be in a tough spot for a foreseeable future.
This will surely make things difficult as AMD has noted that due to a shortage of HBM2 memory, it can’t increase its GPU production and with silicon wafer becoming more expensive the cost will increase significantly.
What is your take on the situation? Do you think PC gaming will become even more expensive by the end of 2018? Let us know in the comments.
Source: Kitguru
