PC makers are facing new challenges as the memory and storage chip shortage is now being compounded by a lack of supply of Intel and AMD CPUs. According to Nikkei Asia, some manufacturers like HP and Dell are now saying that the number of processors that get delivered to them no longer matches the required volume, with some sources saying that the situation is getting worse compared to some months back. This shortage is causing prices to increase, with costs rising by an average of 10% to 15%, if not more. More importantly, orders are also facing delays, with lead times jumping from around a couple of weeks to six months in some cases.
“Previously, the average lead time for a CPU was around one to two weeks, but now the wait time has prolonged to an average of eight to 12 weeks,” one server manufacturer executive told Nikkei Asia, while another one said that this could extend up to six months. Furthermore, other industry sources expect this to become much worse in the second quarter of 2026, and PC makers can’t solve the problem by throwing cash at it. “If money can solve the problem, that would be great,” an executive for a gaming PC brand told the publication. “What we worry about is that even if we pay more, we still cannot get more. The CPU shortage is getting more serious day by day, no less than the memory chip situation.”
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