Motherboard manufacturers including ASUS, MSI, and Gigabyte have started implementing price increases across their AMD and Intel product lineups. According to Wccftech, citing Board Channels, the increases stem from shortages of components such as PCBs, VRMs, and capacitors, which are being diverted toward enterprise and cloud customers building large-scale AI systems willing to pay significantly more than typical PC buyers.
Board Channels reported that PCB prices used in consumer motherboards are expected to rise by at least 50% in 2026, alongside higher costs for copper, surface-mount capacitors, power devices, and control chips. The report describes Taiwanese motherboard makers as facing a 'triple whammy' of weakening DIY market demand, stagnant prices, and rising material costs, with industry financial performance expected to keep declining into 2026.
ASUS has already notified Taiwan-based distributors of price increases effective this month. On the Intel side, Z890, Z790, and B860 series boards will rise by 20-30 RMB, B760 boards by roughly 20-25 RMB, and entry-level H-series boards by 5-10 RMB. For AMD, X870 series boards will see the largest jump at 30-50 RMB, while B850 boards rise by about 20 RMB; older 600-series AM5 boards and entry-level lineups remain unaffected for now. Wccftech notes these increases are modest in dollar terms (roughly $5-$15) but add to pressure from already elevated memory, graphics card, and processor prices, with further hikes possible as the AI-driven component crunch continues.
Separately, graphics card makers have raised prices as well. MSI, ASUS, and Gigabyte have implemented roughly 20% price increases across their NVIDIA RTX 50, RTX 30, and AMD Radeon RX 9000 series cards in China, driven by DRAM shortages. Per data cited from Board Channels, flagship RTX 5090 D V2 cards saw increases of up to 4,500 RMB (about $667) from ASUS and 4,000 RMB (about $593) from Gigabyte, while RTX 5080/5070 Ti cards rose by roughly $200-$311 depending on the brand. Lower-tier cards such as the RTX 5060, RTX 5050, and even older RTX 30 series and Radeon RX 7000 series models were also affected, with AMD's RX 9070 XT rising by up to 1,150 RMB (about $170) via ASUS.
Wccftech also noted reports of retailers stockpiling graphics cards to sell later at higher prices, and cited an instance of ASUS cancelling a customer's RTX 5090 order reportedly to resell it for $500 more, as well as a Japanese retailer warning customers of possible order cancellations. Memory makers have reportedly warned of further DRAM price increases of up to 50% in Q3 2026 and 40% in Q4 2026, suggesting the price pressure on both motherboards and graphics cards is likely to continue.