It's not just memory and graphics cards that are getting more expensive; Intel confirms major CPU price increases: up to 48%

the price hikes of memory and SSDs over the past year have made life difficult for DIY enthusiasts. Recently, graphics cards have also started to surge in price, and now CPUs are not sitting idle either. Intel's official financial report has confirmed a significant increase in CPU prices.

Intel released its Q2 quarterly financial results a few days ago, with impressive performance. Revenue reached $16.13 billion, exceeding market expectations of $14.43 billion, a year-on-year increase of about 25%, which is 3.6 times the growth rate of 7% in the first quarter. This year-on-year growth rate hit a new high since the third quarter of 2011.

Intel's two main divisions also performed strongly. The Data Center and AI business unit (DCAI) saw Q2 revenue increase by 59% year-on-year to $6.3 billion, while the Client Computing Group (CCG) saw Q2 revenue rise by 13% year-on-year to $8.9 billion, compared to only 1% growth in Q1.

However, Intel's revenue growth is not solely driven by shipment volume; in fact, shipment growth is secondary. This wave of performance has significantly benefited from an increase in ASP (Average Selling Price). The ASP of server-class CPUs (Xeon product line) surged by 48%, while shipment volume only increased by 9%.

The most relevant for ordinary netizens is the average CPU price for the client division, which increased by 27%. While not as extreme as the Xeon increase, it has still significantly raised the cost of upgrades and replacements for users.

The issue now is not just the price hike itself, but the likelihood that the upward trend will continue. Recently, the price increases across various electronic components have been consistent, and CPUs are not immune. Intel is not the only one raising prices; AMD is also doing the same. Under these circumstances, there is no hope that competition between the two will drive prices back down.