It looks like prices for PC hardware components may rise significantly sometime this year. Reports have emerged regarding silicon wafer foundries’ plans to increase their prices by up to 20% in 2018. The two major silicon wafer manufacturers that will be implementing the price hike are SUMCO and GlobalWafers.
For those who may not be aware, SUMCO is one of the largest silicon wafer producer in the world; it’s apparently responsible for over 60% of the world’s silicon wafer supply. The next big foundry, Taiwanese-based GlobalWafers, is also a major silicon wafer supplier. Knowing how both companies are already planning to increase their prices this year, it’ll only be a matter of time before the price hike will be reflected on consumer-grade PC components.
One major reason behind the price increase is shortages with 12-inch, 300mm wafers. These wafers are used to manufacture CPUs, GPUs, and RAMs. Of course, once this “issue” is resolved, consumers can expect silicon wafer prices to stabilise – but probably not anytime soon.
Those aside, knowing the current situation with prices of graphics cards and RAMs, it seems like 2018 is shaping up to be a “difficult” year for budget-conscious consumers wanting to build a PC. Hopefully, the situation will be ironed out soon.
(Source: KitGuru)
