Rising demand from artificial intelligence data centres is escalating motherboard prices and extending supply constraints, while consumer PC sales decline and industry shifts focus towards enterprise AI infrastructure.
Rising demand from artificial intelligence data centres is pushing motherboard costs higher, extending a supply chain squeeze that has already lifted prices for memory and storage parts. According to Board Channels, the printed circuit boards used in PC motherboards are expected to rise by at least 50% this year, while prices for surface-mount capacitors, copper and support chips have also climbed sharply.
The pressure is being felt across the industry. Tom’s Hardware reported that PC makers are facing longer lead times and higher costs not just for chips but also for plastics, resins and packaging, with shortages in some materials feeding through the wider supply chain. That combination is particularly awkward for motherboard makers, where many of the underlying inputs are shared with other electronics sectors competing for the same factory capacity.
Asus, MSI and Gigabyte are among the brands said to be dealing with the fallout. Board Channels said the companies are wrestling with supply constraints while also confronting weaker demand in the do-it-yourself PC market, where rising prices are making system builders more cautious. The source added that passing the full cost increase on to buyers is proving difficult, which is squeezing margins for manufacturers.
Tom’s Hardware has also reported that motherboard sales are expected to fall by more than 25% in 2026 at major vendors including Asus, Gigabyte, MSI and ASRock, as chipmakers focus more heavily on AI processors and other enterprise products. Asus is projected to sell about 10 million motherboards in 2026, down about a third from the previous year. Even so, the industry appears to be shifting attention towards AI servers and other data centre hardware, which are currently offering stronger demand than consumer PCs.
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