Motherboard sales are plummeting due to unprecedented shortages fueled by Artificial Intelligence (AI) demand. The shortage has been exacerbated by chipmakers like Nvidia, Intel, and AMD reducing production of consumer chips to prioritize AI processor manufacturing. As a result, prices for major PC components have skyrocketed over the past six months, with memory modules and storage drives leading the way.
The four major motherboard manufacturers - Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, and ASRock - are feeling the pinch, with Digitimes reporting that they're revising their target sales downward. Asus, which sold 15 million motherboards in 2025, has shipped only around 5 million in the first half of 2026, a 33% decrease from last year's numbers. Gigabyte and MSI have also revised their internal forecasts for 2026 to 9 million and 8.4 million units respectively, down from 11.5 million and 11 million in 2025.
The shortages are causing PC builders and enthusiasts to fight over a smaller pie of components, resulting in higher overall prices. Despite the drop in sales, these companies are not struggling as they've pivoted some of their production towards AI servers, capturing investments from hyperscalers. However, users who lack deep pockets are putting off upgrading their PCs, holding on to their current devices longer.
The situation is further complicated by Nvidia's decision not to release a refreshed RTX 50 Super series this year, and rumors that the RTX 60 series won't debut until 2028. This confluence of factors is discouraging PC builders from upgrading their systems, with some users considering holding off on building new PCs due to the high prices of components.
