Motherboard sales reportedly in decline

Motherboard manufacturers are reportedly facing significant shipment corrections as weak demand and silicon shortages impact the consumer PC market. According to a recent report, some motherboard makers have lowered their 2026 targets, with internal projections falling by more than 25%. The decline is attributed to rising component costs and shifted production priorities toward AI data centers.

The DigiTimes report suggests that severe shortages of DRAM and CPUs have driven prices so high that DIY PC building is being suppressed. Memory kits now account for over 30% of total PC build costs, up from approximately 15% in previous years. Consumer reluctance to upgrade is further exacerbated by the high cost, limited availability, and price increases.

The report claims that the likes of Asus, MSI, Gigabyte and ASRock will all see fewer shipments this year compared to 2025.

Even AMD's CEO, Dr. Lisa Su, has stated that gaming demand is expected to decline in the second half of 2026 due to out-of-control component costs. However, companies will be able to offset these losses by pivoting towards more lucrative AI datacentre sales.

KitGuru says: We can only hope that supply chains are able to expand to serve both markets, but that takes a lot of time and money. 

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