Intel Warns CPU Prices Could Rise Due to AI Demand
It looks like RAM prices aren’t the only hardware increasing due to AI demands. In a recent earnings call, Intel warns CPU prices may rise as well, which will have drastic effects on the entire tech industry.
Analysts and tech companies are predicting the rise of hardware prices as AI data centers shift their focus from training AI to inference tasks, according to VGC.
During the training process, machine learning models process a large amount of data to build knowledge, relying heavily on GPU processing power. However, in the inference phase, which means AI uses learned information to respond to prompts, AI requires more CPU power, especially for agentic AI that operates with minimal human interaction.
According to Intel CFO David Zinsner, during the Q1 2026 earnings call, reported by Tom’s Hardware, Zinsner described the shift, with ratios of CPUs to GPUs in data centers having moved from 1:8 to 1:4. He added that as workload continues to migrate to inference and agentic AI, the ratio will move towards 1:1.
“As you think about the growth rate now going forward, it’s [CPU] demand going to become a significant part of the AI [total addressable market].”
Unfortunately, prices are already increasing. Since March, CPU prices have jumped up to 20%, while consumer CPUs have risen to about 5-10%. It is expected that another 8-10% increase will happen for consumer processors in the second half of 2026.
Zinser confirmed that higher average selling prices contributed to Q1’s results. “As core count increases, we get the lift on the ASPs from that, and that obviously is meaningful.”
So what does this mean for gaming? With the fear of RAMmageddon, associated with a scarcity-driven price spike affecting the entire tech supply chain, it seems like we might see another price jump in consoles moving forward. We might see more price hikes for existing consoles, including the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series. Even though the consoles have been out for years, we’ve already seen price increases due to the low supply of hardware.
While we can’t be sure what the true effect will be, for many, we have a good guess that it could mean longer waits on next-gen consoles and substantial price increases.
