NF Advisory

Consumers and businesses increasingly rely on powerful computers to run high-tech applications. But in the coming months, they may have issues obtaining the PCs they need. Since 2018, Intel has reported a processor shortage, which some experts believe may not be resolved until the latter half of 2019. Read on to learn more.

Reasons for the shortage

There are many contributors to Intel’s long-running chip production problems. For starters, demand for Intel computer chips has been higher than expected as more businesses depend on resource-intensive applications, cloud computing, and state-of-the-art machines to gain a competitive edge.

Additionally, there are major delays in the production of Intel’s next-gen 10-nanometer processors, largely because the company is short on capacity. This means businesses will not have access to PCs featuring these processors until much later in 2019.

Intel also appears to be prioritizing development of server CPUs, as they make up a huge portion of the company’s revenue. Focusing on server chips, however, has resulted in slower production rates of consumer-grade CPUs. Desktop CPU revenues, in particular, lagged significantly behind notebook and server CPUs, which resulted in the shortage of chips for desktop PCs.

What’s being done

Experts predict that customers will have had enough server CPUs so production for these productions will slow down by the second half of 2019, freeing up enough capacity to meet the demands for desktop and notebook CPUs. In fact, according to Intel's interim chief executive Bob Swan, "We are working closely with our customers to align demand with available supply while we add capacity and we expect supply-demand balance to improve by mid-year."

Intel also promises that PC shortage issues will be completely resolved by the third quarter of 2019. In the meantime, computer hardware manufacturers like Lenovo and Asus have their work cut out for them. To make up for the Intel chip shortage, PC manufacturers are strongly considering switching to AMD processors for desktops and laptops.

What does the shortage mean for businesses?

Businesses who are unable to acquire the newest Core, Celeron, and Pentium series processors for desktops and laptops may have to look for alternatives compatible with non-Intel chips. But if your company is running on a tight budget, it may make more sense to wait until late 2019 to upgrade to computers equipped with next-gen Intel processors.

Hot CPU List!

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X AMD EPYC 7742
AMD EPYC 7702P AMD Ryzen 9 3950X AMD EPYC 7452 Intel Xeon W-3275M @ 2.50GHz
Intel Xeon W-3175X @ 3.10GHz Intel Core i9-10980XE @ 3.00GHz AMD Ryzen 9 3900X AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900
Intel Xeon W-3265 @ 2.70GHz Intel Xeon Platinum 8268 @ 2.90GHz AMD Ryzen 9 3900 AMD EPYC 7302P
Intel Core i9-10940X @ 3.30GHz Intel Xeon Gold 6254 @ 3.10GHz AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X Intel Xeon Gold 6212U @ 2.40GHz
Intel Xeon Gold 6210U @ 2.50GHz Intel Core i9-9960X @ 3.10GHz AMD EPYC 7402P Intel Core i9-9980XE @ 3.00GHz
Intel Xeon Platinum 8259CL @ 2.50GHz Intel Core i9-7980XE @ 2.60GHz AMD EPYC 7502P AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX
Intel Core i9-10920X @ 3.50GHz Intel Xeon Platinum 8175M @ 2.50GHz Intel Core i9-7940X @ 3.10GHz Intel Xeon Platinum 8168 @ 2.70GHz
Intel Xeon Gold 6143 @ 2.80GHz AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X Intel Xeon Platinum 8173M @ 2.00GHz AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 3700
Intel Xeon Gold 6246 @ 3.30GHz Intel Xeon Platinum 8124M @ 3.00GHz Intel Core i9-9940X @ 3.30GHz Intel Xeon Gold 6242 @ 2.80GHz
Intel Xeon Gold 6154 @ 3.00GHz Intel Xeon W-3235 @ 3.30GHz Intel Xeon W-2175 @ 2.50GHz Intel Xeon Gold 6230 @ 2.10GHz
Intel Xeon Platinum 8176 @ 2.10GHz Intel Core i9-9920X @ 3.50GHz AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X Intel Core i9-7960X @ 2.80GHz
Intel Xeon W-2170B @ 2.50GHz Intel Xeon Gold 6148 @ 2.40GHz AMD Ryzen 7 3800X Intel Xeon Gold 6146 @ 3.20GHz
Intel Core i9-10900X @ 3.70GHz Intel Xeon Gold 6138 @ 2.00GHz AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Intel Xeon Gold 6132 @ 2.60GHz
Intel Core i9-7920X @ 2.90GHz AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1920X Intel Xeon W-2195 @ 2.30GHz Intel Xeon Platinum 8160 @ 2.10GHz
Intel Xeon E5-2699A v4 @ 2.40GHz Intel Xeon E5-2679 v4 @ 2.50GHz Intel Core i9-7900X @ 3.30GHz Intel Xeon Gold 6140 @ 2.30GHz
Intel Core i9-9900X @ 3.50GHz Intel Xeon Gold 6152 @ 2.10GHz AMD EPYC 7371 Intel Core i9-9820X @ 3.30GHz
AMD EPYC 7571 AMD EPYC 7262 Intel Xeon Gold 5218 @ 2.30GHz AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX
Intel Core i9-9900KS @ 4.00GHz Intel Xeon W-2155 @ 3.30GHz Intel Xeon E5-2699 v4 @ 2.20GHz Intel Xeon D-2187NT @ 2.00GHz
Intel Xeon E-2288G @ 3.70GHz Intel Xeon Silver 4216 @ 2.10GHz Intel Core i9-9900KF @ 3.60GHz AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 3600
Intel Xeon Gold 6137 @ 3.90GHz Intel Xeon W-2150B @ 3.00GHz Intel Xeon Gold 6126 @ 2.60GHz Intel Xeon E5-2697A v4 @ 2.60GHz
Intel Core i9-9900K @ 3.60GHz Intel Xeon Gold 6136 @ 3.00GHz Intel Xeon E5-2698 v4 @ 2.20GHz Intel Core i7-7900X @ 3.30GHz
Intel Xeon D-2183IT @ 2.20GHz AMD Ryzen 5 3600X Intel Xeon W-2145 @ 3.70GHz Intel Core i7-9800X @ 3.80GHz
Intel Xeon E5-2682 v4 @ 2.50GHz AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990X Intel Xeon E5-2697 v4 @ 2.30GHz AMD EPYC 7401P
Intel Xeon E5-2673 v4 @ 2.30GHz AMD EPYC 7351 Intel Xeon E5-2696 v4 @ 2.20GHz Intel Xeon E5-2690 v4 @ 2.60GHz
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Intel Xeon Gold 6226 @ 2.70GHz Intel Xeon E-2286M @ 2.40GHz
Intel Xeon Gold 6144 @ 3.50GHz Intel Xeon E5-2696 v3 @ 2.30GHz Intel Xeon Gold 6130 @ 2.10GHz Intel Xeon E-2278G @ 3.40GHz
Intel Xeon Silver 4214 @ 2.20GHz AMD EPYC 7551P Intel Xeon E5-2695 v4 @ 2.10GHz Intel Core i7-7820X @ 3.60GHz
Intel Core i9-9900 @ 3.10GHz Intel Xeon Gold 5120T @ 2.20GHz AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1900X AMD EPYC 7501
Intel Xeon E5-2687W v4 @ 3.00GHz Intel Core i7-6950X @ 3.00GHz Intel Xeon E5-2686 v4 @ 2.30GHz Intel Xeon E5-2689 v4 @ 3.10GHz
Intel Xeon W-2140B @ 3.20GHz Intel Xeon E5-2680 v4 @ 2.40GHz Intel Xeon E-2286G @ 4.00GHz AMD EPYC 7551
Intel Core i9-9980HK @ 2.40GHz AMD Ryzen 7 1800X Intel Xeon Gold 6134 @ 3.20GHz AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 2700X
Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz Intel Xeon E5-2669 v3 @ 2.30GHz Intel Xeon E5-2683 v4 @ 2.10GHz AMD Ryzen 7 2700
Intel Xeon D-2166NT @ 2.00GHz Intel Xeon Silver 4210 @ 2.20GHz Intel Xeon Gold 5120 @ 2.20GHz Intel Xeon E-2236 @ 3.40GHz
Intel Xeon E5-4669 v3 @ 2.10GHz Intel Xeon E5-2699 v3 @ 2.30GHz Intel Xeon E5-1681 v3 @ 2.90GHz AMD Ryzen 7 1700X
Intel Core i7-9700F @ 3.00GHz Intel Core i7-9700KF @ 3.60GHz Intel Xeon E5-2686 v3 @ 2.00GHz Intel Xeon E-2246G @ 3.60GHz
Intel Xeon E5-2690 v3 @ 2.60GHz Intel Xeon Silver 4215 @ 2.50GHz AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 2700 Intel Xeon E-2186G @ 3.80GHz
Source - https://www.techadvisory.org/2019/02/expect-cpu-shortages-until-late-2019/