Posted on Monday, May 19 2008 @ 21:43 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Sources at motherboard makers
say Intel's G31, G33 and 945GC chipsets got more expensive due to the earthquake in Sichuan, China last week:
Although Intel's packaging and testing plant in Sichuan was unaffected by the quake, the local transport infrastructure has been severely impacted. The three chipsets occupy approximately 45% of Intel's desktop chipset shipments which has lead to rapid shortages.
The 945GC is seeing an increase from around US$15 in thousand-unit tray quantities to US$18-19, while the G31 will see its price boost from US$23 to US$25-27 and the G33 from US$28 to US$31.
However, the price increases are expected to be absorbed entirely by motherboard makers hoping to maintain market share, noted the sources, and so changes to pricing in the channel are unlikely.
