Packaging also to blame for AMD chip shortages

Prices of a lot of tech products are elevated, initially folks blamed scalpers and lack of lithography capacity, but the problem is a lot more complex. Tom's Hardware reports part of the reason why AMD chips are in short supply is because of a shortage of critical chip packaging supplies. According to the report, TSMC's major ABF substrate suppliers, including Unimicron Technology, Kinsus Interconnect Technology, and Nan Ya PCB, are all experiencing shortages.

It's rumored that AMD can currently only meet about 50 to 60 percent of demand for Zen 2 laptop processors and the upcoming Zen 3-based laptop APUs will see serious shortages:

Digitimes' sources indicate that AMD can currently only satisfy about 50 to 60 percent of Zen 2 demand for notebooks, and that ODM's (Original Design Manufacturers) expect to run into serious shortage issues when Zen 3-based notebooks enter the market in Q3. That's narrowed down to two possibilities (or perhaps both): Either TSMC can't package enough chips, or AMD's chips for the PlayStation 5 are soaking up all of its production capacity.

Tom's Hardware speculates that despite the high demand, substrate makers may not be willing to invest in higher capacity as they don't know whether post-pandemic demand will remain at this level.