Intel slows down production ahead of the Christmas period

New information points out that Intel is slowing shipments of desktop processors by as much as two million, to vendors who are entering the holiday season (Christmas).

Intel processors could be very scarce in the Christmas period

The fourth quarter is traditionally when component builders and system builders get a big hit on Christmas sales, and motherboard makers are expected to take the biggest hit of the play. This could also mean that, as the shopping season begins, Intel CPUs may be more difficult to come by, making AMD alternatives more attractive to consumers and retailers. Prices have been trending upward for the Intel i7 8700K this end of 2018, although since then it has stabilized somewhat to a higher than average price for the year.

We recommend reading our article on AMD Ryzen 7 2700X vs Core i7 8700K at equal frequency

The current Intel shortage has obviously had a profound effect on the market, and it appears that we are not out of the woods yet if the DigiTimes rumors are true. Intel is reportedly experiencing a supply crisis due to its widely used 14nm process node. Its fabs have been overloaded by a product stack made up almost entirely of single transistor technology, and there is little salvation in the immediate future.

Intel is striving for its next 10nm node to achieve manufacturing reliability and cost-effectiveness. This node should be up and running sometime during the 2019 holiday season. Until then, Intel has to dabble and maintain composure, while the threat of an increasingly competitive AMD looms

AMD appears to be ready to take full advantage of Intel's potential supply shortfall. AMD currently uses 14nm and 12nm GlobalFoundries process nodes for the production of its Ryzen, Vega and Polaris CPUs and graphics cards, although it will soon switch production to TSMC for 7nm and Zen 2. Motherboard manufacturers will surely want ship more AM4 motherboards to make up for the LGA 1151 demand deficit from Intel.

With a strong supply chain, consistent pricing and, in an ideal world, a small additional marketing budget, AMD could be in a prime position to increase its market share in the Christmas season.

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