- The RAM crisis has reportedly resulted in a motherboard manufacturer crisis, according to Digitimes
- Digitime’s report suggests motherboard shipments are down for four major Taiwanese manufacturers
- Consumers no longer have the incentive to buy motherboards for new PC builds due to unaffordable RAM kits
The AI boom and ongoing economic struggles continue to leave the PC hardware market in disarray, and a recent development suggests things are only going to get worse.
As reported by PC Gamer, a new Digitimes report indicates a ‘collapse’ of motherboard manufacturers and their 2026 shipment targets due to the memory crisis.
Not surprisingly, RAM shortages and price increases have effectively discouraged consumers from building new PCs, which has the knock-on effect of leaving motherboards on the shelves.
Notably, the report states that Asus is among the four major Taiwanese motherboard makers that lowered shipment targets by the end of 2025 and still experienced a collapse in shipments. It also claims that Asus has only managed to ship 5 million motherboards in the first half of 2026, despite targeting 10 million overall.
Frankly, these numbers are considered to be one of the worst for Asus, as it is said to mark ‘the lowest point in Asus motherboard shipments since the company split in 2008’, and also worse than the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A similar case applies to MSI, which reportedly estimated 11 million motherboard shipments but has dropped to 8.4 million for 2026.
Yes, these cases don’t directly affect consumers, especially given the lack of consumer incentive to buy motherboards (which is part of the problem, but not to blame), but in theory, low motherboard sales could lead to a drop in production for the major manufacturers.
If the RAM crisis does resolve, there will likely be a sudden demand for motherboards where production has been discontinued, ultimately leading to skyrocketing prices and shortages. It is quite clear that the AI boom has done enormous damage to the PC hardware market, but we can only hope that it is not irreparable.
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