Sigh: GPU prices could get even worse, thanks to copper foil shortage

GPU prices are already out of control and the situation won't be getting any better, not even for the next 12-18 months, and now a copper foil shortage is making things worse.

Copper foil is used to make PCBs (printed circuit board) for motherboards and graphics cards, with the cost of copper rising from $7845 per ton towards the end of 2020, to $9262 now. The rise of cost for copper as well as rising energy costs in China is making for the perfect storm of rising costs of production, and an unsure world of product pricing moving forward.

PCB costs won't just affect graphics cards and motherboards, but anything that has a PCB -- it's just that graphics cards and motherboards have many more connectors and thus, more copper is required. This won't drive the price up on products by much, but high-end components rising 10% in cost would matter when you're talking $500-$1000+ or higher. Manufacturers can eat the cost of course, but motherboards and graphics cards are only costing more and more, especially with the impending launch of Intel's 12th Gen "Alder Lake" platform.

• Read more: AMD CEO Lisa Su expects chip shortages to ease in 2H 2022
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• Read more: NVIDIA warns you won't be able to buy a new GPU anytime this year
• Read more: Yeah, you might be waiting until 2022 to get a new NVIDIA or AMD GPU
• Read more: Sorry, but GPUs are going to be hard to buy until at least April 2021