- The RAM crisis would have led to a crisis for motherboard manufacturers, according to Digitimes
- Digitimes report suggests motherboard shipments fell for four major Taiwanese manufacturers
- Consumers no longer incentivized to purchase motherboards for new PC releases due to unaffordable RAM kits
The AI boom and current economic woes continue to leave the hardware market in disarray, and a recent development suggests the situation is only getting worse.
As PC Gamer reports, a new report from Digitimes indicates a “collapse” of motherboard manufacturers and their delivery targets for 2026, due to the memory crisis.
Unsurprisingly, RAM shortages and rising prices have discouraged consumers from building new PCs, resulting in motherboards sitting on shelves.
Notably, the report notes that Asus is among four major Taiwanese motherboard makers that lowered their shipping targets at the end of 2025 and yet experienced a collapse in shipments. He also claims that Asus only managed to ship 5 million motherboards in the first half of 2026, when it was aiming for 10 million in total.
Frankly, these numbers are considered one of the worst for Asus, as it would be 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 fell to 8.4 million for 2026.
Yes, these cases don’t directly impact 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 lower production for major manufacturers.
If the RAM crisis resolves, there will likely be a sudden demand for motherboards where production has been halted, ultimately leading to price spikes and shortages. It’s clear that the AI boom has caused immense damage to the hardware market, but we can only hope that it’s not irreparable.
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