Sunday, January 11th 2026
Power Supplies and CPU Coolers are Next For Price Hikes, 6-10% Increase Expected
With the cycle of DRAM and GPUs becoming more expensive just beginning, it seems the next step in the price increase trend is the most basic PC building parts like power supplies and CPU coolers. According to a VideoCardz report, Guangzhou Xinhongzheng Electronic Technology Co., Ltd, a leading electronics manufacturer in China, the company has informed customer that power supply prices may rise by about 6-10%, while CPU coolers are expected to see a 6-8% increase. These products depend on raw materials like copper, silver, and tin, which are critical for both PSUs and CPU coolers, leading to an anticipated cost increase of at least 6% for manufacturers with standard contract commitments.
Guangzhou Xinhongzheng Electronic Technology advises customers that if they plan to secure significant inventory, they should do so in January, before the promotional period ends in February. The note indicates that nearly 90% of products are currently offered at discounted prices from suppliers, suggesting that most items like PSUs and CPU coolers will soon be sold at full price, likely with a higher markup for consumers. If manufacturing has long relied on discounts, the price increase might not stop at the 6-10% range but could be even higher. As these companies are adjusting pricing, we could see a massive price hike unfold in the coming weeks. However, this should be taken with a grain of salt as we have no third-party verification of these claims, so we need to wait and see what is happening across the supply chain.
For raw materials like copper and silver, significant demand comes from industrial processes, particularly in modern data centers. Modern AI data centers consume large amounts of copper wiring both internally and for external connections. The global reliance on copper wiring, coupled with the rapid expansion of AI data centers, has increased demand. Silver's recent rise in value is due to its scarcity and industrial use, also driving up prices for products that heavily depend on it.
Source:
VideoCardz
Guangzhou Xinhongzheng Electronic Technology advises customers that if they plan to secure significant inventory, they should do so in January, before the promotional period ends in February. The note indicates that nearly 90% of products are currently offered at discounted prices from suppliers, suggesting that most items like PSUs and CPU coolers will soon be sold at full price, likely with a higher markup for consumers. If manufacturing has long relied on discounts, the price increase might not stop at the 6-10% range but could be even higher. As these companies are adjusting pricing, we could see a massive price hike unfold in the coming weeks. However, this should be taken with a grain of salt as we have no third-party verification of these claims, so we need to wait and see what is happening across the supply chain.
82 Comments on Power Supplies and CPU Coolers are Next For Price Hikes, 6-10% Increase Expected
As for locomotives, a $1.5M electric might have $60K in copper in it ... and even that fraction is causing recent price hikes in the industry.
"Yes, UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) cable prices have seen significant hikes due to rising copper costs, driven by high demand from green energy, data centers (especially AI), supply chain issues, and global infrastructure growth, making copper more expensive...."
And:
CNBC: "The benchmark copper contract [is] up around 41% this year, on pace for its best year since 2009....
Arctic changed the product, but the base product got massive expensive. Comparing 320mm AIO with the product line when B550 was the lastest chipset vs X670 the latest chipset vs now. AIO is more like 200% of the cheapest price I remember.
When factoring in all those LCD hype etc AIO it is more like 400-500%.
The usual math: Where do you set the 100% for the 110% final price point?
It some sort of habbit to check certain computer parts over serveral years every few weeks to see a trend
In addition, the copper going into batteries is of higher grade. C10100 (Oxygen-Free Electronic - OFE) is 10-15% more expensive than C11000 (Electrolytic Tough Pitch - ETP)
CPU coolers are between 5-25% on average (with some outliers at 35%). The 80% figure is not worth mentioning as those kind of coolers are both long dead and don't provide any performance benefits over the market leaders. It's not something you'd bring up in a conversation regarding price increases unless you are intentionally trying to mislead.
Certainly with the above in mind, the increased price of copper is going to have more of an impact on CPU coolers as a percentage than cars as a percentage but the dollar value cost increase on cars would be higher (183 Lbs is a lot of copper).
Copper prices are up not just on massive demand but also investors piling on following that demand. As always, anything wallstreet sets it's eyes on it destroys. Would be nice if companies like goldman sachs didn't manipulate aluminum supply but hey any limits to capitalism are bad.
www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/innovation-evs-seen-denting-copper-demand-growth-potential-2023-07-07/
Even if your figure of 183 lbs was correct, a modern EV weighs 4,000 lbs, while truck/SUV EVs (which are factored into the per-vehicle average) can push 7,000 lbs.Bad math. The premium charged for higher-grade coppers is independent of the base metal price. Thus, they are proportionally less affected by price hikes in the base metal.If you feel capitalism is such a dead enterprise, why not migrate to one of the booming consumer paradises in Cuba, North Korea, or a former Soviet Republic?
As the certain components are skyrocketing in price (memory) or just rising sharply (storage, GPUs…) everything else will be sold in fewer numbers, and to account for that, manufacturers are raising prices to milk the remaining buyers that often have no option but to buy. It is of course self perpetuating cycle, and all PC components will soon be in a runaway cost increase, tanking the sales numbers further, and thus rising the price increase again.
We certainly live in interesting times.
www.ief.org/news/how-copper-shortages-threaten-the-energy-transition
This was 2 years ago.Unlike many here I don't subscribe to the doom and gloom end of times sermons. You can't cut production and raise prices forever. Competition for one thing, there will always be someone to undercut you, but the biggest reason is that you lose economies of scale when you cut too far back. There exists an equilibrium that will be reached, based on consumer behavior.
the sneed....
the greed.......
the deed............
the bleed..............
'nuff said :D
Lots of new AI data centers being built means lots of demand for copper wiring and higher copper prices.
press.spglobal.com/2026-01-08-Substantial-Shortfall-in-Copper-Supply-Widens-as-the-Race-for-AI-and-Growing-Defense-Spending-Add-to-Accelerating-Demand,-New-S-P-Global-Study-Finds