Surely you have at some point been tempted to switch from PC to new from Intel. You have entered your preferred shopping website, you have looked at the prices of the CPUs and then you have gone to the motherboards to know their cost first hand. The surprise will have been more or less depending on how informed you are, but in any case you will have been able to see that the Z690 motherboard prices have soared. Today we know the reasons, which have their logic.
It’s the perfect storm and it’s possibly Intel’s biggest mistake within Alder Lake as an architecture, yet on the other hand it was impossible to foresee what was going to happen just two years ago. There is not much science or a simple explanation for this maelstrom of bullish prices, it is simply an accumulation of things, a sum of prices that prevent the platform from reaching more users. What are the factors in the rise in cost per unit?
Z690 motherboard prices: the socket
The exclusive report to which TechPowerUp colleagues have had access makes it clear that the great surprise of this platform in terms of price is without any doubt the socket and the CPU retention mechanism. The cost has been multiplied by 4 when going from the LGA 1200 to the LGA 1700, where the first would cost approximately $ 5, while the second would be at $ 20 and in large volume orders it could drop between $ 10 and $ 15, so at least it would be tripling the price for the big manufacturers.
What we might think was the most bullish factor in this component, such as the PCB, has turned out to be one of the least affected. Thus, the report indicates that although they are better designed and contain better materials or layers, the average cost would have only risen on average $ 2. As we say, the model in question marks if the rise is greater or less, where in those with DDR5 they also mark the percentage difference with their counterparts in Z590.
Therefore, it is understood that in low-end models with DDR4 the cost is very similar and in higher-end models it would have shot up a few more dollars.
The power phases and their circuit, out of control
What has increased the most in general are the power phases and their energy design, since as we well know we have gone from the DrMOS to SPS. The report indicates that this added to the shortage makes the prices of the Z690 motherboards in this section compared to the Z590 are double. Finally, there are a series of investigations that also affect to a lesser extent, such as the PCIe 5.0 slots (New machines are needed and they must be made profitable based on a higher price per installation), an increase in the price of capacitors and resistors and, as a culmination, global logistics problems.
Changing logistics and delivery times has meant a higher outlay on the part of manufacturers, which would have transferred it to current plates. As if that were not enough and apparently, there are unfounded rumors about a possible Z690 motherboard prices increase in 2022, although the factors for this are not clarified.
