Intel tells PC makers to adopt 18A CPUs or lose their supply, report claims

Intel 7 supply dries up, pressuring notebook and PC manufacturers in the US, China, and Taiwan

Older Intel 7-based processors are locked up for servers and industrial use, leaving OEMs with little choice.

Intel is pressuring notebook and PC manufacturers in the U.S., China, and Taiwan to build more systems around its 18A-based processors, according to a Nikkei Asia report published today. The company has effectively frozen additional supply of older Intel 7-based CPUs for the consumer market, multiple industry sources told the publication, leaving OEMs with the choice of designing around 18A or going without.

The push covers Intel's Panther Lake (Core Ultra Series 3) and Wildcat Lake (Core Series 3) families, both manufactured on 18A. Intel told partners that the supply of those chips is healthier than for its older Alder Lake, Raptor Lake, and Arrow Lake products.

Intel has also reportedly redirected its constrained Intel 7 capacity toward server and industrial customers, where margins are significantly higher. One consumer PC executive said that industrial-use CPU margins run roughly 20% above consumer equivalents, and that obtaining further Intel 7 allocations has become effectively impossible.

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/intel-tells-pc-makers-to-adopt-18a-cpus-or-lose-their-allocations