Intel is reportedly planning to raise prices for its older-generation processors. According to supply chain sources, the company is preparing to raise prices for its popular Raptor Lake processors by approximately 10% in the last quarter of 2025. The primary reason for this price increase is attributed to lower-than-expected demand for Intel’s latest artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled processors.
When AI PCs don’t sell, older processors are hiked: Raptor Lake prices are rising
While Intel has made a bold statement about AI and power efficiency with its new-generation chips like Lunar Lake, consumers have been slow to embrace this new technology. This has remained a concern for the company, even months later. Most users find the performance of Raptor Lake processors “sufficient” for everyday use. There are no “must-have” AI features yet that would warrant an upgrade.
In fact, PC sales saw a significant increase in the second and third quarters of 2025. However, AI PCs were not the primary driver of this increase. Industry experts attribute this movement to the end of support for the Windows 10 operating system. Users, especially in regions outside North America, have been forced to upgrade their computers to the new Windows 11-based systems.
According to reports, Raptor Lake processors offer a price advantage of more than $200 compared to the new Lunar Lake chips. Major PC manufacturers such as Lenovo, HP, and Acer are still opting for older-generation chips to produce affordable systems. Sales of these affordable PCs are also doing quite well. Manufacturers are already struggling with rising overall costs.
However, processors aren’t the only factors driving PC costs. Prices for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory (DRAM) and SSD NAND storage have increased by 15% to 25%. This is putting significant pressure on manufacturers to reduce overall costs, forcing them to use older chips. Currently, demand for Raptor Lake processors is high, but supply is lower than before. This is why Intel is considering raising prices for its remaining inventory.
The price increase has not yet been officially announced by Intel. However, some regions, such as Japan and South Korea, have seen price increases for the older three-generation processors, including Alder Lake, Raptor Lake, and Raptor Lake Refresh. Some models are even reported to have seen price increases exceeding 20%. Industry sources suggest that the impact of these new price hikes could begin to be felt this month. So, if you were to buy a new computer, would you choose an older but powerful processor or one with new AI features?
