Motherboard sales 'collapse' amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI • Hacker News Board

Re: Motherboard sales 'collapse' amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI

#341

Post by nmeagent » Fri, May 08, 2026, 11:24 AM UTC

jrockway wrote: post #255

craftkiller wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I already have home sever rack, and would recommend it for other people. I just want to warn people who haven't heard server-grade hardware in-person before: this is only for people who can put a server rack somewhere unpopulated like a garage or basement. Servers will make you think "wow, leafblowers sure are quiet". They are not suitable for apartment dwellers such as myself. When I was setting up my 1U before sh…

Kind of a random aside, but I never realized how obnoxious LEDs were until I got a studio apartment and started sleeping in the same room as my homelab / workstation / networking hardware. Electrical tape saved me, but wow. You sure can produce a lot of light with a milliwatt of electricity :) (And yes, my workstation has a clear case and LED RAM. Yes, I'm an idiot. Whenever Windows applies an update late at night, I…

I always thought it would be low-grade hilarious to record a fairly long video of the unboxing and assembly of a ridiculously elaborate in-case LED setup, only to reveal with a straight face and at the absolute last minute that the case in question is entirely opaque.

Re: Motherboard sales 'collapse' amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI

#342

Post by Gud » Fri, May 08, 2026, 12:10 PM UTC

craftkiller wrote: post #158

hx8 wrote: post #59

PC is the last major open platform. While other platforms like Android and becoming less open, PC in general is becoming more open than it's been in a long time as heavy MacOS/Android/iOS competition is creating a focus on open standards and all-time high strong Linux support gives people a place to land and tinker/hack to their heart's content. I think we will see an abandonment of consumer grade PC components and i…

> I already have home sever rack, and would recommend it for other people. I just want to warn people who haven't heard server-grade hardware in-person before: this is only for people who can put a server rack somewhere unpopulated like a garage or basement. Servers will make you think "wow, leafblowers sure are quiet". They are not suitable for apartment dwellers such as myself. When I was setting up my 1U before sh…

If you build your own servers you can make them silent.

I had a 2U Xeon beast I kept water-cooled. Before I installed the water cooling, a bit noisy and 60C. Afterwards, total silence and 30C.

Re: Motherboard sales 'collapse' amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI

#343

Post by Gud » Fri, May 08, 2026, 12:10 PM UTC

iririririr wrote: post #267

wil421 wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can buy server boards that don’t require loud fans. If you’re buying used server gear from a datacenter then it will be like what you said. I have a 4U NAS with a supermicro board and an i3 chip with 6 WD Red NAS drives and it’s very quiet. The chassis came without fans so I installed the brand I like.

no, you definitely cannot. you probably have a consumer board in a 4u case

Completely wrong.

Re: Motherboard sales 'collapse' amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI

#344

Post by hx8 » Fri, May 08, 2026, 12:54 PM UTC

xolve wrote: post #146

hx8 wrote: post #59

PC is the last major open platform. While other platforms like Android and becoming less open, PC in general is becoming more open than it's been in a long time as heavy MacOS/Android/iOS competition is creating a focus on open standards and all-time high strong Linux support gives people a place to land and tinker/hack to their heart's content. I think we will see an abandonment of consumer grade PC components and i…

> PC is the last major open platform. In the whole history of computing PC is the only platform where buying a computer means crazy number of options and configuration mixes to choose from and expect it to work! And warranty would support it too! You can run any OS of your choice on it and that's also reasonable expectation. Any other platform (SUN, Be, Amiga, NeXT, Apple) it was always buying it from one company onl…

I came back to this comment 12+ hrs later hoping to find someone make a great argument for some platform in the 70s that I didn't know enough about, or maybe a modern open hardware movement that is building niche support.

I guess it really is just the PC.

Re: Motherboard sales 'collapse' amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI

#345

Post by expedition32 » Fri, May 08, 2026, 1:10 PM UTC

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #137

post_break wrote: post #116

Motherboards used to be $100, $200 for the high end. Now they want $300+, ram is crazy, storage, video cards, etc. I'm not surprised sales for these components is hitting a wall.

My parents bought a mid-tier PC for $3,000 (in 1995 dollars) and there was still a thriving PC industry at those prices! While things are getting more expensive now (and that sucks) we have had it really good for a long time.

PC gaming in the 90s was insane technology moved so fast that your top of the line build deprecated in 3 years.

Re: Motherboard sales 'collapse' amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI

#346

Post by kev009 » Fri, May 08, 2026, 1:53 PM UTC

jononor wrote: post #331

kev009 wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wanted to build a Threadripper 9965WX and the math worked out until DDR5 prices come in to play. Instead I got a used Lenovo P620 5975WX and still had to buy DDR4 from Shenzhen to get anything remotely affordable. The IPC of the Zen5 is a meaningful uplift especially for single thread but it is out of reach.

Where/how did you buy your DDR4 from SZ? Interested in doing the same, but want reputable source/supplier.

The seller was Focus Memory on Newegg, DIMMs are Rimlance. It arrived quickly via DHL. I'd be a little sketched out to do this if it wasn't registered ECC. The dies appear to be Micron, register IDT, but there is some possibility of soft fraud where they die printed over something. The registers look a little scratched so I wonder if they found some way of recycling DIMMs or even dies. The SPD is their own.

# dmidecode 3.7 # SMBIOS entry point at 0xba970000 Found SMBIOS entry point in EFI, reading table from /dev/mem. SMBIOS 3.3.0 present.

Handle 0x0023, DMI type 16, 23 bytes Physical Memory Array Location: System Board Or Motherboard Use: System Memory Error Correction Type: Multi-bit ECC Maximum Capacity: 1 TiB Error Information Handle: 0x0022 Number Of Devices: 8

Handle 0x0027, DMI type 17, 92 bytes Memory Device Array Handle: 0x0023 Error Information Handle: 0x0026 Total Width: 72 bits Data Width: 64 bits Size: 32 GiB Form Factor: DIMM Set: None Locator: DIMM5 Bank Locator: BANK4 Type: DDR4 Type Detail: Synchronous Registered (Buffered) Speed: 3200 MT/s Manufacturer: Unknown Serial Number: 05A23401 Asset Tag: Not Specified Part Number: RRD25600D4C8K256 Rank: 2 Configured Memory Speed: 3200 MT/s Minimum Voltage: 1.2 V Maximum Voltage: 1.2 V Configured Voltage: 1.2 V Memory Technology: DRAM Memory Operating Mode Capability: Volatile memory Firmware Version: Unknown Module Manufacturer ID: Bank 1, Hex 0x80 Module Product ID: Unknown Memory Subsystem Controller Manufacturer ID: Unknown Memory Subsystem Controller Product ID: Unknown Non-Volatile Size: None Volatile Size: 32 GiB Cache Size: None Logical Size: None ...

Re: Motherboard sales 'collapse' amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI

#347

Post by jononor » Fri, May 08, 2026, 2:20 PM UTC

kev009 wrote: post #346

jononor wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where/how did you buy your DDR4 from SZ? Interested in doing the same, but want reputable source/supplier.

The seller was Focus Memory on Newegg, DIMMs are Rimlance. It arrived quickly via DHL. I'd be a little sketched out to do this if it wasn't registered ECC. The dies appear to be Micron, register IDT, but there is some possibility of soft fraud where they die printed over something. The registers look a little scratched so I wonder if they found some way of recycling DIMMs or even dies. The SPD is their own. # dmideco…

Super info, thanks!

Re: Motherboard sales 'collapse' amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI

#348

Post by dangus » Fri, May 08, 2026, 2:40 PM UTC

saysjonathan wrote: post #213

dangus wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes you just have to accept the current pricing and buy what you need to buy (assuming you need to buy anything at all). 7 years ago it was the same price, but then again, the last 7 years have involved accelerated inflation. So, the same price is actually a lower price. If you're looking for a card in the sane $300 area, the Intel ARC B580 (12GB) or the RX 9060XT (8GB) are a reasonable value. If you want 12GB+…

3060ti only has 8GB, 3080ti has 12GB. That’ll make a difference for prices/comparison.

I think I made a mistake there, I meant to recommend the 3060 12GB version. I'm realizing now that the Ti didn't get the 12GB.

If you're getting 8GB then I'd say there's not much reason to go back to previous generations.

Re: Motherboard sales 'collapse' amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI

#349

Post by buellerbueller » Fri, May 08, 2026, 2:41 PM UTC

lifestyleguru wrote: post #115

buellerbueller wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To echo the post you are responding to: when the app is required it isn't really a consumer choice, is it?

> required it isn't really a consumer choice, is it? No one really resists or pushes back. When I resist I hear "that's what consumers want", "it's for security", or that I'm the problem. There is no one to complain to even, except to low paid kiddos in customer service.

At massive scale, change can only come in two ways: regulation or mass action. The former is unlikely because of regulatory capture (which itself is due in some part to the latter). The latter requires very serious violations, in order to come about.

Re: Motherboard sales 'collapse' amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI

#350

Post by dangus » Fri, May 08, 2026, 2:57 PM UTC

amluto wrote: post #152

dangus wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really agree with this. Motherboard prices haven't been moved at all by AI. I would also say that most consumers, who are almost exclusively buying gaming-oriented boards, do not need anything high end. They can pretty much buy the cheapest board available. I am shopping around for a mini ITX board and the difference between something at $180 and something at $400 is basically one to two faster USB ports, whi…

I am massively sick of gaming focused boards. I don’t want my board to be “tough” or “mil-spec” or be extra shiny or have fancy-proprietary-auto-overclock. I want a reliable board that complies with all the specs it claims to support. Low idle power consumption would be nice, too. This is obnoxiously difficult to shop for in the desktop/workstation space.

What you are asking for is a workstation motherboard, which does exist. Filter by the sTR5 socket for AMD Threadripper chips, for example.

Unfortunately, as far as finding something cheaper than that, you're looking for a product that appeals to a very small to non-existent market demographic.

Most of the buyers who want workstation boards (companies) do not want a computer that requires assembly.

The demographic that builds their own PC is almost exclusively doing so to play games.

Everyone else who wants to use a computer wants a portable laptop.

The good news is that all the complaints you have about gaming boards are mostly cosmetic. There's nothing unreliable about gaming boards. They all support the specs they claim to support. You don't have to use any overclocking features (I don't). They are off by default.

If you want low idle power consumption, what you actually want is a system that has soldered RAM (LPDDR) which essentially goes against the other parameters of what you asked for. You don't want a module desktop PC at all if that's your parameter. What you really want is a mini PC or a Mac mini.

You're asking for a workstation board with low idle power consumption, but nobody who wants that is optimizing for low idle power consumption.

The best system for you is probably an HP, Dell, or Lenovo workstation PC. The good news for you is that these are all over eBay as corporations tend to sell them in bulk when they're done with them in just a few short years. They're reliable, quiet, and have low idle power consumption. Or, you can go with the big workstations that support ECC RAM.