Computers and laptops are getting more expensive

Since January 2016 and until summer 2021, the prices for computers and laptops knew only one direction: down. The chips became faster and faster and yet cheaper. Many components around the heart of computers and laptops produced by the US corporations Intel and AMD could be manufactured in China in ever better quality for ever less money - until the corona pandemic and the accompanying crisis in the transport sector slowed down this trend in 2020 and finally reversed it in the summer of 2021.

Since then, prices have been rising, also for processors. In summer 2022, the price level of summer 2018 was reached again. After price stabilisation in recent months, the price trend is now threatening to continue upwards. This is because the trend-setting US chip giant Intel is laying off thousands of employees after making losses in the past quarter. The quarterly figures will not be published until 27 October, but the US business magazine Bloomberg received advance information on this.

When Intel is in the red and lays off staff, chip prices go up. Computers and laptops will become even more expensive. So it is no longer worth postponing the purchase of new equipment. It's better to buy now than later, when things get even more expensive. And as soon as word gets around, prices will rise even faster.

In any case, it is now worthwhile again to repair old devices and continue using them under Linux. Microsoft's idea of accepting only the latest processors for Windows 11 could become a flop. The trend is going in the opposite direction.

The table above shows the development of monthly consumer prices for desktop computers in Germany from January 2015 to August 2022. It is based on figures from the German Federal Statistical Office and represents the global price development.