Despite some signs that improvement might have been on the way in the Summer, it seems pretty clear now that the global chipset shortage is showing no signs of abating any time soon. In fact, at least at the time of writing, it seems highly likely to continue throughout at least most of next year as well.
While not the sole factor, because there are many different issues at play here, this has undoubtedly been one of the key reasons why PC hardware (among a lot of other technology) has been in such short supply since late 2020. – Following a report via PCWorld, however, there are some encouraging signs for AMD as following their recent investors call, CEO Dr. Lisa Su has (pretty much) confirmed that a premium payment to TSMC will help ensure an improved or at least prioritised chipset manufacturing quota throughout Q4 2021!
AMD Pays TSMC for More Prioritised Production Slots!
TSMC, for those of you unaware, is one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of semiconductors, and, by proxy, chipsets. With such huge demand being placed on their production lines, however, it’s been well known that the company has, rather wisely, been giving its clients the opportunity to ‘jump the queue’ by, effectively, having them pay extra for the convenience. – While AMD is already one of their biggest customers, however, it seems that even this hasn’t been enough, by itself to give them any notably special treatment. In order to attempt to secure better stock levels for late 2021/early 2022, therefore, it seems that AMD has felt compelled to pay this ‘premium’ to ensure that more consumer products will, ultimately, be available to both manufacturer, and, all going well, eventually end up on retailers shelves.
What Can We Expect?
AMD has not specifically commented as to exactly what chipsets they have looked to prioritise with this order. With Christmas fast approaching, however, while PC consumers would undoubtedly like to see more AMD Ryzen 5000 and Radeon 6000 GPUs become available, the far more likely probability here is that AMD has secured the production of more chipsets for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
We’re not, of course, so overly optimistic to suggest that this order will help ensure that masses of consoles become available to buy immediately before the Christmas rush. It is, however, by far the most logical conclusion. So, all going well, while PS5/Xbox stock is still likely going to be pretty awful for the foreseeable future, this deal with TSMC may at least help make your chances of snagging one a little better before the end of 2021.
What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!
