Alphacool, one of the leading brands in liquid cooling, has confirmed that it will increase the prices of its products by 5% to 10% by the end of February. Other well-known manufacturers, such as be quiet!, have also warned about rising production costs, which will be reflected in final product prices (please see update below). The main reason behind these increases is the sharp global rise in the cost of copper. This material is essential in the cooling industry, as it is widely used in radiators, CPU and GPU water blocks, and heatsinks due to its excellent thermal conductivity. Over the past year, copper prices have risen from around $9,000 per ton to $13,000 per ton. Other metals, such as aluminum, have also seen notable price increases during the same period.
Update: As is often the case with the rumour mill, things get taken out of context. It’s been brought to our attention that be quiet!’s original quote was, in fact, taken out of context. Their original quote is below, and this article has been update to reflect this.
“We are closely monitoring developments in the international raw materials markets and are in ongoing discussions with our partners across the entire supply chain. The current situation is undoubtedly challenging and characterized by significant cost pressure driven by raw material prices. Our clear focus is on keeping the impact on our customers as limited as possible. Through close collaboration with our suppliers, we are able to maintain our current pricing and therefore do not plan to implement any price adjustments at this time. Should elevated raw material prices persist over a longer period or intensify further, we will carefully reassess the situation at a later stage.”
With this in mind, be quiet! has no intentions of increasing their prices, only that they’re monitoring the situation.
Rising Material Costs Force Price Adjustments
Alphacool explained that it has spent several months absorbing the extra costs in order to avoid passing them on to customers. However, the ongoing rise in copper prices has made this approach no longer sustainable, forcing the company to adjust its margins.
If you are planning to build a new PC or upgrade your cooling system, the coming weeks will be important. The price increases are expected to mainly affect copper radiators, water blocks, high-end air coolers, and various custom liquid cooling components.
It is also likely that other manufacturers will follow the same path if metal market trends do not change.
