A new report reveals that Intel customers in China could be waiting up to 6 months for CPUs to arrive, while some AMD products now have delivery lead times of up to 10 weeks. Reuters claims supply constraints have driven up the price of Intel server products by over 10%, with sources claiming customers have been notified of the expected delays.

For DIY PC builders, AMD Ryzen processors have been the go-to option for many people, topping any recent CPU sales charts. This is especially the case for X3D CPUs, which gamers have gravitated towards ever since they were introduced in the Ryzen 5000 series. However, these reported delays are relevant to server chips – not consumer products.

Server CPUs are in short supply in China

You’ve probably heard of the widespread memory and SSD shortages lately (mostly the former), but reports coming from the region suggest China has a CPU shortage problem, too. According to Reuters’ sources, there is a backlog of unfulfilled orders for 4th and 5th-generation Intel Xeon CPUs – these are primarily used for servers, workstations, and embedded systems.

It’s said that 20% of Intel’s overall revenue comes from China, and Intel is rationing deliveries of these Xeon chips, leading to delays up to six months. Intel flagged supply constraints in its January earnings call, and in a statement to Reuters, says the rapid growth of AI has actually led to “traditional compute” demand. “Inventory at lowest level in Q1, but we are addressing aggressively and expect supply improvement in Q2 through 2026,” said Intel.

As for AMD, delays in the region are less dramatic, though a reported 8 to 10-week process is far from speedy. This shipping time information is according to informed clients, though AMD has downplayed the issue in its latest earnings call. The company simply says it has boosted supply capabilities to cope with heavy demand.

“We remain confident in our ability to meet customer demand globally based on our strong supplier agreements and supply chain, including our partnership with TSMC.”

AMD, in a statement to Reuters

AMD has been catching up to Intel in the server CPU market. This was once a space that Intel completely dominated, with over 90% of market share in 2019; this has dramatically dropped to around 60% in 2025. On the flipside, AMD has jumped from around 5% to 20% within the same timeframe. PassMark data from over six months ago, in Q3 2025, goes to show that AMD is closing the gap – but it’s not 50/50 yet.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.