The DIY PC market may be heading into a rough 2026, and motherboard brands are already feeling the pressure.
According to a DigiTimes report highlighted by TechPowerUp, Taiwanese motherboard manufacturers have reportedly lowered their shipment targets for 2026, with some now expecting unit sales to fall by more than 25% compared to 2025. That is a pretty big correction for a category that usually rides together with CPU, GPU and memory upgrade cycles.
The short version: PC builders are slowing down because the rest of the build has become too expensive.
AI demand is spilling into gaming PCs
The report points to the wider silicon squeeze caused by AI data centre expansion. As big AI infrastructure projects soak up memory and compute supply, the pressure is being felt outside the server world too.
DDR4 and DDR5 memory kits have reportedly seen major price increases, while mainstream CPUs are also becoming more expensive. For a normal gamer planning a new build, that hurts. A motherboard is rarely bought alone; it usually comes together with a CPU, RAM and sometimes a new GPU. If those parts suddenly cost much more, the whole upgrade plan gets delayed.
For Malaysia and SEA, this is very relevant. A lot of local PC builders are extremely price-sensitive, especially students, first-job gamers and cyber cafe-style budget builders. When RAM and CPU prices jump, that RM3,000 to RM5,000 gaming rig target can quickly become unrealistic. The DigiTimes report does not provide Malaysia-specific RM pricing, but the impact is simple: if component prices climb globally, local retail and marketplace pricing usually follows.
GPU upgrades are also slowing down
Interestingly, the motherboard slowdown is not only about CPUs and RAM. The report also says consumers may be stretching out their NVIDIA GPU upgrade cycles.
That matters because new GPUs often trigger wider platform upgrades. With NVIDIA’s Blackwell generation, some buyers were looking at PCIe 5.0 motherboards to get the best possible performance from a new high-end graphics card. But if those GPUs are harder to find or more expensive, people become less willing to rebuild the rest of their PC around them.
Basically, if the GPU dream is postponed, the motherboard purchase also gets postponed. Very normal behaviour, bro. Nobody wants to buy a shiny new board and then realise the GPU they wanted is either out of stock or priced like a small motorbike.
ASUS, MSI, GIGABYTE and ASRock all affected
The numbers being reported are not small. ASUS is expected to ship around 10 million motherboards in 2026. MSI and GIGABYTE are reportedly targeting below 10 million units each. That would represent roughly a 25% year-on-year drop from 2025 levels.
ASRock may be in an even tougher spot, with the report estimating around a 30% decline.
These are big names in the DIY scene, including here in Malaysia where ASUS, MSI, GIGABYTE and ASRock boards are common choices across Shopee, Lazada, Low Yat-style retailers and custom PC shops.
What this means for Malaysian PC builders
If you are planning a 2026 gaming PC build, the smart move is to be more strategic. Don’t upgrade just because a new platform exists. Look at the total bundle cost: motherboard, CPU, RAM, GPU and PSU if needed. A “cheap” motherboard upgrade can become painful once DDR5 and CPU prices are added in.
This could also keep older platforms alive for longer in Malaysia. Expect more people to hold onto AM4, older Intel builds, DDR4 systems and second-hand GPUs if new-build pricing stays spicy. For esports titles like Valorant, Dota 2, CS2 and Mobile Legends streaming setups, many players may decide that “good enough” performance is better than overspending during a bad component cycle.
The motherboard market slowdown is not just a boring industry number. It is a sign that the PC upgrade economy is under pressure from AI demand, memory shortages and expensive GPUs. For gamers in SEA, that means 2026 could be a year where patience saves more money than chasing the latest spec sheet.
Source: TechPowerUp