Intel Just Made PC Gaming Even More Expensive With These New Price Hikes

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Normally, we expect game consoles to decrease in price as they age, but the current generation has seen nothing but price hikes. Sony raised PlayStation 5 prices in April — and a year earlier, in August — and Nintendo plans to hike Switch prices in September. Plus, after the Steam Deck recently sold out, Valve increased the console's price once it was back in stock. 

It's not just gaming consoles that are skyrocketing in price, though. Components crucial for PC gaming are also suffering from individual inflation. Recently, Intel started jacking up the prices of its Core Ultra processors, including the Ultra 7 270K Plus and the Ultra 5 250K Plus. Tom's Hardware was one of the first outlets to notice this change. Previously, the Ultra 7 had a suggested price of $289-$299, but now the MSRP is listed as $339-$349. Meanwhile, the Ultra 5 sold for $189-$199, but now Intel recommends $219-$229. That's an extra $50 for the Ultra 7 and an extra $30 for the Ultra 5.

This price increase might not seem like much, but it is still an additional cost on top of many more. Earlier this year, graphics cards were hit with hefty price increases, with Nvidia's high-end RTX GPUs getting the worst of it, while RAM prices are 1.5x as expensive as before the AI bubble, and projected to increase even more. You can still build a budget gaming PC for under $1000, but Intel's new CPU prices make the feat slightly tougher.

In the spirit of fairness, the new prices listed on the Intel store are only the "recommended customer price." While retailers often do follow these cost outlines, they are under no obligation to do so.

Let's look at the Amazon listings for the Intel Core Ultra 7 Processor 270K Plus and the Ultra 5 Processor 250K Plus. As of writing, these items are selling for $309.99 and $219.99, respectively, so while the Ultra 5 follows the new MSRP guide, the Ultra 7 doesn't entirely. In truth, the Ultra 7 is 13% off and "normally" priced at $357.12. Moreover, according to the price history tools for each component, the cost of each item has remained within its respective general range for at least several weeks (sales notwithstanding). Meanwhile, B&H Photo Video is selling the Ultra 7 CPU at $314.99 (normally $329.99) and the Ultra 5 at $229.99.

At the end of the day, retailers set their own prices. While Intel recommends selling its CPUs at higher prices, if a retailer disagrees with these changes (and wants to remain competitive), it will ignore the MSRP. Then again, stores might not have yet increased item prices to reflect the new pricing guideline because Intel was a little too quiet about its price hike.