PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Intel’s 6th gen Core processors (aka Skylake) are still in short supply, according to UK system builders, despite sources telling PCR there would be enough in the channel by the end of November.
Several retailers and system builders have expressed their frustration at not having enough i5-6600k and i7-6700K units, including Overclockers.
"We cannot get enough CPUs. We can sell considerably more than we can get," Miodrag Relic, business development director for Caseking (which owns etailer Overclockers UK), told PCR.
Steve Ling, executive director at Overclockers UK, added: "The problem is, customers want the latest technology. And the product was launched but there wasn’t enough stock for the channel.
"So do people buy the old technology? No. They want the new technology. So they have to wait. And of course, that can be quite frustrating.
"We spoke before that we focused a lot more on the X99 product (Overclockers ran a promotion on this chipset to compensate for the lack of Skylake CPUs), and the 5820k processor as a solution around that, and that helped to smooth it out a little bit."
But Relic said a short-term strategy can only do so much.
"We were hoping that supplies would stabilize in September, but after going into October and November it hasn’t happened. It’s patchy, sporadic, takes time to arrive and the situation is similar across the entire UK and Europe channel, from what we can tell," Relic added.
"We could use more. If a customer wants to be a Skylake system, it’s not available. The customer says ‘okay I’m not buying it,’ and goes somewhere else.
"But the problem is they go somewhere else and have the same problem there. People don’t want to wait. We have spoken to a number of partners and they all have the same problem."
Other reports have also emerged this week, suggesting some retailers are raising the price of Skylake stock because of the shortages.
Back in September, Intel sent the following statement to PCR: "The i7-6700K and i5-6600K are on sale now globally, however we are aware of short term supply limitations in some areas. We expect improved supply soon."
Another distribution source has told PCR that the situation may improve come January.
PCR has reached out to Intel again for an update on the situation.
