Forward-looking: The global chip shortage means there's never been a worse time to build a PC. People are sick and tired of the situation, but according to Acer, things are starting to improve and will be drastically better come the second half of this year.
We all know about the global chip shortages by now, including its effect on hardware availability and manufacturers raising their prices. Everything from vehicle production to laptop supplies has been impacted. As a result, we’ve seen old graphics cards such as the GTX 1650 and possibly the GTX 1080 Ti being reintroduced. But the big question, of course, is when will it end.
Some analysts believe that we’re not going to escape this mess until 2022, but others, including Qualcomm’s incoming CEO, Cristiano Amon, think it will improve during the second half of this year. Sharing this more optimistic view is Andrew Hou, Acer’s president for Pan-Asia Pacific Operations.
Speaker to reporters in Taipei (via Reuters), Hou said that since the shortage issues first became apparent in the fourth quarter of 2020, the supply chain has “jumped into action” as suppliers worked to address the problems.
Hou added that this quick action should see better supplies in the second quarter of the year compared with the first quarter, and we’ll experience even more noticeable improvements in the second half of 2021.
More efforts, both long- and short-term, are being made to alleviate the chip shortages. TSMC is spending $100 billion on expansion and R&D over the next three years, while GlobalFoundries is doubling its expansion to $1.5 billion this year. And on April 12, President Biden will meet executives from top chipmakers and automakers, including Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, to discuss semiconductor supply chain issues.
https://www.techspot.com/news/89216-acer-believes-chip-shortage-crisis-improve-later-year.html
