Complete the processor: there is a shortage of budget laptops in Russia

Inexpensive laptops in Russia may be in short supply — we are talking about devices in the price range of 20-30 thousand rubles. This was reported to Izvestia by manufacturers and sellers of equipment. The reason is that Intel has reduced the production of budget processors for them in favor of more powerful and productive solutions, which is why there is a shortage of affordable chips for assembling entry-level devices on the global market. Prices for low-cost laptops have already increased by about 25% over the past three months, and according to experts, this trend is unlikely to change after the New Year holidays.

Will there be a shortage of budget laptops in Russia

A possible shortage of budget laptops in Russia after the New Year, primarily in the price segment of 20-30 thousand rubles, was reported to Izvestia by their manufacturers and sellers. There is already a shortage of individual models on the market, according to an editorial source. According to him, the problem is that there is nothing to assemble such devices from: there is a shortage of central processing units (CPUs) on the global market.

— This year, the world's largest manufacturer of PC processors, the American Intel Corporation, has sharply reduced the production of entry—level processors, including the N100, N300 and a number of others. As a result, manufacturers of low—cost laptops are faced with a shortage of components, and there are fewer and fewer such devices on the market," the manager of one of the PC manufacturers told Izvestia.

He claims that the basic chipset for the production of budget laptops in the fourth quarter of 2025 increased in price by 10-15% compared to the previous one. Intel is shifting its production capacity to more productive and expensive processors, and production of entry-level CPUs has decreased, he added.

There is indeed a shortage — there are some difficulties with the supply of entry-level processors (Intel N100 and N300), confirmed the commercial director of Refrigerator.<url>" Alexey Pogudalov.

— The waiting times for deliveries have been increased, and the range of available models in the budget segment has decreased. Intel, like other manufacturers, is refocusing on producing more marginal and productive models, which leads to a decrease in the production of budget chips," he noted.

This has already affected the cost of budget laptops, said Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group.

— Those that cost about 20 thousand rubles in the fall of 2025 are now being sold for 26 thousand — this is a significant increase for this category. After the New Year, the price increase is likely to continue — the price of such gadgets may reach 30 thousand rubles and above, the expert predicts.

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According to him, the cost is affected by both a shortage of processors and rising prices for RAM for PCs on the global market.

Izvestia sent a request to Intel.

In addition, demand for laptops has increased due to seasonal promotions and sales, Alexey Pogudalov added. According to him, there is already a slight increase in prices for some entry-level models. In the future, the price increase may continue, especially on the eve of the New Year holidays, when demand for electronics is traditionally growing, he predicts.

Budget computers are bought for schoolchildren, students, elderly parents, or if a PC is required to perform a minimum range of simple tasks — typing texts, watching movies and websites on the Internet, and the like, Eldar Murtazin listed. In Russia, the sale of such devices has so far accounted for about 15% of all laptop sales, which is a significant share, he noted.

Demand for PC accessories

The shortage of entry-level processors and laptops based on them is not yet felt by all participants in the Russian market. Budget models with chips like the Intel N100 may indeed temporarily disappear from sale, but such cases are more likely to be local and isolated, according to the electronics manufacturer Fplus. They also noted that AMD has already announced a 3-5% price increase for its processors since the beginning of the year. Intel has not yet announced a review of the cost of components, but it is unlikely to give up profits in the growing market either, the Russian company predicts.

"Entry—level processors belong to a fairly niche and limited market segment, so today we are not detecting any large-scale or critical shortage of such solutions," said the head of the notebook category at M.Video" Kirill Isaev. — It's more about point restrictions on individual models that are used in the most basic configurations of budget PCs and laptops.

According to him, the increased demand is now shifting to more expensive segments, and manufacturers are focusing on them. This, in turn, affects the structure of the offer in the initial price range. At the same time, possible changes, if they occur, will develop gradually and largely depend on vendor decisions and model line updates, he added.

Meanwhile, the Russian and global computer component markets are experiencing a period of increased demand and rising prices, industry participants told Izvestia. So, in early December, it became known that sales of video cards in the Russian Federation had jumped. According to Wildberries, sales of these components in physical terms increased by 124% in the fall of 2025 compared to the summer. Year—on-year, by the fall of 2024— the growth was about 400%. The dynamics was especially noticeable in St. Petersburg, where the autumn sales of video cards on the marketplace increased by 800%.

In the second half of 2025, participants in the Russian and global electronics markets began to record a rapid rise in RAM prices. According to the calculations of the Commercial Times, from the beginning of the year to the third quarter, prices for memory chips increased by more than 170%, an unprecedented jump. It may lead to the fact that in early 2026, the retail price of computer equipment in the Russian Federation may increase by about 10%, manufacturers and sellers told Izvestia.

The shortage of PC components on the global market and an increase in their cost in 2026 may become a factor in the rise in the cost of computer equipment, said Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily. According to him, the pace of price increases will depend on the cost of components, possible logistics changes, sanctions pressure on the market, currency fluctuations and the Central Bank's key rate.