VIA Technologies will hike its chipset prices by 6-10% starting July 1 to reflect its rising production costs, according to sources at the chipset maker. This will be VIA"s second price increase this year, following a 5-8% increase in March. Wafer production capacities at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) are expected to further tighten in the third quarter due to ever-rising demand from IC design houses, and this may push up chip production and testing costs, the sources noted.
The planned price hikes will apply to VIA"s complete lines of chipsets, with entry-level models like the P4M400A and the KT400A subject to a higher increase, while higher-end models will suffer only a moderate rise in price.