--- title: "CPU“一芯难求”，英特尔连 “报废品” 都拿出来卖了" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/284180836.md" description: "媒体报道称，英特尔目前正在出售此前通常会被报废或归入低良率区间的 CPU，强劲的市场需求使客户愿意接受这些产品。英特尔方面确认，CPU 需求之旺盛，已使几乎所有可用产出——包括边缘晶粒及低良率品——都找到了买家，公司选择将这些芯片重新归级为低规格 SKU 出售，而非直接丢弃。" datetime: "2026-04-27T08:58:46.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/284180836.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/284180836.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/284180836.md) --- # CPU“一芯难求”，英特尔连 “报废品” 都拿出来卖了 The surge in CPU demand is reshaping Intel's supply strategy and pricing logic—the chip giant is now including low-yield chips, originally slated for scrapping, in its sales. Citing insiders, tech media outlet Tom's Hardware reported that Intel is currently selling CPUs that were previously typically scrapped or categorized as low-yield products, with strong market demand making customers willing to accept these items. Intel confirmed that the robust demand for CPUs has found buyers for almost all available output—including edge dies and low-yield products. The company has chosen to regrade these chips as lower-specification SKUs for sale instead of discarding them directly. From a financial perspective, this strategy has translated into substantial revenue contributions. According to CRN, citing Intel's Q1 2026 10-Q quarterly report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, approximately 16% of the revenue growth in Intel's Data Center business came from server CPUs, with a 27% increase in Average Selling Price (ASP) serving as the core driver. Meanwhile, Intel's server CPU shipments declined by 5% year-over-year in the quarter, indicating the initial formation of a "sell less, earn more" pattern. Deeper structural changes may be even more noteworthy. As AI applications evolve toward Agentic AI forms, the strategic position of CPUs within the overall computing architecture is rebounding, providing a longer-term support logic for Intel's demand outlook. ## "Defective" Products Become Commodities: Edge Dies Regain Value In semiconductor manufacturing, dies located at the edges of wafers inherently have more defects due to physical characteristics, resulting in performance generally lower than dies from the center of the wafer. The conventional practice is that if a chip fails to meet high-end specifications but still possesses basic functionality, manufacturers will downgrade it to a lower-tier SKU for discounted sale; if performance is too poor, it is scrapped directly. The current shift in the demand environment has allowed Intel to break through traditional yield management boundaries. According to Tom's Hardware, CPUs previously considered waste or low-yield edge products have found an outlet due to strong customer demand. Intel has redefined them as lower-specification products for the market through "binning down." The direct significance of this approach is that, with unchanged wafer input volumes, Intel has effectively improved the monetization efficiency per wafer, reducing the erosion of revenue caused by yield losses. ## ASP Surges 27%: The Pricing Logic of Selling Less to Earn More Citing Intel's 10-Q quarterly report, CRN noted that in the first quarter of 2026, Intel listed the increase in ASPs for client and server CPUs as the main driver of revenue growth, despite the total volume of processors shipped being lower than in the same period last year. For server CPUs, ASPs rose 27% year-over-year, driven by two factors: an increased proportion of high-end product mixes and dynamic pricing adjustments based on demand conditions. Server CPU shipments declined by 5% year-over-year in the quarter, but the high ASP was sufficient to offset the volume gap and drive overall revenue expansion. For investors, this model implies an improvement in the earnings quality of Intel's Data Center business—revenue growth no longer relies on piling up shipment volumes but is increasingly supported by product structure upgrades and pricing power. ## CPU Demand Back in Focus: AI Computing Landscape Being Reshaped The recovery in Intel's CPU demand is closely related to the evolution trends of AI application architectures. According to Reuters, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan stated during last week's earnings conference call that the ratio of CPUs to GPUs was previously around 1:8, but may gradually move toward 1:1 in the future, or even tilt further toward CPUs. This judgment aligns with the research direction of TrendForce. TrendForce pointed out that while GPUs have long dominated AI workloads requiring massive parallel computing, CPUs play a supporting role in memory management. As Agentic AI matures, the role of CPUs in core workflows such as task orchestration, tool invocation, and evaluation is becoming increasingly prominent, significantly boosting their strategic status. TrendForce expects that in Agentic AI deployment scenarios, the ratio of CPUs to GPUs will gradually evolve from the current approximately 1:4 to 1:8, toward 1:1 to 1:2. If this structural transformation continues to materialize, it will provide medium-to-long-term support for Intel's server CPU business from the demand side, further strengthening its pricing bargaining power under the current "supply falling short of demand" situation. ### Related Stocks - [INTC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/INTC.US.md) - [XSD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/XSD.US.md) - [SMH.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SMH.US.md) - [SOXL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SOXL.US.md) - [INTW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/INTW.US.md) - [SOXX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SOXX.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [BUZZ-Street View: AI demand boosts Intel, but capacity limits loom](https://longbridge.com/en/news/283982891.md) - ['More Upside Ahead': Intel Stock (INTC) Wins a New Street-High Price Target](https://longbridge.com/en/news/284124817.md) - [Intel's stock extends its spectacular run - and could see its best daily gain on record](https://longbridge.com/en/news/283999281.md) - [Intel Reports Q1 Beat, Yet These Analysts Remain Bearish](https://longbridge.com/en/news/284035402.md) - [PREVIEW-Intel results to show if supply chain issues are dimming its AI ambitions](https://longbridge.com/en/news/283532368.md)