Intel has seized the chance to raise the cost of its older 12th Gen Core CPUs by about 10% while everyone is preoccupied with the CES announcements of brand-new sparkly toys. The MSRP hike for Intel’s 12th Gen Core processors was announced in June of last year, so this wasn’t altogether anticipated. The price rise has a very diverse impact on various SKUs. For instance, the Core i9-12900K has seen a US$59 price increase, bringing its new MSRP to US$648, which is more than the Core i9-13900MSRP K’s of US$589. The Core i3-12100, on the other hand, just sees a $12 price rise, bringing its new MSRP to US$134 and putting it in the same pricing range as the Core i3-13100.

It appears that certain additional SKUs may also be impacted by this extremely uncommon action by Intel, which applies to all of its 12th Gen Core desktop processors. It’s difficult to imagine how Intel will see any sales of its older 12th Gen Core processors given that the 13th Gen Core components are either priced cheaper or fall in the same price range, especially given that the two share the same socket. It’s quite doubtful that this decision will benefit Intel’s stockholders either, as Intel is likely to experience decreased sales of its older chip generation as a result of this price rise, which will further translate into lower revenue. Though it’s possible that many retailers won’t restock their inventory of 12th Gen Core CPUs once their present stock sells out, it’s uncertain whether or not this will have an impact on retail pricing.