Intel supports – At Computex 2026, Intel executives acknowledged the PC memory squeeze is distorting system pricing, and said the company will keep supporting older memory standards—pointing to DDR4-capable Raptor Lake and newer Wildcat Lake configurations—while validating low
By Computex 2026, the PC industry’s memory problem has stopped feeling like a temporary glitch. It has started shaping what people can afford—and it’s starting to reshape how companies plan.
Intel’s Nish Neelalojanan, senior director of product management for Intel’s Client Computing Group, summed up the pressure in blunt terms: “Longer term, I think something has to give, right? The over-inflation, we will have to keep an eye out.”
He didn’t pretend to have a crystal ball. “But if I could predict the memory market, I would be rich in stock,” he said.
When asked whether Intel was planning around memory shortages and adjusting strategy. the answer was yes—just not in the way many people expect. Neelalojanan pointed to Intel products that can work with lower memory and older memory standards. while continuing support for configurations already in circulation.
He specifically pointed to Raptor Lake and Wildcat Lake as part of the approach. “We do have products that support DDR4 on both desktop and mobile. Raptor Lake, we’re not end-of-life-ing any of them; they’re there,” he said. “We’ll continue to make sure that there are products which can take care of older memory technologies if they’re available and cheap.”.
Then came the practical pivot: Intel isn’t only leaning on older platforms—it’s also validating smaller, cheaper starting points. “Second thing is, we are making sure we are validating lower configs [for Wildcat Lake] as well,” Neelalojanan said.
Wildcat Lake, he explained, starts at 8GB. “Wildcat Lake starts at 8GB. Wildcat Lake is a single-channel product, so there are products which can leverage low memory and give reasonably good performance.”
Those entry-level laptop designs have become a major focus at Computex. and Intel’s Wildcat Lake push sits amid a broader rush toward cheaper systems. Intel has its Wildcat Lake options after the MacBook Neo. while Qualcomm is targeting the same market with its Snapdragon C chips. AMD. at least for now. hasn’t landed a direct product aimed at sub-$600 laptops. and Intel says its response is tightly tied to what buyers can actually afford when memory costs won’t cooperate.
The memory squeeze isn’t just changing upgrade timelines—it’s changing what people care about in the first place. Neelalojanan described a pricing shift that many shoppers have already noticed: “Large memory is completely overshadowing any CPU prices. right. memory and storage… CPU is not any more determining your system price point.”.
His focus then moved to supply and choice—because if memory prices are the obstacle. the route around it has to involve more suppliers and more validated options. “We are working with a lot of indigenous memory suppliers and validating them. so we’re doing everything we can… it’s not just one. two or three. ” he said. “If there are local-specific memory vendors, like in [China] and now Indonesia is even bringing up a couple of them. We’re trying to validate as much as we can so there’s enough choice that people can get pockets of relief.”.
Intel, however, did not say it was reintroducing any products resembling the Ryzen 7 5800X3D 10th Anniversary Edition. Instead, it described its current focus as supporting DDR4-based options and keeping them available at least until the squeeze loosens.
Taken together, the message is clear: Intel doesn’t expect the memory market to suddenly become easy. It’s betting that the only way forward—right now—is to widen the number of ways buyers can build a system without paying top-tier memory prices.
Intel Nish Neelalojanan Computex 2026 memory prices memory shortages Wildcat Lake Raptor Lake DDR4 PC market entry-level laptops 8GB single-channel indigenous memory suppliers