Copper plates for PC water blocks rise from €190 to €280
In a new video, Roman “der8auer” Hartung, YouTuber and CEO of Thermal Grizzly, said copper and tin pricing is starting to affect PC hardware supply and manufacturing costs. He described longer lead times and higher quotes for raw material used in CNC-machined cooling parts. More importantly, he explains how much more expensive it is to purchase copper for cooling companies.
Roman said an October order for 12 mm copper plates, typically delivered within weeks, came back with pricing uncertainty and an expected delivery in February. He said another supplier offered faster delivery but at around a 40% higher price. Using his example, a plate that previously cost about €190 is now quoted at about €280, up €90, about 47%.
Raw materials EUR price, Source: Business Insider
Copper moved from around $9,000 per metric ton a year ago to over $13,000 per ton, with euro-denominated copper still up more than 30% year over year. Copper is trading near record levels, with inventories concentrated in the US and tariff uncertainty influencing flows and stockpiling.
Tin was the other input he called out. He said tin pricing is up around 60% in euros and around 80% in US dollars over the past year, which matters for soldering and electronics assembly. In his comparison, aluminum and nickel were closer to 5% year over year, while steel was lower.
Alphacool and Be Quiet! Confirm raw materials price pressure
Alphacool says it will raise prices by around 5% to 10% across its product range by the end of February, with CEO citing sharp increases in copper costs for blocks and a near tripling in RoHS-compliant solder pricing for radiators, plus higher manufacturing labor costs in China. Be Quiet CEO says the company is monitoring raw material markets and working with suppliers to keep pricing stable, but warns it may need to reassess later if elevated input costs persist or rise further.
Source: Der8auer
Copper pricing will affect GPU and CPU water blocks, radiators, heatpipes, cold plates, and some AIO cooling assemblies. He also pointed to copper use in PCB layers and wiring, and tin use in solder, which can add cost pressure outside cooling. In the same discussion, he said a copper-driven cost move could push a GPU water block from about €500 to €550.
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