Taiwan-based notebook players have expressed concerns that buying sentiment in Europe may be conservative in the third quarter of 2010, despite the traditional peak season; however, the fact that Intel's 32nm processors are currently facing tight supply has put players into a position forcing them to decide whether they should build up or reduce their inventory.

Since future demand in Europe is currently uncertain, most makers are already considering reducing their inventory preparations, but with concerns that the Europe issue may turn out to be fine, the makers are maintaining their Intel CPU orders to avoid shortages of the critical component, sources from notebook players noted.

The makers are also keeping a close eye on demand from Europe and are being more careful with their inventory management to prevent overstocked CPU inventories, the sources noted.

Currently, Intel's Core i3-330M, Core i3-350M and Core i5-430M processors are all in tight supply, causing quotes rise quickly, the sources added.