If you’re thinking about buying a new laptop or desktop, GPU, phone, or building a PC, I recommend doing so sooner rather than later. Thanks to AI, the price of memory has risen, and it’s only a matter of time before every device with a significant amount of memory (or storage) is affected.
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The RAM apocalypse is upon us
Every AI company, from OpenAI to Google, Amazon and Meta, is racing to build as many AI data centers as possible. These data centers have a large number of GPUs, but they also need large amounts of memory and storage. This has driven global demand for memory (RAM) and storage (mostly SSDs), sending RAM prices into the stratosphere and causing a global memory shortage.
If only OpenAI could eat it up soon Up to 40% of global DRAM productionThings get worse when you factor other AI companies into the equation.
Unfortunately, there are only a few companies — Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron — that make the chips used in RAM chips and solid-state drives (SSDs), and they cannot produce enough chips to meet demand. The catch is that they are Don’t plan on condensing Random access memory (RAM) or storage modules will be produced anytime soon, and even when that happens, we shouldn’t expect a massive increase in supply. This paints a very bleak picture for the year ahead. If demand doesn’t contract soon, RAM prices will remain astronomical, and could even rise.
SSDs are mostly fine right now, but the RAM apocalypse is slow Extends to storage. As DRAM chips bring in more money, manufacturers are shifting their production lines toward increasing production of memory chips while cutting back on manufacturing of NAND chips used in SSDs.
Although it’s now too late to buy RAM at anything resembling a regular price, you should buy an SSD as soon as possible if you need more storage.
Every device containing memory and storage is potentially affected
The problem now is that many electronic devices have a large amount of memory and storage. From laptops and desktops, to GPUs, to gaming consoles, to netbooks, to phones and tablets.
And with prices rising across the board, the average consumer in the RAM or storage market isn’t the only one affected. As AI giants outbid them, major pre-built laptop and PC vendors are planning to raise prices soon. Dale It has already been announced It will increase prices for business customers by up to 30%, and Lenovo is likely to follow in early 2026.
HP will either Adjust prices or reduce memory size In his laptops, or both. Both ASUS and Acer are planning To pass the burden on to consumersand multi-system integrators, incl Menger and CyberPowerPCthey have already raised the prices of pre-built desktop computers.
Graphics card prices have finally reached their normal levels, but then AMD has raised the prices of its GPUsAnd now there are rumors that NVIDIA will do so Reduce production of its RTX 5000 GPUs in 2026 by up to 40% due to memory shortages. It appears that the waters of the GPU market are beginning to turn again; We can expect further price hikes as a result of memory shortages and reduced supply of consumer GPUs sometime in 2026.
Phones and tablets won’t be spared either. It won’t be limited to 2026 phone models (as well as laptops) It comes with less memoryespecially budget models, but their production will also be up to 10% more expensive. As always, it will likely be ordinary people who will foot the bill.
Oh, I almost forgot about game consoles. Nintendo Switch 2 RAM prices I rose by more than 40%, while the console’s storage capacity increased by 8%, leading to a significant decline in Nintendo shares. Right now, Nintendo has no plans to increase prices, but if this trend continues, the Switch 2 could become more expensive in 2026.
Sony and Microsoft expect memory alone to constitute more than 35% from the bill of materials for their consoles, which could lead to price increases for the PS5, PS5 Pro, and Xbox Series This does not bode well for Microsoft, as the company has increased the price of Xbox Series consoles Several times During the year 2025.
The spike in RAM prices is just the beginning, and these three PC components are next
Is now the last chance to upgrade your computer?
Prices won’t stabilize anytime soon
The worst part of the RAM apocalypse is that it likely won’t end anytime soon. SK Hynix, one of the Big Three manufacturers of memory and storage chips, Expectations The RAM shortage will not ease until 2028.
Micron closing its consumer memory and storage brand, Crucial, so the company can fully focus on commercial customers, is another grim sign. It shows that we, as ordinary consumers, are not the primary – or even secondary – market for storage and memory manufacturers. AI companies come first, services to large corporations come second, while the consumer market has to make do with leftovers.
Even when memory and storage production finally picks up, AI companies and other commercial customers will continue to get a head start on the consumer market. In other words, even after global memory and storage supplies stabilize, whenever that happens, there’s a good chance prices will never return to pre-apocalyptic levels of RAM.
Purchase this device or component as soon as possible
What I’m trying to say is that you should buy the device you’re eyeing sooner rather than later. Whether it’s a laptop, pre-built desktop, GPU, tablet, or phone, you should break down as soon as possible, because next year you may not only pay more for it, but you’ll also end up with less RAM or storage space, or both.
When it comes to building personal computers, the current situation is particularly ironic. Although this is the best time to buy most PC components, RAM is so expensive that it can eat up all the savings you might score on other components — and then some — and GPU prices could soon rise for the ninth time since 2017, this time due to the memory crunch and lower production.
If you really need a new desktop computer, get one as soon as possible. The RAM apocalypse isn’t going to end anytime soon, and memory prices will likely continue to trend upward until 2026. While now is a very bad time to build a computer, tomorrow will be even worse.