If you're thinking about buying a new laptop or desktop, GPU, phone, or PC build, I recommend doing it sooner rather than later. Thanks to artificial intelligence, the price of memory has skyrocketed, and it's only a matter of time before every device with a lot of memory (or storage) is affected.
The RAMpocalypse is on its way
Every AI company, from OpenAI to Google to Amazon to Meta, is racing to build as many AI data centers as possible. These data centers are equipped with tons of GPUs, but they also need mountains of memory and storage. This has led to a surge in global demand for memory (RAM) and storage (mainly SSDs). sending RAM prices into the stratosphere and causing a global memory shortage.
If OpenAI alone could soon absorb up to 40% of global DRAM productionThe situation gets much worse when you factor other AI companies into the equation.
Unfortunately, only a few companies – Samsung, SK hynix and Micron – produce the chips used in RAM flash drives and SSDs, and they can't put out enough chips to meet demand. The catch is that they I don't plan to increase the pace RAM and storage production is coming soon, and even when it starts, we shouldn't expect a significant increase in supply. This paints a rather bleak picture for next year. If demand does not decrease soon, RAM prices will remain astronomical and may even rise.
For now, SSDs are mostly fine, but the RAM apocalypse is slow pouring into storage. As DRAM chips bring in more money, manufacturers are refocusing their production lines on increasing production of memory chips while curtailing production of memory chips. NAND chips used in solid state drives.
Although it is now too late to buy RAM at anything resembling normal prices, you should buy an SSD as soon as possible if you need more storage space.
This will likely affect every device with RAM and storage.
The problem is that tons of electronic devices contain a lot of memory. And storage. From laptops and desktops to GPUs, gaming consoles, laptops, phones and tablets.
With prices rising across the board, it's not just the average consumer in the RAM or storage market that's affected. Due to the artificial intelligence giants being outbid, major laptop and pre-built PC suppliers are planning to raise prices in the near future. Dell already announced that this will increase prices for business customers by up to 30%, and Lenovo is likely to follow suit in early 2026.
HP either adjust prices or reduce memory capacity on their laptops, or both. ASUS and Acer are planning shift the burden to consumersand several system integrators, including MAIN GEAR And CyberPowerPChave already raised prices for their finished desktop PCs.
Video card prices finally reached normal levelsbut then AMD raised prices for its GPUsand now there are rumors that NVIDIA will reduce production of its RTX 5000 GPUs in 2026 to 40% due to memory shortages. It looks like the waters in the GPU market are boiling again; We can expect further price increases, driven by memory shortages and dwindling supplies of consumer GPUs, sometime in 2026.
Phones and tablets will not be left out either. Not just 2026 phone models (and laptops too) come with less memoryespecially budget models, but they will also be up to 10% more expensive to produce. As always, ordinary people are likely to foot the bill.
Oh, I almost forgot about game consoles. Nintendo Switch 2 RAM prices got up by more than 40%, and the console's storage capacity increased by 8%, which led to a massive drop in Nintendo shares. At the moment, 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 only memory be more than 35% material specifications for its consoles, which could lead to higher prices for the PS5, PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X and S. This does not bode well for Microsoft as the company increased price of Xbox series consoles several times within 2025.
Prices will not stabilize soon
The worst part of the RAM apocalypse is that it likely won't end anytime soon. SK Hynix, one of the three largest manufacturers of memory chips and storage devices, forecasts that the RAM shortage will not improve until 2028.
Micron formwork Its Crucial consumer memory and storage brand, which allows the company to focus entirely on business customers, is another grim sign. This shows that we, the average consumer, are not the primary or even secondary market for storage and memory manufacturers. Artificial intelligence companies come first, big businesses come second, and the consumer market has to make do with the rest.
Even when memory and storage production finally picks up, artificial intelligence companies and other business customers will continue to have an advantage over the consumer market. In other words, even after global memory and storage supplies stabilize, whenever that may be, there is a good chance prices will never return to pre-RAM apocalypse levels.
Buy this device or component as soon as possible.
What I'm trying to say is that you should buy the device you've been eyeing sooner rather than later. Whether it's a laptop, an off-the-shelf desktop, a GPU, a tablet, or a phone, you should get one as soon as possible because not only could you pay more for it next year, but you could end up with less RAM or storage, or both.
When it comes to PC building, the current situation is especially ironic. While now is the best time to buy most PC components, RAM is damn expensive, which can eat up any savings you might get on other components and then some, and GPU prices could soon skyrocket for the nth time since 2017, this time due to memory shortages and production cuts.
If you really need a new desktop PC, build it ASAP. The RAM apocalypse isn't ending anytime soon, and memory prices will likely continue their upward trend well into 2026. While it's a pretty bad time to be building a PC, tomorrow will be even worse.
