Why RAM Prices Are Going Way, Way Up (and Why You Should Care)

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Random access memory, also known as random access memory (or simply memory), is an important part of most electronic devices these days. Essentially, this allows programs to keep key information at the ready so they don't have to dig through your storage (such as your hard drive or solid state drive) to find it. RAM is found in laptops, phones, tablets, game consoles, and even cars, and all applications rely on it to at least some extent.

Basically, if your device has a computer, it probably comes with RAM, or you will need to install it before booting. But recently this addiction has become a big problem. While RAM has historically been one of the cheapest components for home techs, RAM has become much more expensive over the past few months, going from being an afterthought in many people's budgets to something to be saved for.

There are several reasons for this, but even if you're not a professional PC builder or buying RAM outright, these price hikes can still affect you in the long run.

What's happened?

As with most technological changes these days, the main reason for the sudden explosion in RAM prices is artificial intelligence. Citing a trade research firm Trendforce and Korean edition Joseon DailyLifehacker sister site PKMag started reporting changes in RAM prices in October, and the situation has only gotten worse since then.

According to these analysts and industry insiders, manufacturers have gradually begun to focus more on RAM specifically designed for artificial intelligence data centers, with Samsung and SK Hynix in particular prioritizing production of high-bandwidth memory that is not used in consumer products. Tom's Equipment confirmed this in its own report in October, saying that these companies have dedicated about 40% of the world's RAM capacity to a single artificial intelligence project.OpenAI Stargate Project. These are two of the three largest RAM manufacturers at the moment, and while all of this was followed by a sensation last week, things weren't looking good as we entered the fall and shortages began to impact consumer prices.

“This is crazy,” he wrote one Reddit user in October, with even greater pessimism ahead of Black Friday, when others users and even posts similar to other Lifehacker sister sites. Mashable noticed that some RAMs were selling for four figure prices during what was supposed to be the selling season.

However, the largest increase in RAM prices occurred in early December following an announcement by the last remaining major RAM manufacturer, Micron. The company, long known for its consumer-focused Crucial series, said it will exiting the consumer RAM business in 2026 to focus on artificial intelligence, thereby ending Crucial's 30-year history. Since then, RAM prices several products have jumped even highereven as RAM manufacturers report double profit over last year.

In fact, as Gartner analyst Shrish Plant said: Edge“If you are not a client of the server, you will be considered second priority to memory providers.”

How expensive is RAM these days?

While prices for all computer components fluctuate, RAM has typically been one of the cheapest, typically costing less than $100 for a decent amount from a good brand, or closer to $150 for an upgrade. Those days seem to have flown out the window.

Christian Devine, a streamer and TikToker I follow, recently published that the RAM kit he bought in April for $90 is now worth over $400, and he's not alone. I've been seeing similar sentiments all over social media lately, so to check it out for myself, I took a look PCMag's list of the best RAM for gaming in 2025and here is the price difference I found from August 2025 to now.

While this is a small selection of RAM, it's clear that these higher prices are present throughout the industry. PCPartPickerThe popular site where PC building enthusiasts rate parts for their machines currently reports that its highest RAM estimate is $407, with competing memory often hitting similar highs. In fact, it's hard to find RAM under $100 right now, and you'll likely end up paying two or three times what you might have paid at the beginning of the year.

These price hikes are most obvious when purchasing RAM directly, which is mostly affecting PC builders, but others are likely to feel the crunch soon.

How will more expensive RAM affect me?

So far I've only focused on the higher prices for people buying RAM directly, which mainly affects PC builders. But if you prefer to buy ready-made technology, don't think that means you won't have to pay more. Manufacturers of laptops, tablets and phones need to get RAM from somewhere, and rising prices will affect them too.

Already, prices from companies such as CyberPowerPCwhich offers off-the-shelf desktop computers has grown, and the manufacturer of modular laptops Framework announced that it will soon follow suit. Even Raspberry Pi, known for making cheap single-board computers for home projects, was forced to raise prices for its latest flagship. citing memory costs as the reason.

Of course, all of these products are aimed more at enthusiasts, but consider them a canary in the coal mine. Leader Moore's Law recently died proposed RAM prices can lead to another price increase for Xboxand Dell Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clark said in recent earnings call that “the fact is that the cost of all products is rising.”

Some companies are doing everything they can to prevent consumers from feeling the effects of shortages. Bloomberg recently reported that Lenovo is currently stockpiling RAM to try to “balance price and availability” for consumers in 2026, while HP said it can limit the amount of memory inside its devices, but it will still have to raise prices eventually.

In short, it's a tough time to buy technology, even if you're more casual about your devices. And it's not just RAM that could be affected—in a conversation with The Verge, IDC research vice president Jeff Yanukovych suggested that some companies may skimp on other components, such as the battery or display, to avoid price hikes due to higher memory costs. He also suggested that more affordable devices, where corners have already been cut as much as possible, could end up seeing larger price increases than others.

Will RAM prices return to normal?

As Dell COO Jeff Clark mentioned in his earnings call, this isn't the first time RAM prices have fluctuated, but he admitted that this particular jump is “unprecedented.” While I agree that this is true for memory as well, it reminds me of the rise in graphics card prices that occurred around the early 2020s.

The demand for video cards is still not a solved problem, because these components are also very useful for AI.but by the start of the decade, GPUs had become very difficult for gamers to get their hands on, especially at anything close to MSRP. This was due to demand from cryptocurrency miners, which was high enough for Nvidia to actually launch makes your cards worse at mining. After this, the manufacturers reported that demand was drying upmainly in response to changes in how cryptocurrency works and a decline in interest in cryptocurrency in general.

While artificial intelligence bubble hasn't arrived (yet), it's possible that RAM could follow a similar cycle if interest in AI begins to cool. Otherwise, producers will have to balance supply and demand.

Returning to Clarke's comments, he said: “I would classify this as demand far outstripping supply.” At the same time, although Micron is supposedly exiting the consumer RAM game, Samsung and SK Hynix are not remaining silent on the matter.

This was reported by the Korean publication. Seoul Economic NewspaperSK Hynix plans to spend $500 billion to build new manufacturing plants, the first of which will open in 2027. The company also told The Verge that when it comes to consumer products, it “is not considering exiting the related business.” Thus, supply may increase in the coming years.

At the same time, it is difficult to say for sure when the shortage of RAM will disappear. Unlike SK Hynix, Samsung recently said during a conference call with investors (translation: PCGamer and was originally reported Technical information) that it would not be a “rapidly expanding operation” but would instead follow a much more difficult to define plan of “maintaining long-term profitability.” Tech Insight took the opportunity to suggest that RAM prices could remain high until 2028.

In short, it's clear that the market is still volatile and that companies are still looking for ways to solve the pricing problem. I can't say with certainty when RAM prices will drop again, but given what the industry is saying, as well as similar problems with GPUs in the past, it seems that the key indicators here will be a decline in interest in artificial intelligence or an increase in manufacturing capacity.

What if I need to buy RAM now?

At the same time, since so many electronics need RAM, you may have to bite the bullet and buy it during a shortage. If so, here are the best ways to buy RAM right now.

• Buy ready-made ones. While smaller off-the-shelf device makers are already raising prices, it's clear that larger device makers like Lenovo are doing everything they can to ensure their customers don't experience shortages. Right now, Apple is not raising prices for MacBooks yet or iPhone 17and devices such as Pixel 10 And Microsoft Surface Laptop really sell. Historically, buying a pre-built computer rather than building it yourself has been more expensive, but during times of component shortages, a larger company will have a better opportunity to reduce costs than you.

• Use less RAM. While I wouldn't recommend using less than 8GB of RAM, most users won't need more than 16GB even if they want to game. A large supply is good when you can get it, and while caution has been good advice in the past as prices rise, it may be better to determine the minimum you can ride with at the moment.

• Buy now or decide to wait. This sounds a little counterintuitive, but essentially I wouldn't expect RAM prices to normalize anytime soon. Take a look at your needs and see if you need a new laptop, PC, phone, tablet or games console soon. If that's the case, then it might be worth looking into it now, before manufacturers like Dell, HP or even Xbox have the opportunity to raise prices. However, if you think you can hold out for a few more years, it may be better to wait and see how the situation develops rather than try to build during a shortage. Either way, make your decision soon because you probably won't want to buy RAM as supply starts to shrink even further before 2026.