If you’ve looked at RAM prices recently, you’ve probably experienced some serious sticker shock. A 32GB DDR5 kit that cost around $90 in early 2025 can now set you back anywhere from $300 to $500. DDR4 memory has seen similar increases, with prices jumping 130% or more in just a few months. What’s going on?
The answer isn’t simple, and it’s not something that’s going to resolve itself quickly. We’re experiencing what some industry analysts are calling “Ramageddon”—a perfect storm of factors that have converged to create one of the most severe memory shortages in recent history. Understanding why RAM is so expensive right now requires looking at how artificial intelligence is reshaping the entire semiconductor industry, how memory manufacturers make strategic decisions, and why the average PC builder is caught in the crossfire.
The AI Revolution Is Eating Your RAM
The biggest driver behind skyrocketing RAM prices is artificial intelligence. Not the AI chatbot you use occasionally, but the massive data centers powering AI services worldwide. Companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and Meta are engaged in an unprecedented buildout of AI infrastructure, and these systems are absolutely voracious when it comes to memory.
Here’s what makes this different from past demand surges: AI workloads require a specialized type of memory called High Bandwidth Memory, or HBM. While your gaming PC uses DDR4 or DDR5 RAM, AI accelerators from companies like NVIDIA and AMD need HBM to function effectively. An NVIDIA H100 GPU, for instance, comes equipped with 80GB of HBM3 memory. The upcoming Blackwell architecture pushes this even further.
The problem? HBM and regular DDR5 RAM come from the same production facilities. They’re made by the same three companies—Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron—who together control more than 90% of the global memory market. When these manufacturers shift their focus toward producing HBM, there’s less capacity left for making the RAM that goes into consumer PCs.
Understanding High Bandwidth Memory vs. DDR5
To understand why manufacturers are prioritizing HBM over consumer RAM, you need to understand what makes HBM special. HBM uses a completely different architecture than traditional DDR memory. Instead of memory chips sitting on a circuit board next to your processor, HBM stacks multiple memory dies vertically using microscopic Through-Silicon Vias.
This 3D stacking allows HBM to achieve bandwidth that DDR5 simply can’t match. A single HBM3E stack can deliver 1.2 TB/s of bandwidth—more than 20 times what a DDR5 channel provides. When you have an AI model processing billions of parameters, that kind of bandwidth isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity.
But here’s the critical detail that directly impacts your wallet: each gigabyte of HBM consumes roughly three times the wafer capacity of DDR5. Making HBM is more complex, requires more silicon, and takes more time. Yet the profit margins are substantially higher, and demand from AI companies is essentially unlimited. Memory manufacturers can sell every HBM chip they produce immediately, often through long-term contracts at premium prices.
The math is brutal for consumers. Every wafer that goes into making HBM is a wafer that doesn’t become DDR5 memory for gaming PCs or laptops. And with AI data centers projected to consume 40% of global DRAM production by 2026, consumer memory has effectively become the lower-priority product.
The Market Consolidation Problem
The memory industry has always been concentrated, but that concentration has reached unprecedented levels. Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron collectively hold about 95% of global DRAM market share. In the second quarter of 2024, Samsung commanded 42.9% of the market, SK Hynix held 34.5%, and Micron controlled 19.6%.
This oligopoly creates a situation where these three companies can effectively dictate market conditions. When all three simultaneously decide that HBM production is their priority, there’s no alternative supplier that consumers can turn to. Chinese manufacturer CXMT exists but accounts for only about 5% of the market and recently shifted its own production from DDR4 to DDR5, further tightening DDR4 supply.
The competitive dynamics between these manufacturers have also shifted dramatically. SK Hynix overtook Samsung as the world’s largest memory chip supplier for the first time ever in 2025, largely due to SK Hynix’s dominance in the HBM market where it holds approximately 57-62% share. This success with HBM has only reinforced the strategic shift away from consumer memory products.
The Crucial Exit: Micron Abandons Consumers
In December 2025, Micron dropped a bombshell announcement: it would be exiting the Crucial consumer business entirely by February 2026. For nearly three decades, Crucial had been one of the most trusted names in consumer RAM and SSDs. For many PC builders, Crucial memory was often the default choice—reliable, competitively priced, and readily available.
Micron’s official explanation was direct: “The AI-driven growth in the data center has led to a surge in demand for memory and storage. Micron has made the difficult decision to exit the Crucial consumer business in order to improve supply and support for our larger, strategic customers in faster-growing segments.”
The loss of Crucial as a market participant is significant beyond just one less brand on the shelf. Crucial often acted as a price anchor that kept competitors in check. When one of the few consumer-facing arms of a major DRAM manufacturer exits the market, it removes competitive pressure that might otherwise moderate price increases.
For Micron, the business case is clear. Consumer memory modules sit at the lowest-margin end of their portfolio. They compete in highly volatile, price-sensitive markets where promotional pricing is constant. By contrast, data center products lock in long-term contracts, higher average selling prices, and more predictable demand. Every wafer Micron assigns to consumer products is a wafer not going to a hyperscaler or enterprise contract that could be worth significantly more.
DDR4 Isn’t Safe Either
You might think that sticking with DDR4 could save you money, especially since it’s older technology. Unfortunately, that strategy isn’t working. DDR4 prices have actually increased more dramatically than DDR5 in some cases, with some kits jumping 300% in price.
This counterintuitive price increase happens because DDR4 is in a terminal phase. Manufacturers have been systematically winding down DDR4 production lines to make room for DDR5 and HBM. The industry wants to move forward, but millions of systems globally still rely on DDR4. This creates a supply-demand mismatch where demand remains substantial but supply is actively shrinking.
TrendForce forecasts that DDR4 will face a clear shortage by the end of 2025, with 2026 unlikely to fully close the gap as factories accelerate their phase-out and shift capacity toward HBM and DDR5. When a product is being phased out but still in demand, prices tend to spike before they eventually fall—but that eventual decline only happens once demand drops to near zero.
The Production Capacity Constraint
Building new memory fabrication facilities—called fabs—takes years and costs billions of dollars. Samsung and SK Hynix are planning substantial capacity expansions, with new facilities scheduled to come online in 2027 and 2028. Micron has committed to a $200 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing, though meaningful production won’t begin until mid-2027.
The problem is that AI demand isn’t waiting. OpenAI’s Stargate project alone is projected to consume up to 40% of global DRAM output, requiring approximately 900,000 wafers per month. This kind of demand emerged faster than the industry could possibly respond with new capacity.
Even when new fabs do come online, there’s no guarantee they’ll prioritize consumer memory. The strategic decisions that led to the current shortage—prioritizing high-margin HBM over commodity DDR—are likely to persist as long as AI demand remains strong. New capacity might simply mean more HBM production rather than relief for consumer RAM markets.
How Bad Is It Really? Looking at the Numbers
The price increases are stark and well-documented. Spot prices for DDR5 chips rose 171.8% year-over-year by late 2025. Raw 16Gb DDR5 chip prices nearly quadrupled from $6.84 in September to $24.83 in November 2025.
For consumers, this translates to dramatic increases in retail pricing. A typical 32GB DDR5-6000 kit that hovered around $90-120 for much of 2024 and early 2025 began climbing vertically in September. By late 2025, the same kit was often priced between $300 and $400. Some retailers are now listing premium kits at $500 or more.
DDR4 has seen comparable increases. A 32GB DDR4-3600 kit jumped from approximately $70 in mid-2025 to $161 by fall—a 130% increase in just a few months. The speed and magnitude of these increases have shocked even experienced PC builders.
Impact Beyond DIY Builders
While DIY PC builders are feeling the pain directly, the effects ripple throughout the entire tech ecosystem. Pre-built gaming PC manufacturers have announced significant price adjustments. CyberPowerPC stated that global memory prices have surged by 500% and SSD prices have risen by 100%, leading to across-the-board price increases on December 7, 2025.
The laptop market faces particular challenges because memory is often soldered directly to the motherboard, meaning manufacturers can’t easily substitute components or allow users to upgrade later. TrendForce forecasts significant price fluctuations in the PC market by the second quarter of 2026, with manufacturers likely to reduce specifications or raise prices substantially.
Even smartphones aren’t immune. Memory increasingly accounts for a larger share of bill-of-materials costs, with some smartphone makers budgeting for a 25% increase in DRAM expense per phone in 2026. This could push entry-level phones back to 4GB of RAM configurations that seemed outdated just a year ago.
Single-board computers and DIY electronics projects are particularly hard hit. A single 4GB module of LPDDR4 memory now costs $35—more than all other components on many single-board computers combined. Raspberry Pi has already raised prices and introduced a 1GB Pi 5 model partly in response to memory costs.
What’s Different About This Shortage?
The memory market has always been cyclical, with periodic booms and busts. The industry has experienced major price spikes before—the 2017-2018 surge driven by smartphone demand, for instance, or the COVID-era disruptions. What makes the current situation unique is its structural nature.
Past memory shortages typically stemmed from temporary disruptions—earthquakes, factory fires, or pandemic-related supply chain issues. The famous 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan sent memory prices up 30% within days. But those were acute events with relatively quick recoveries once production normalized.
This time, the shortage is driven by a fundamental reallocation of manufacturing priorities. AI isn’t a temporary trend that’s going to fade in six months. Market analysts forecasting the 2025 DRAM market outlook estimate that while HBM will account for only around 8% of DRAM output in 2025, it could generate over 30% of total DRAM revenue. That kind of margin difference creates powerful incentives for manufacturers to prioritize HBM indefinitely.
The 2026 Outlook: It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better
If you’re hoping prices will drop soon, prepare for disappointment. Industry analysts are nearly unanimous in their predictions that the situation will worsen before it improves. TrendForce predicts that conventional DRAM contract prices will rise by 45-50% quarter-over-quarter in Q4 2025, with total contract prices (including DRAM and HBM) increasing by 50-55%.
For the first quarter of 2026, some analysts expect DRAM contract prices to jump by around 55-60% compared to the previous quarter. If these wholesale price increases flow through to retail, a 32GB DDR5 kit currently priced at $325 could approach or exceed $500 by spring 2026.
Counterpoint Research warns that memory prices are expected to surge 40-50% in Q4 2025, with further increases of 40-50% expected in Q1 2026 and around 20% in Q2 2026. This cascading series of increases means Q2 2026 is likely to represent the peak of the crisis, with prices potentially at their absolute highest point.
The broader economic impacts are significant. IDC expects average PC prices to jump by 4-8% in 2026 due to memory shortages. In pessimistic scenarios, the research firm projects the PC market could contract by up to 9% in 2026 as higher prices suppress demand. That would be one of the worst years for PC sales since the 2009 financial crisis.
When Will Relief Come?
The consensus among analysts is that meaningful relief won’t arrive until late 2027 at the earliest, possibly extending into 2028. Micron’s executives have stated that despite breaking ground on new memory fabs, meaningful output impacting memory supply shouldn’t be expected until at least 2028.
Several major capacity expansions are in the works. Samsung is ramping up its Pyeongtaek facilities, SK Hynix is investing hundreds of billions in new manufacturing capacity, and Micron is building facilities in both Idaho and New York. But semiconductor manufacturing operates on long timelines. From groundbreaking to volume production typically takes two to three years minimum.
Even when new capacity comes online, the supply-demand gap will be at its widest as HBM mass production begins in earnest through 2026, further tightening the grip on global wafer capacity. The new fabs may simply enable manufacturers to produce more HBM to meet insatiable AI demand rather than flooding the market with consumer DDR5.
The Inventory Problem
Adding to the supply challenges, memory inventories have fallen to historically low levels. Average DRAM inventories fell to just two to four weeks in October 2025, down from three to eight weeks in July and 13-17 weeks in late 2024. These are razor-thin margins that leave no buffer for unexpected demand spikes or supply disruptions.
This inventory situation has created a secondary problem: panic buying and stockpiling. Large manufacturers like Lenovo have admitted to stockpiling RAM, much like the toilet paper situation during the early pandemic. When companies with deep pockets buy up available supply to secure their future needs, it accelerates the shortage for everyone else.
Some major OEMs have secured their memory needs through 2026 by making large advance purchases, but smaller system integrators and individual consumers are left competing for increasingly scarce inventory. The big manufacturers will survive because they have leverage and can afford upfront costs, but smaller system integrators operating on thin margins may not make it through this crisis.
What Can You Do Right Now?
If you’re planning to build or upgrade a PC, the advice from industry insiders is consistent and blunt: don’t wait. Kingston representatives stated in December 2025: “Prices will continue to go up. It will be more expensive 30 days from now, and more likely it will be more expensive 30 days after that.”
Here are practical strategies for navigating the current market:
Buy what you need now, not later. Every forecast and analyst prediction points to higher prices in the coming quarters. If you’re planning a build in the next six months, securing RAM at current prices—even though they’re already elevated—will likely save you money compared to waiting.
Consider your platform carefully. If you’re building a new system from scratch, modern platforms that support DDR5 are the better long-term choice despite higher current costs. DDR4 systems may seem like a budget option, but DDR4 is being phased out and its prices are rising faster than DDR5 in many cases. You don’t want to be stuck on a dead-end platform when upgrade time comes.
Buy adequate capacity the first time. With prices this volatile, planning for future upgrades is risky. If you think you might need 32GB eventually, buy 32GB now rather than starting with 16GB and planning to add more later. The cost of adding memory in six months could be substantially higher than just buying it all today.
Watch for legitimate deals carefully. Some retailers may still have inventory purchased at older, lower prices. However, be cautious—the shortage has also led to a 200% increase in counterfeit RAM scams on marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Consider pre-built systems strategically. Some pre-built vendors are now selling PCs without RAM included, allowing buyers to source their own memory. This might offer flexibility, but it also means you’re still exposed to the same price pressures. Large manufacturers who secured memory contracts months ago may actually offer better value right now than DIY builds.
Evaluate whether you actually need an upgrade. If your current system is adequate for your needs, the smartest financial move might be to hold off entirely until the market stabilizes. Necessity is one thing, but discretionary upgrades right now come with a serious premium.
Looking at Amazon Options
For those who do need to purchase RAM, Amazon remains one of the more reliable sources for finding current pricing and availability, though prices fluctuate frequently. Some options currently available include:
For DDR5 builds, kits like the Corsair Vengeance DDR5 32GB (2x16GB) 5600MHz or the G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 represent solid mainstream options, though prices have increased substantially from earlier in 2025. For higher-end builds, kits like the Corsair Dominator Titanium RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6400 offer premium performance and aesthetics.
For those still on DDR4 platforms, options like the Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-3200 or the G.SKILL Ripjaws V 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-3600 remain available, though at significantly higher prices than they commanded earlier in the year.
Keep in mind that memory pricing is highly volatile right now, with prices sometimes changing weekly. It’s worth checking multiple retailers and considering price tracking tools, though the overall trend remains firmly upward regardless of where you shop.
The Bigger Picture: AI’s Hidden Cost
The RAM shortage represents something larger than just expensive computer components. It’s a visible manifestation of how transformative technologies create ripple effects throughout entire supply chains. AI development is progressing incredibly rapidly, unlocking capabilities that seemed impossible just a few years ago. But that progress comes with costs that extend beyond the massive electricity consumption and data center buildouts.
Consumer technology is effectively subsidizing AI development through reduced access to memory components. The same manufacturing capacity that once primarily served consumer needs has been reallocated to fuel the AI boom. This isn’t necessarily wrong—AI has tremendous potential to solve important problems and create value. But it does mean that ordinary PC builders are paying a literal price for that progress.
The question going forward is whether this represents a permanent shift in the semiconductor industry’s priorities or a temporary dislocation that will eventually rebalance. If AI demand remains as strong as projections suggest, we may be entering an era where consumer computing takes a permanent backseat to enterprise and AI infrastructure. The PC market would adapt to this new reality, but it would mean accepting higher baseline costs for components that were once commodity items.
Historical Context Matters
It’s worth remembering that the memory industry has survived dramatic cycles before. The 2017-2018 price surge eventually corrected, sometimes dramatically. In 2019, oversupply led to steep price crashes that hurt manufacturers’ profitability. The industry tends to overcorrect in both directions—first restricting supply and driving prices up, then ramping production too aggressively and creating gluts that crash prices.
There are already hints that something similar could happen again. Some analysts warn that if manufacturers fail to regulate capacity effectively and rebuild excess inventory, the industry could see another pile-up and price declines after the current cycle. The challenge is timing that inflection point.
If AI demand weakens faster than expected, or if the massive capacity expansions scheduled for 2027-2028 come online while demand softens, we could see a rapid correction. But betting on that timing is risky for anyone who needs memory now.
Conclusion
RAM is expensive right now because of a fundamental realignment in how the memory industry operates. The rise of AI has created unprecedented demand for specialized high-bandwidth memory, pulling manufacturing resources away from consumer products. With only three companies controlling the global market, and all three pursuing the same strategy of prioritizing high-margin AI memory, consumers have been left with dwindling supply and skyrocketing prices.
The situation is unlikely to improve soon. Industry forecasts point to continued price increases through mid-2026, with relief not arriving until new manufacturing capacity comes online in 2027 or 2028. In the meantime, anyone building or upgrading a PC faces difficult choices about whether to pay inflated prices now or wait and potentially pay even more later.
For the PC building community, this represents one of the most challenging periods in recent memory—pun intended. What was once a straightforward component purchase has become a major budget consideration requiring strategic planning. The hobby that many embraced for its cost-effectiveness and flexibility now demands careful market timing and significant financial commitment.
The memory crisis of 2025-2026 will eventually pass, as all supply shortages do. New capacity will come online, AI demand will moderate or find efficiency improvements, and market dynamics will shift again. But in the near term, expensive RAM is the new normal, and anyone shopping for memory needs to adjust their expectations accordingly.
The silver lining, if there is one, is that technology continues advancing regardless of component costs. The DDR5 memory that’s expensive today still represents a meaningful performance upgrade over DDR4. When prices eventually stabilize, whether that’s in 2027 or beyond, those who built systems during this difficult period will still have capable hardware that serves them well for years to come.
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