Recently, a few our clients have commented on the high price of RAM, so we thought we’d take the chance to explain global price pressure in detail here. If you’ve checked the prices of a new laptops, or component upgrades and been surprised by the cost, you’re not imagining things. Since late 2025, the world has been living through what analysts have taken to calling “RAMageddon” — a memory chip shortage severe enough that manufacturers are warning of double-digit price increases across nearly every category of device. Here’s what’s actually going on and what it means if you’re due an upgrade.analysts have taken to calling “RAMageddon” — a memory chip shortage severe enough that manufacturers are warning of double-digit price increases across nearly every category of device. Here’s what’s actually going on and what it means if you’re due an upgrade.
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What’s causing it
Unlike previous memory shortages, which were typically tied to pandemic-era logistics problems or short-lived spikes in consumer demand, this one is structural , meaning it isn’t expected to correct itself quickly.
The root cause is the artificial intelligence boom. Data centres training and running large AI models require enormous quantities of high-bandwidth memory, and a single AI server can consume as much advanced memory as dozens, or even hundreds, of ordinary laptops combined. As cloud giants have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into AI infrastructure, memory manufacturers have shifted their production lines to prioritise the pricier, higher-margin chips those data centres need — leaving less capacity for the standard DRAM and NAND flash that goes into everyday consumer devices.
The scale of the price movement has been dramatic. Industry tracker TrendForce has reported DRAM contract prices climbing by roughly 90–95% quarter-on-quarter in early 2026, with further sharp increases forecast for the following quarter. Gartner has estimated that DRAM and SSD costs could rise by as much as 130% across the course of the year.
Case Study
One client recently came to us with a slow-running laptop, convinced the needed an upgrade. Before agreeing to this, we took a look at the system with client and found masses of old data, unused software and other ‘bloatware’. We gave the laptop a spring-clean and cleared over 130gb of data. Removing this and updating all the drivers left the client with a faster machine and no need to purchase more memory.
Who feels it first
- PC and laptop buyers. Major manufacturers including Lenovo, Dell, HP, Acer, and Asus have already flagged price rises in the range of 15–20% for 2026, with some analysts warning it could climb higher still as component shortages deepen.
- Smartphone buyers, particularly at the budget end of the market, where thin profit margins leave little room to absorb rising component costs.
- Businesses and IT departments, who are facing longer lead times on hardware replacement and higher costs for enterprise-grade memory used in servers and workstations.
- Gamers and enthusiasts, who have seen some hardware launches delayed as manufacturers struggle to secure memory at viable prices.
There’s also a quieter casualty: the “AI PC” itself. These are machines built around a neural processing unit and typically require more RAM than a conventional laptop to run on-device AI features. Just as the industry needs to fit more memory into these systems, that memory has become the hardest and most expensive component to source.
Why this feels different from past shortages
Memory shortages aren’t new — the industry has always been somewhat cyclical, with periods of oversupply followed by tighter markets. What’s unsettling analysts this time is the underlying cause. Previous shortages eased once supply chains recovered or demand normalised. This one is being driven by a structural shift in what memory manufacturers choose to build, and as long as AI infrastructure spending keeps climbing, there’s little incentive for that capacity to swing back towards consumer-grade chips. Most forecasts now stretch the expected recovery into 2027, and some into 2028.
What you can actually do about it
If you’re not in a position to buy new hardware immediately, there are a few sensible ways to manage the squeeze:
- Hold off on non-essential upgrades if you can. If your current machine is functional, waiting out the worst of the price spike may be worth it, provided security support for your operating system isn’t a concern.
- Buy memory now if you know you’ll need it. If you know you need to upgrade soon, best not to wait – buy now – prices aren’t going to go down.
- Check what you actually need. Not every task benefits from maxing out RAM. If your bottleneck is genuinely storage or an ageing processor, spending scarce budget on memory alone may not solve the problem.
- Consider extending the life of existing hardware. Cleaning out software bloat, upgrading a drive to an SSD, or simply keeping a machine well maintained can buy meaningful extra time before a full replacement becomes necessary.
- Expect base specifications to shrink. Some manufacturers may respond to the shortage by quietly reducing the amount of RAM in standard configurations rather than raising prices outright, so it’s worth checking specs carefully rather than assuming like-for-like replacement.
The bigger picture
This shortage is a useful reminder of how tightly connected consumer electronics now are to the infrastructure behind artificial intelligence. The memory chip in a £600 laptop and the memory powering a data centre training the next large language model are, increasingly, competing for the same production lines. Whether that changes as manufacturers build out new capacity, or as AI compression techniques reduce how much memory these systems actually need, remains to be seen. For now, though, the sensible approach is the same one that applies to most hardware decisions: plan ahead, buy what you need rather than what you can, and don’t assume prices will be any lower next quarter. And don’t forget, PC Mac Fix has access to prices which aren’t normally available to consumers, so its always worth asking us to quote, should you decide that you do indeed need an upgrade.
