RAM Prices Set To Rise A Further 50% This Year

RAMageddon!

Back in August 2025, you could pick up a 32GB Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 kit for around $95. Today, that same kit will cost you over $400. That’s more than the cost of a PlayStation 5 Pro and is an indication of how the rise of AI and the surge in demand from data centres for memory chips has hit the market with a bang.

Not only that, but production of DDR4 RAM is predictably in decline, so if you still run an AMD AM4 or similar Intel platform, you’d be well advised to hang on to it for the foreseeable future, and I am doing just that, putting my aspirations to upgrade to AM5 on hold.

RAM Prices Impact More Than Just PCs

RAM chips are everywhere – in PCs, SSDs, graphics cards, mobile phones, laptops, tablets, automotive products, game consoles, and much more, so the knock-on effect will undoubtedly mean higher consumer prices across the board. I had a recent experience of a 500GB SATA SSD fail after six months of use, and when I returned it to the shop, I was doubtful if they would replace it, so I asked about the price of a new one. I was shocked when told that it would be more than four times what I paid last August. Fortunately, good sense prevailed, and they replaced it with no drama attached.

What many people don’t know is that RAM production is a monopoly controlled by just three companies – Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology – and clearly, their priority is to supply the big names such as Google, Microsoft, and others, leaving us to eat their crumbs. This is, of course, very reminiscent of the Crypto/GPU fiasco during the dreaded pandemic, which gave scalpers an open playing field to rip off the unwary. But from what I can gather, RAMageddon is set to continue well into 2026, so if you’re desperate for RAM, you’d be well advised buying today, and if you do, make sure it’s a kit of say, 2×16 GB or 2×32 GB – if you can afford it!

—