RAM Prices Through The Roof – Thanks AI

As predicted by Marc Thomas earlier this year, RAM prices have continued to increase due to shortages created by the demand from AI developers.

Just 2 years ago, 32 GB of DDR5 RAM would have cost between $100-200, but as you can see from the screenshot below, that price has risen significantly, and these particular RAM deals are on a special:

Remember, not too long ago, when GPU prices went through the roof due to the demand from Bitcoin operations? The situation with RAM is very similar in that the law of supply and demand has taken over.

AI development requires masses of RAM, and the major players have plenty of financial resources to meet the rising prices, leaving us poor old home users to pick up the crumbs.

The exorbitant cost of RAM has obviously flowed on to the price of new PCs. It wasn’t all that long ago when I could have bought a whole new mid-level PC for around $700.00.

But, as Marc pointed out in his article, rising RAM prices affect much more than just PCs, with RAM chips included in SSDs, graphics cards, mobile phones, laptops, tablets, automotive products, game consoles, and much more.

The irony is that most of your average home users are not all that thrilled with AI, certainly not as enamored with AI as the likes of Microsoft and Google appear to be, but it is we humble home users who are left to pay the price.

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BOTTOM LINE:

As AI development ramps up, and is still a long way from perfection, I cannot foresee the situation with RAM prices improving. Indeed, I’m pretty sure it can only get worse.

I’ll be hanging on to my existing PCs for as long as possible; no new machines in my immediate future. And refurbished PCs are looking better by the month.

As always, your thoughts via the comments are most welcome.

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