How Did RAM Get So Expensive?!

Updated:04:42 PM CET Feb,25

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Gameguru Mania News - Jan,01 2026 -

How Did RAM Get So Expensive?! - tech
(hx) 11:42 AM CET - Jan,01 2026 - Post a comment / read (6)
AI...The Answer is AI, but hey why not make a ranting video about why RAM prices skyrocketed and how this is much bigger than many people realize. Things may get worse for gamers, car enthusiasts and many more.

Note: Major manufacturers (Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron) largely phased out or drastically reduced DDR4 production by the end of 2025 to reallocate fabs to newer standards. This created severe scarcity for legacy systems still relying on DDR4 (e.g., older AMD AM4 platforms or budget builds). Panic buying and stockpiling further drove up spot prices, sometimes making DDR4 more expensive than equivalent DDR5 kits temporarily. Although DDR5 is the current standard, production capacity is limited because manufacturers prioritize high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and high-capacity server DDR5 for AI accelerators (e.g., NVIDIA GPUs). HBM production consumes roughly 3x more wafer capacity per gigabyte than standard DDR5/DRAM, effectively reducing output for consumer-grade modules. Strong demand from AI servers spills over, constraining supplies for PCs and laptops.
In October 2025, OpenAI signed preliminary agreements (letters of intent) with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix—the two largest DRAM manufacturers, controlling ~70% of the global market—to support its massive Stargate AI data center project. These deals focus on scaling production of advanced memory chips, with OpenAI's projected demand potentially reaching up to 900,000 DRAM wafers per month by 2029. This volume is estimated to represent roughly 35-40% of projected global DRAM wafer capacity at that time (based on 2025-2029 forecasts of ~2.2-2.5 million wafers per month total).

last 10 comments:

psolord	(10:12 AM CET - Jan,02 2026 )
Well I got my Poco X7 Pro at 266 and a couple weeks later jumped to 433 euros. So there's that. I ain't buying shit for the whole 2026.

heretic

(10:57 AM CET - Jan,02 2026 )

psolord> Well I got my Poco X7 Pro at 266 and a couple weeks later jumped to 433 euros. So there's that. I ain't buying shit for the whole 2026.

Hey, I've read nothing but praise for this, and for the price, it's a no-brainer for someone who just wants a phone. I currently have an S23 Ultra, and I hope it lasts me a while longer. I would definitely like the latest ZFOLD 7 (for me, it's basically a replacement for my laptop when I'm visiting clients). But I'm not going to pay six times as much as the Poco X7 Pro costs, I'm not crazy!

What are your impressions of the phone? I assume you uninstalled all the apps that don't need to be there (surely the phone allowed you to do that, right?). Maybe the only thing I would miss is the Samsung AI, I use it quite a bit for photos sometimes.

Sabot	(11:39 AM CET - Jan,02 2026 )
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1dzdndzlxqo Everything is screwed. If it ain’t making money, they go to the quickest that is. My wife’s DDR5 bought £61 now £285 for her gaming laptop. Mine Corsair vengeance DDR 5 £109 now £385

heretic

(12:05 PM CET - Jan,02 2026 )

Sabot> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1dzdndzlxqo

Everything is screwed.
If it ain’t making money, they go to the quickest that is.
My wife’s DDR5 bought £61 now £285 for her gaming laptop.
Mine Corsair vengeance DDR 5 £109 now £385

Those prices are really crazy. Massive price increases... DDR5, DDR4, but also SSDs :- (It's going to be an interesting year! Besides, developers have completely stopped optimizing... so 16GB for Windows 11 office work is now basically the minimum rather than some extra luxury; ideally, you should have 32GB. The same goes for games. But at those prices, a lot of people will stick with 8GB, so they'll suffer. I myself now have 32GB in my PC and I don't feel like it's enough :-(

Sabot

(12:15 PM CET - Jan,02 2026 )

heretic> Sabot> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1dzdndzlxqo

Everything is screwed.
If it ain’t making money, they go to the quickest that is.
My wife’s DDR5 bought £61 now £285 for her gaming laptop.
Mine Corsair vengeance DDR 5 £109 now £385

Those prices are really crazy. Massive price increases... DDR5, DDR4, but also SSDs :- (It's going to be an interesting year! Besides, developers have completely stopped optimizing... so 16GB for Windows 11 office work is now basically the minimum rather than some extra luxury; ideally, you should have 32GB. The same goes for games. But at those prices, a lot of people will stick with 8GB, so they'll suffer. I myself now have 32GB in my PC and I don't feel like it's enough :-(

That was 32GB matched that i bought 2year ago for £109
My wife was 16GB DDR5 so she too has 32GB.
It’s unsustainable. The article that i posted from the BBC quotes some interesting info that medical equipment will suffer which is serious. 500% increase is ludicrous and over a grand for 64GB isn’t going to happen.
My whole NEW build that i built myself, was just over £800 2 years ago.

Imagine what builders are going to *try* and sell inc labour. I can see lots going out of business by the end of ‘26

Tom	(05:57 PM CET - Jan,02 2026 )
My PC will last me for years to come, I've had it for years already. But I'm not into 4K, 2K is more than plenty. My hardware can handle any game. It will handle any game coming in 2026 and 2027 easy. These companies are all ruining the future of gaming because of their greed. It will be a hobby for the rich as it's already becoming.