What is RAM even doing right now?
A 357% price increase in just 3 or 4 months!
Looking to finally nab all the parts you want for the new gaming computer build you’ve been saving for? You might have to save a tad longer, due to some pretty insane increases in RAM pricing over the last little while. (We will save talk about SSD’s also taking a hit another time.)
In August, 64GB DDR5 kits were selling for $140-$150. Today, that same 64GB kit is $599 on Newegg (with a 6% Black Friday discount already applied - normally $640). Wild how fast it leaped.
Just to give you a comparison, a 64GB RAM kit now costs more than an entire PlayStation 5 Digital Edition ($399) or Xbox Series S ($399).
So what’s causing the jump? AI companies (Microsoft, NVIDIA, Meta, Amazon, etc.) are absorbing massive amounts of global DRAM production for their AI servers and GPUs, creating direct competition with consumer DDR5 production. Memory manufacturers are prioritizing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI workloads because it’s way more profitable.
If you had any other questions as to why Valve didn’t announce a price yet for the upcoming Steam Machine, I think you can likely point at the volatile price of RAM for your answer. And when that box costs more than you want, you will probably be able to point at RAM as the cause.
Some physical stores like Micro Center have actually stopped displaying fixed prices on RAM entirely because costs are fluctuating so wildly on a daily basis. Essentially, you gotta ask a sales guy and hope that day was better than the last.
Here are things that will cost you less right now than 64GB of RAM: The aforementioned Playstation and Xbox. A Nintendo Switch 2. An iPad. A couple Chromebooks. Google Pixel 7a or 8a. A 55” 4K TV. A high-end Roomba. I could go on.
Prices are expected to continue climbing through 2026, possibly doubling from current levels.
So, what to do. Honestly, unless you are flush with cash, hold off on upgrades for now. If the consumer market gets too hard, I predict there will be an effort to match demand pretty quickly, but there are no guarantees. Thanks, AI Data Centers! You just keep on taking!
Love to hear your thoughts! - Scott
The HBM prioritization is really the hidden story here. Those AI chips need massive amounts of high bandwith memory and the margins on HBM are way better than consumer DDR5. Samsung and SK Hynix are basicaly saying gamers can wait while they rake in datacenter money. Brutal timing for anyone planning a build.
Well put. Its just going to get more rough. Everything must burn so AI can keep living. Next think we will hear is "We found a way to run AI models on monitors, they are 5 grand each now."