The RAM Price Crisis Just Got Worse — Here’s What It Means for Your Next Laptop

If you’ve priced out a new laptop or a stick of memory lately, you already know something’s wrong. The RAM price crisis has pushed memory costs up as much as 500% over the past year, and it’s starting to show up in the sticker price of phones, laptops, and desktops. Here’s what’s actually driving it, and whether you should buy now or hold off.

Why the RAM Price Crisis Started

Memory chips aren’t just going into your laptop anymore. AI data centers need enormous amounts of DRAM and high-bandwidth memory to train and run large models, and that demand is competing directly with consumer supply.

Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron make almost all the world’s DRAM. Reports from late 2025 showed Micron shifting production capacity toward AI data centers instead of the RAM sticks that go into everyday PCs. When the biggest suppliers redirect output, everyone downstream feels it fast.

How Bad Are RAM Prices Right Now?

The numbers are the clearest way to see it. A 32GB DDR5 kit that cost around $150 last October now sells for closer to $400, and even older DDR4 memory has nearly doubled.

Here’s how current pricing compares to where things stood before the shortage took hold.

Prices vary by retailer and brand, so treat these as ballpark figures pulled from Tom’s Hardware’s RAM price tracker. Even so, the direction is unmistakable: memory is now one of the most expensive parts in any new PC build.

Which Laptop Brands Are Raising Prices

This isn’t staying confined to DIY PC builders buying loose memory sticks. The major laptop makers are already adjusting, each in a slightly different way.

Dell has raised prices on pre-built desktops and gaming laptops by 15–20% since mid-December 2025. Its own COO, Jeffrey Clarke, put it bluntly: “I don’t see how this will not make its way into the customer base.”

Lenovo took a different approach, stockpiling RAM inventory roughly 50% above normal levels to delay the impact. It’s still expected to raise prices on gaming hardware once that cushion runs out.

HP has leaned on existing inventory while quietly cutting memory configurations on cheaper models. That means budget laptops are likely to ship with less RAM than they used to for the same price.

Apple has been the quietest about it publicly, but MacBook Pro configurations with the top-tier M4 Max chip have shown shipping delays of up to two months, while the standard M4 Pro ships within days. That gap is a pretty good sign that high-memory configurations are the ones feeling the squeeze.

Phone makers aren’t immune either — Samsung’s own component costs are part of why the Galaxy S26 FE launched at a higher price than its predecessor.

It’s Not Just Laptops — AI PCs Feel It Too

Memory pricing pressure is also landing on the new wave of AI-focused hardware. Machines built around fast local inference, like Nvidia’s RTX Spark AI PCs, depend on high-bandwidth memory that competes for the same limited manufacturing capacity as everyday DDR5.

Graphics card makers are watching the same trend. Reports suggest Nvidia and AMD are reconsidering budget GPU tiers because rising VRAM costs make cheap cards far less profitable to sell.

Should You Buy a Laptop Now or Wait?

If you genuinely need a laptop for work or school in the next month or two, buying now is the safer bet. Every major forecast points toward prices climbing further before they level off, not the other way around.

If your current machine still works and you’re just eyeing an upgrade, it’s reasonable to wait it out. A few practical moves can soften the blow either way:

Following even one or two of these can save you from paying twice for the same memory upgrade down the road.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is RAM so expensive right now?

AI data centers are buying huge volumes of DRAM and high-bandwidth memory, and manufacturers like Micron have shifted production capacity toward that market. That’s left less consumer-grade RAM available, driving prices up sharply since late 2025.

Will RAM prices go back down?

It depends who you ask. SK Hynix has warned the shortage could last into 2028, while some industry analysts expect meaningful relief within 6 to 8 months. Nobody in the supply chain is promising a quick fix.

Is it worth buying extra RAM now before prices rise further?

If you already know you’ll need an upgrade this year, buying sooner rather than later is generally the safer financial call, since most forecasts point toward higher prices, not lower ones, in the near term.

Does the RAM price crisis affect phones too?

Yes. Phones use the same DRAM supply chain as PCs, and manufacturers have already cited rising memory costs as a factor in recent price increases on flagship devices.

Are laptop makers reducing RAM to keep prices the same?

Some are. Reports point to budget and mid-range laptops shipping with smaller default memory configurations as brands try to hold the line on price instead of passing the full cost increase to shoppers.

Honestly, this isn’t a shortage that’s going to quietly fix itself in a few weeks. If you need a machine now, don’t wait around hoping for a discount that probably isn’t coming; buy what you need and skip the RAM upgrade you were planning to add later. For everyone else, this is a good year to get comfortable with the laptop you already own.