Memory prices spike up to 400% as AI demand creates global shortage lasting through 2026

RAM and SSD prices are still climbing -- here's our best advice for PC builders

The first few months of 2025 were full of graphics card reviews where we generally came away impressed with performance and completely at a loss on availability and pricing. The testing in these reviews is useful regardless, but when it came to extra buying advice, the best we could do was to

Micron says memory shortage will 'persist' beyond 2026

Micron, one of the three biggest memory suppliers in the world, forecasts rough months ahead for the global RAM supply. As part of its earnings report released on Wednesday, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said "tight industry conditions" across DRAM and NAND flash memory are expected to "persist

Here's why HBM is coming for your PC's RAM -- HBM consumes around three times the wafer capacity of DDR5 per gigabyte, as AI supercharges demand for chips and advanced packaging

Surging prices, diverted wafer capacity, and multi-year delays in relief are pushing memory out of reach for consumers. As we detailed in October, the memory and storage markets were expected to face significant supply constraints. In the months following, DDR5 prices have skyrocketed. Kits that

Buckle up, memory prices aren't easing anytime soon

If you were hoping for some relief from stratospheric memory pricing, don't hold your breath. DRAM prices aren't expected to peak until at least 2026, TechInsights analyst James Sanders tells El Reg. DRAM is an incredibly broad category and includes everything from the DDR5 found in desktops and

6 silent victims of the looming memory crisis

If you thought the GPU shortage of 2021 was a headache, we are currently watching hardware OEMs feed the insatiable hunger of artificial intelligence. AI isn't fun chatbots and image generation trends anymore, because it is worryingly vacuuming up every silicon wafer usable for RAM available on

Micron predicts the memory crisis will last beyond 2026, says it can't meet full demand

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. Forward-looking: The memory crisis isn't going to alleviate until at least 2027. That's the opinion of Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, who also revealed that the company will only be able to meet half

Micron says memory shortages won't go away any time soon

Even with its new fabs coming online, demand will exceed supply Memory-maker Micron Technology has predicted that RAM shortages are here to stay, meaning higher prices for servers probably are, too. As The Register has previously reported, memory-makers are shifting production to the

The Worst Thing About the RAM Shortage That Nobody’s Talking About

The ongoing RAM shortageâ€"which is driving up prices on PC components from DRAM to SSDsâ€"hasn’t yet reached its peak. Already, companies are debating how long the price surge will last. The thing is, just because cost inflation may eventually recede, consumers will inevitably be screwed by

AI-driven chip shortage could mean your next smartphone or laptop will have less RAM

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. Facepalm: Next year's batch of flagship smartphones could ship with less memory than devices currently on sale. Worse yet, you may be asked to pay just as much - if not more - for a phone with less

How the AI boom is making your phone, PC and console more expensive

The big picture: AI needs data centers, and those data centers need memory to support their heavy-duty computing. * That insatiable demand has hit an inflection point, where the world's memory makers have little choice but to cut off consumer supplies to feed more lucrative business demand. * The

Rising memory costs could impact your next Android smartphone's price and performance

As memory prices surge worldwide, phone makers are quietly rethinking RAM configurations, a move that could reshape performance, multitasking, and on-device AI in 2026 and beyond. Smartphone specifications are on the verge of moving backward in the near future, not due to a lack of innovation, but

Add it to the pile: G.Skill issues statement on surging DRAM memory prices and the company totally blames AI

G.Skill has issued a statement directly addressing the recent spike in its DRAM memory pricing. The company writes: "DRAM prices are experiencing significant industry-wide volatility, due to severe global supply constraints and shortages." I'll give you three guesses as to who G.Skill says is

DRAM suppliers are the new Santa Claus, HBM is a 'black hole' for DRAM production capacity

TL;DR: DRAM suppliers like Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron control chip allocation amid tight production capacity, driven by surging AI demand for HBM memory. This has caused widespread shortages and soaring prices in consumer PC products, with supply constraints expected to persist until at least

Micron says memory shortages will persist beyond 2026 but 'more memory is essential' for the 'AI experience'

One of the largest memory manufacturers in the world, Micron, has confirmed the obvious: memory shortages are likely to extend beyond next year as manufacturers struggle to keep up with burgeoning demand from AI. "Sustained and strong industry demand, along with supply constraints, are

SK hynix internal analysis warns DRAM supply growth will be tight until 2028

TL;DR: SK hynix forecasts ongoing DRAM supply shortages and high prices through 2028 due to limited consumer market growth and rising AI server demand. Conservative capacity expansion prioritizes profitability amid low inventories, fueling a DRAM super-cycle driven by AI data center growth and

Framework raises its memory prices by 50%, but says 'it is highly likely that we will need to make further price updates...whether DDR5, LPDDR5X, or GDDR'

For those who are just joining us, memory pricing has turned apocalyptic. Case in point, Framework announced it would be raising the price of its DDR5 memory modules for its laptops by 50% to account for the spiking costs the modular laptop brand is seeing from memory distributors and

Memory Suppliers Have Become the New "Santa Claus," Selectively Handing Out DRAM Capacity to Customers, Says Taiwan's Etron Chairman

Well, here's an interesting take on the memory shortages, as Etron's Chairman, Lu Chao-Chun, calls DRAM suppliers like Samsung and SK hynix the new 'Santa Claus'. The memory supercycle is a heated topic in today's world, not only because it showcases the rapid advancement of the AI world, but also

G.Skill Blames AI Industry For Sky-High DRAM Prices; Says "Purchasers Should Be Mindful" Of Prices

It's obvious why the DRAM prices are sky-high these days, and here is what G.Skill has to say about it. One of the most popular memory makers has issued a short statement regarding the increasing prices of DRAM, specifically DDR5, which is the most popular DDR system RAM today. The surge in DRAM

Here's What One of the Largest DRAM Suppliers, SK hynix, Has to Say About the Ongoing Memory Shortage and the Efforts Being Made to Sort It Out

Memory shortages have disrupted the industry on a much broader scale, and given the uncertainity of the situation, we managed to reach out to SK hynix to know about the on-ground reality of the DRAM supply chain. Consumers should be aware of how aggressive DRAM shortages are expected to unfold in

SK Hynix Warns DRAM Supply Growth Will Lag Demand Through 2028

DRAM supply tightness is now expected to continue through 2028, according to one of the world's largest memory makers. The mainstream PC market is bracing for a prolonged memory supply-demand imbalance, which is reportedly going to exist throughout 2028. SK Hynix's internal analysis shows that the

Memory prices are going up 16GB RAM phones may be the first to go

Mid-range and budget phones will be affected, with 8GB becoming the cap for many mid-range models and 4GB making a comeback in entry-level devices. Smartphone brands around the globe are running into a problem, and it can't be patched using clever marketing. As the shortage of the memory