AI Is Making PC Memory Expensive Again
Just when PC gamers were finally getting some relief from brutal GPU prices, a new problem has arrived. The booming AI industry is driving a major shortage in memory and storage, and it is already pushing up the cost of RAM with SSDs and GPUs likely to follow.
This is not a small or temporary blip. Industry executives are warning that DRAM, NAND, HBM and even HDDs could all be in severe shortage well into the next few years. For anyone looking to build or upgrade a gaming PC, that means higher prices and fewer good deals.
So what exactly is going on, and how bad could it get for gamers?
What Is Causing The Memory Shortage?
The core problem is simple: AI data centers are gobbling up memory and storage at a pace the industry has never seen before. Training and running large AI models needs:
- Huge amounts of DRAM for fast system memory
- Vast SSD capacity for high speed storage
- High bandwidth memory or HBM on AI accelerators
All of this comes from the same limited pool of semiconductor factories that also produce the parts that go into gaming PCs. When AI server customers wave around massive long term contracts, memory makers naturally prioritize them. That leaves less DRAM and NAND available for desktop RAM kits, SSDs and even GPU memory.
On top of that, DDR4 production is winding down as the industry shifts to DDR5. Normally you might expect older tech to get cheaper as it is phased out, but this time DDR4 prices are actually spiking. That is a sign that demand for any kind of DRAM is outstripping supply so badly that buyers will grab whatever they can find.
Major manufacturers like Samsung and SK Hynix are reportedly raising prices for both DRAM and NAND by up to 30 percent in late 2025. SSD and memory maker Team Group has confirmed there is an unprecedented supply shortage, driven by AI and DDR5 server platforms, and says the imbalance is likely to last at least through the first half of next year.
How It Is Hitting RAM, SSDs And GPUs
We are already seeing visible effects on the parts that matter to gamers.
RAM prices are climbing fast
Price tracking sites show DDR4 and DDR5 kits moving sharply higher since mid 2025, with big jumps from around September.
- A popular 32 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5 6000 kit that sat around $95 for most of the year recently shot up to about $184 before selling out, almost doubling in price.
- A 32 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3600 kit that hovered near $70 has spiked to around $160, more than double its old price, and is also sold out.
The gap between DDR4 and DDR5 has mostly disappeared. In some cases DDR4 is now no better value than DDR5 because spot prices for DDR4 have doubled in a matter of days. In other words, there is no safe budget option if you are hunting for memory.
SSD and HDD shortages are brewing
NAND flash, which powers SSDs, is under the same pressure. AI infrastructure usually uses higher end enterprise SSDs, but when supply gets tight, cloud providers dip into consumer grade NAND as well. At the same time, data center demand for old school hard drives has left nearline HDDs in shortage and pushed companies toward SSDs for cold storage too.
Vendors are already warning that DRAM, NAND and even hard drives are in shortage at the same time, something that has not happened for decades. Western Digital has raised HDD prices and shipping delays are stretching to weeks. Consumer SSD prices have not spiked as brutally as RAM yet, but analysis suggests it is only a matter of time before those shortages hit gaming drives hard.
GPU prices will not escape
GPUs use specialized memory, but it still comes from the same foundries and the same DRAM ecosystem that serves AI. As more production lines are retooled for HBM and AI focused memory, there is less capacity for GPU VRAM.
There are already rumours that AMD is raising GPU prices for its partners due to the memory crunch, and retailers are starting to warn customers. One major UK retailer says that:
- 8 GB cards could see around a 15 dollar increase
- 16 GB cards could jump by about 30 dollars once current stock is depleted
System builder CyberPowerPC has also announced that from December 7 2025 it will be increasing the price of all its systems, citing a 500 percent surge in RAM costs and a 100 percent rise in SSD prices. That is a clear sign that the squeeze is already trickling down to prebuilt gaming rigs.
What It Means For PC Gamers
The explosion of AI data centers is powered by mind bending sums of money. Projects like OpenAI’s Stargate plan to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on AI infrastructure over the next few years, and companies like Nvidia, AMD and the big cloud providers are all feeding into that cycle. Memory makers are enjoying record profits and selling out their HBM supply years ahead of time.
For gamers, though, the result is less cheerful. The combination of surging AI demand, slow and expensive fab expansion and the risk of overbuilding means manufacturers are unlikely to add huge new capacity just to lower prices. Analysts and vendors are talking about shortages that could last three to four years, not a couple of months.
Could it all end with an AI bubble bursting and a flood of cheap RAM and SSDs? Maybe, but even the skeptics think that would be several years away. In the meantime, most signs point toward sustained high prices for RAM, SSDs and potentially GPUs.
If you are planning a gaming PC build or upgrade, the short term takeaway is simple. Memory is already getting more expensive, SSDs are likely next and GPU prices are starting to feel the knock on effects. If you see a good deal on RAM, storage or a graphics card, it may be worth grabbing it sooner rather than later because the parts might not be cheaper in 2026.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/memory/ram-and-storage-is-ridiculously-expensive-right-now-because-of-drumroll-ai-of-course-and-theres-little-reason-to-think-prices-will-drop-any-time-soon/
