Memory prices are spiking and gaming PCs will feel it
If you were planning to grab a new gaming PC or laptop in 2026, you might want to move sooner rather than later. Major manufacturers including Acer, Asus, Lenovo, HP and Dell are all preparing to raise prices on their systems as memory costs surge across the industry.
Dynamic RAM and storage have become dramatically more expensive over the second half of 2025. Industry reports indicate memory prices jumped by roughly 30 to 50 percent between the third quarter and the middle of the fourth quarter. That might not sound deadly on its own, but it has a very real impact on the total cost of a prebuilt system or gaming laptop.
Acer CEO Jason Chen explained that memory used to represent only about 8 to 10 percent of the bill of materials for a PC. Thanks to sharp price increases, the overall component cost per system has already climbed by around 2 to 3 percent and could rise further if the trend continues.
This is not just a behind the scenes business story. Those higher costs are already being passed directly to buyers in the form of higher prices or lower specifications.
What this means for gamers shopping in 2025 and 2026
Several big PC brands have already warned customers that price hikes are coming. Lenovo and HP previously signaled that their systems will get more expensive. Dell is going even harder, with price increases reportedly reaching up to 30 percent as soon as mid December.
According to new reports, Acer and Asus are now joining that trend. Both Acer boss Jason Chen and Asus co CEO Samson Hu have said there is a clear industry wide consensus: PC prices will be adjusted to reflect the surge in memory costs.
For gamers, that plays out in two main ways.
Higher price tags on prebuilts and laptops
Expect many 2026 models to launch with noticeably higher MSRPs. Dell is already moving in that direction, and Acer and Asus are expected to follow as early as the first quarter of 2026. Even increases of a few percent on the bill of materials can translate to chunky jumps at retail once margins and distribution are factored in.Lower RAM specs becoming more common
Manufacturers may not always want to push prices too high on paper. Instead, some will quietly reduce RAM capacity on base models to keep the sticker price at a more attractive level. Where 16 gigabytes of RAM has become the sweet spot for gaming laptops and many desktops, we may see more 8 gigabyte configurations reappearing in entry level and even mid range systems.
That last point is especially important if you play modern PC games. Titles released in the last few years already run noticeably better with 16 gigabytes of memory, and some big budget games can struggle on 8 gigabytes. If more systems ship with lower RAM to offset costs, buyers who are not paying attention to the spec sheet could end up with a machine that is technically new but quickly feels underpowered.
On top of this, storage pricing has also been affected by similar market forces. So the cost of building or buying a machine with both fast DDR5 RAM and a decent sized SSD has risen significantly, especially at higher capacities.
How long will this last and should you wait
The big question is how long PC gamers will have to deal with inflated prices and compromised specs. Here there is at least a bit of cautious optimism from manufacturers.
Asus co CEO Samson Hu believes that memory prices could start to become a little more sensible sometime during the first half of next year. Acer’s Jason Chen is also hopeful, pointing to increasing production capacity from memory makers in mainland China as a possible stabilizing force. If more supply comes online, it could eventually cool off the current price spikes.
That said, any meaningful relief is unlikely to be immediate. Reports suggest that laptop sales are already expected to drop sharply in early 2026 as a direct response to price hikes. One market analysis points to a potential fall of at least 10 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2026, with a further decline of another 10 to 20 percent possible in the second quarter. Both everyday buyers and large manufacturers are being squeezed by what some are calling a memory apocalypse.
If you are trying to decide when to buy, here are some practical takeaways.
Check RAM capacity carefully
As price pressure grows, more 8 gigabyte configurations will appear. For gaming and general future proofing, aim for 16 gigabytes at a minimum, especially if you play modern AAA titles or like to keep a lot of apps open while you game.Compare prebuilts to DIY builds
Building your own PC will not completely escape higher RAM and SSD prices, but you will at least control exactly where your budget goes. You might choose a slightly older CPU or GPU to afford more memory, for example.Watch for early price moves
Dell is already starting to push prices up, and others are set to follow. If you see a good deal on a well specced machine with 16 gigabytes of RAM or more and adequate storage, it may be worth acting sooner rather than hoping for deep discounts later.Think long term
If you buy under specced now because it is cheap, you may end up upgrading RAM or storage later which will still be affected by these elevated prices. It can be smarter over several years to buy a slightly more expensive but better balanced system upfront.
Overall, the current surge in memory costs is shaping 2026 to be a more expensive year for PC gaming hardware. While there is some hope that things stabilize by the end of the year, anyone planning a new build or a gaming laptop upgrade should pay close attention to RAM and storage specs and be prepared for higher prices as this memory crunch plays out.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-pcs/acer-and-asus-will-also-pass-on-surging-memory-costs-to-the-consumer-highlighting-a-growing-industry-wide-consensus/
