The Big Memory Squeeze Is Coming
The world of computer memory is heading into a serious crunch, and it is not just a quiet background issue. According to analysts at Counterpoint Research, a growing shortage of commodity DRAM is colliding with a huge new wave of demand from Nvidia, and the result could be a big price jump across the entire industry.
At the center of this story is LPDDR5X. This is a fast and power efficient type of memory that started out mainly in high end smartphones and mobile devices. Now it is rapidly becoming a favorite choice for advanced AI hardware. Nvidia is expected to ramp up its use of LPDDR5X so aggressively that it could magnify an already tightening supply situation.
Why does this matter for you? Because as the DRAM market tightens, it affects everything from gaming PCs and laptops to cloud servers and AI rigs. Counterpoint Research warns that server RDIMMs, the memory modules used in data center systems, could become about twice as expensive by 2026 if current trends hold.
In simple terms, memory is getting more expensive to build, more in demand than ever, and Nvidia is about to step on the gas pedal.
How Nvidia and LPDDR5X Shift the Market
To understand what is happening, it helps to look at how DRAM production works. Memory makers invest massive amounts of money to build and upgrade fabs. When demand is weak, they cut back on production or delay upgrades to avoid oversupply. When demand suddenly surges, there is no instant way to bring a lot more capacity online.
Today the DRAM market is already tightening. Commodity DRAM, which includes the mainstream chips that end up in everything from desktops to low cost servers, is becoming harder to find at low prices. At the same time, Nvidia and other AI hardware vendors are aggressively scaling up their products to feed the AI boom.
LPDDR5X plays a key role here. It offers:
- High bandwidth so it can feed powerful GPUs and accelerators with data very quickly
- Lower power draw compared to older memory types which makes it great for high density systems
- Smaller physical size which is crucial when you are cramming more compute into the same rack space
Nvidia is expected to buy huge amounts of LPDDR5X. That demand does not exist in a bubble. When chip makers shift more of their limited production capacity toward LPDDR5X to serve these big AI customers, there is less room for other DRAM products. This can pinch the supply of more traditional modules that everyday servers and PCs use.
The result is a chain reaction. As advanced LPDDR5X consumes more capacity, other memory types face tighter supply, and prices for everything can start climbing. Vendors that build servers, gaming rigs, and workstations are then forced to pay more for the same amount of memory, and those higher costs tend to roll down to buyers.
Why Server Memory Could Double in Price
Counterpoint Research is sounding the alarm specifically about server RDIMMs. These are registered DIMMs, a type of high reliability memory module used in data centers and enterprise servers rather than typical home builds. They are critical for cloud services, big data, and AI training farms.
According to their forecast, prices for server RDIMMs could end up roughly twice as high in 2026 as they are today. Several factors are pushing in that direction:
- Exploding AI and cloud workloads Big tech players are racing to expand their data centers to support AI services, streaming, and online gaming. Every new server usually comes with more memory than the last generation.
- Shift to higher density modules Modern CPUs and accelerators support more memory channels and higher capacity DIMMs. That means more chips per module and higher cost per stick.
- Limited DRAM fab expansion Building or upgrading fabs is slow and expensive. Even as demand rises fast, supply growth is much more gradual.
- Nvidia driven LPDDR5X pull As DRAM makers chase premium orders for LPDDR5X and other high value products, standard server DRAM competes for the remaining production room.
If this plays out, cloud providers and enterprise customers will have to rethink how they design systems. Instead of simply throwing more memory at every workload, they may become more selective, relying more on optimization, compression, and memory aware software design to keep costs under control.
For gamers and enthusiasts, this could show up as higher prices for prebuilt systems, especially those aimed at content creation and AI assisted workflows. High end desktops that double as small AI labs or creator rigs often use the same types of DRAM chips that server modules are based on, just packaged differently.
On the flip side, memory manufacturers will likely enjoy better margins and may prioritize premium products. We could see more focus on advanced memory technologies and faster adoption of new standards as vendors chase that higher value segment.
Counterpoint Research is essentially warning the industry to prepare now. Hardware designers, cloud operators, and even gamers planning big upgrades over the next couple of years should expect memory to be a bigger slice of the overall budget.
The bottom line is that DRAM is becoming the new hot contested resource in the AI era. With Nvidia pulling hard on LPDDR5X and data centers hungry for more capacity, the calm days of cheap memory might be on the way out, and 2026 could be the year everyone really feels it.
Original article and image: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/dram/nvidias-demand-for-lpddr5x-could-double-smartphone-and-server-memory-prices-in-2026-seismic-shift-means-even-smartphone-class-memory-isnt-safe-from-ai-induced-crunch
