The Reason Why RAM Prices are So High Now

Have you looked at a PC recently and saw such a high price? Low-end computers are going for thousands, when they were only a few hundreds only months ago. Well, the main reason for this is the RAM prices going up exponentially. Six months ago, a typical DDR5 32GB Kit would've gone for $80, maybe $130 max. Now, the price is at $600, a 362% price increase! Even a low end 16GB DDR4 Kit was $25, now it's $114+. RAM stands for Random-Access Memory, the building blocks for your computer to run applications, open files, and let you go on the internet.

On December 3rd, 2025, Micron Technology, the top three major RAM manufactures in the world, announced they would cut their consumer-based brand Crucial, instead turning their focus onto supplying memory and storage to AI data centre customers. As a brand move, it makes sense, as they can make a whole lot more profit focusing on AI companies who naturally pay more than the average Joe.

While I was going to make this article and publish it for April 1st, I have just discovered that the RAM prices are actively dropping! DDR5 prices have dropped 20% after peaking on January 2026 - and they're dropping rapidly! Even with this news, Apple still made the MacBook Neo. With 8GB of ram, it may not be the best, but it's still something.

Also, in case you were suffering with just the cost of RAM, SSDs (Solid State Drive) and even HDDs. Since December, an average SSD cost double or even triple then what they were in December. According to Stevie Bonifield at TheVerge, a WD Black SN850X 2TB SSD was $175 in 2024 (and that was considered a lot), but now, that same SSD costs a mind-blowing $649. A 4TB Samsung 990 Pro SSD costed $320, but now that will run you almost $1500, as of April 8th at BestBuy.

So, finally, what will happen to the RAM market? Well, tough luck if you didn't buy a quality PC or RAM before the boom of AI. Honestly, I wouldn’t wait it out, even if it is tripled in price, I cannot tell the future, so I would buy it even with market price. However, if I am wrong and suddenly it goes down 100%, don't blame it on me. Thank you for reading the Hound's cover on the spike of RAM. What do you think?