RAM costs have soared, which is unhealthy information for folks curious about shopping for, constructing, or upgrading a pc this yr, however it’s possible excellent news for folks exasperated by discuss of so-called AI PCs.
As Ars Technica has reported, the rising calls for of information facilities, fueled by the AI growth, have led to a scarcity of RAM and flash reminiscence chips, driving costs to skyrocket.
In an announcement at this time, Ben Yeh, principal analyst at know-how analysis agency Omdia, stated that in 2025, “mainstream PC reminiscence and storage prices rose by 40 p.c to 70 p.c, leading to value will increase being handed by to prospects.”
General, world PC shipments elevated in 2025, in response to Omdia, (which pegged progress at 9.2 p.c in comparison with 2024), and IDC, (which at this time reported 9.6 p.c progress), however analysts count on PC gross sales to be extra tumultuous in 2026.
“The yr forward is shaping as much as be extraordinarily unstable,” Jean Philippe Bouchard, analysis VP with IDC’s worldwide cellular gadget trackers, stated in a press release.
Each analyst companies count on PC makers to handle the RAM scarcity by elevating costs and by releasing computer systems with decrease reminiscence specs. IDC expects value hikes of 15 to twenty p.c and for PC RAM specs to “be lowered on common to protect reminiscence stock available,” Bouchard stated. Omdia’s Yeh expects “leaner mid to low-tier configurations to guard margins.”
“These RAM shortages will final past simply 2026, and the cost-conscious a part of the market is the one which will probably be most impacted,” Jitesh Ubrani, analysis supervisor for worldwide cellular gadget trackers at IDC, instructed Ars through e mail.
IDC expects distributors to “prioritize midrange and premium techniques to offset larger part prices, particularly reminiscence.”
RAM costs have soared, which is unhealthy information for folks curious about shopping for, constructing, or upgrading a pc this yr, however it’s possible excellent news for folks exasperated by discuss of so-called AI PCs.
As Ars Technica has reported, the rising calls for of information facilities, fueled by the AI growth, have led to a scarcity of RAM and flash reminiscence chips, driving costs to skyrocket.
In an announcement at this time, Ben Yeh, principal analyst at know-how analysis agency Omdia, stated that in 2025, “mainstream PC reminiscence and storage prices rose by 40 p.c to 70 p.c, leading to value will increase being handed by to prospects.”
General, world PC shipments elevated in 2025, in response to Omdia, (which pegged progress at 9.2 p.c in comparison with 2024), and IDC, (which at this time reported 9.6 p.c progress), however analysts count on PC gross sales to be extra tumultuous in 2026.
“The yr forward is shaping as much as be extraordinarily unstable,” Jean Philippe Bouchard, analysis VP with IDC’s worldwide cellular gadget trackers, stated in a press release.
Each analyst companies count on PC makers to handle the RAM scarcity by elevating costs and by releasing computer systems with decrease reminiscence specs. IDC expects value hikes of 15 to twenty p.c and for PC RAM specs to “be lowered on common to protect reminiscence stock available,” Bouchard stated. Omdia’s Yeh expects “leaner mid to low-tier configurations to guard margins.”
“These RAM shortages will final past simply 2026, and the cost-conscious a part of the market is the one which will probably be most impacted,” Jitesh Ubrani, analysis supervisor for worldwide cellular gadget trackers at IDC, instructed Ars through e mail.
IDC expects distributors to “prioritize midrange and premium techniques to offset larger part prices, particularly reminiscence.”
