RAMpocalypse drives up prices
It can hardly have gone unnoticed by anyone that the prices of memory chips (both DRACHM for RAM and NAND for storage, have skyrocketed over the past year. Higher capacity memory modules are four to five times more expensive today than they were a year ago.
Price increases of 400 percent are not an everyday occurrence in any industry, much less in the electronics sector, where prices often fall over time. These high prices are having knock-on effects, such as higher prices for other products due to rising costs for manufacturers, and financial difficulties for smaller manufacturers who cannot absorb the higher purchasing prices or raise their own prices enough without losing too many customers.
Almost everything containing memory and storage has become more expensive, particularly computers and components such as graphics cards, but also mobile phones and tablets, game consoles and even routers.
Almost, but not quite, everything. The fact is that there are still product categories in which the usual trend towards increasingly cheaper electronics continues. A clear example is monitors, where today you get much more for your money than a few years ago, and it seems that this trend will continue.
Do you want to play games with a high refresh rate, vibrant colors and deep blacks using an OLED display? As of this writing, for example, you can get 1440p resolution at 240Hz for less than $400 (Gigabyte GO27Q24G).
If, on the other hand, you’re looking for high resolution to ensure text is as sharp as possible, you can get a 4K monitor for $300 or less; for example, the LG 27US550-W and the Samsung Viewfinity S70D. Check out our roundup of the best monitors for more recommendations.
Other exceptions include cases, power supplies, and coolers. Processors and motherboards have long held firm, but now they have also risen in price as manufacturers shift resources toward products for the lucrative data center market.
All signs suggest that memory prices will rise further before stabilizing, and that no price reductions are expected before the end of 2027. So don’t count on prices suddenly returning to more normal levels.
