Starting late last year, and accelerating greatly this year, the RAMpocalypse has been unrelenting in its pressure on RAM. Not only are prices for RAM up by 500% (yes, five hundred, no typo), but all RAM capacity has been sold for all of 2026 AND 2027! Ah, the ceaseless joy of waking up to this news every other day for the last 6 months!

So, what are we to do?

The Sorry State of the World

There is very little good news out there, folks. AI and war have both proven to be persistent, and the situation has not changed in any way: There was no end in sight early in the year, and there is no end in sight now.

1. 1. The Global Conflict Tracker shows 27 global conflicts, of which 2 are improving, while 25 are unchanging or getting worse.
   2. While some generative AI products have shut down, overall the bubble continues to expand.
   3. As a result of the two points above (and related factors), RAM/SSD prices are currently expected to remain inflated till 2030.

The Surprisingly Long List of Good News

So is there any good news? Well, the good news is that there is some good news, including the fact that we have figured out a way to put the phrase “good news” in a short paragraph five times without being awkward. Now, on to the good news!

1. 1. Most other categories of PC parts have become cheaper. Remember the tariffs from last year? These have been somewhat reduced, and as such many PC parts are now reasonable.
   2. DDR4 prices remain decent. Budget builds that use DDR4 remain sane.
   3. RAM was a cheap item to begin with. The price increase is extreme as a percentage, but as long as you are not going for 64GB RAM or higher, the price is still… not-the-most-awful. Ok, it is bad; that cannot be denied… but it is still nothing like the price of a 5090.
   4. RAM pricing for slower speeds appears to have stabilized. Fast RAM is still rising.
   5. The second-hand market is always available. It is not the best, but not the absolute worst, either.

So, if you are buying a budget build, you are fine. If you are buying a normal build, and if you look at the total budget where the RAM increase is offset by everything else being a bit cheaper… you are fine, too. But for those who want a high-end build with lots of speedy RAM, there is no escape: You will pay. A lot.

Going Forward

In other news, no major item has been released by any big player in the last 5 months or so. No Zen 6, no Nova Lake, no 5XXX refresh, RDNA 5 might be a year (or two) late, and Intel’s Celestial might be outright cancelled. Meanwhile, if you are thinking that maybe you will get a console to console yourself till PC gaming is back on the menu, then boy do I have news for you.

The PC parts table on our main page is updated with the latest. Feel free to send us a message letting us know how you feel about the situation!