RAM has always been a core part of digital computing systems, from desktop systems to smartphones. Despite this importance, it’s rarely been the most expensive part of any build. This could now be changing, with RAM seeing massive price hikes affecting significant portions of the computing hardware markets.
Why the Price Hikes?
As with the reason for so many modern problems with digital systems, the answer primarily comes down to AI. The same systems, businesses, and fabrication facilities that produce consumer RAM can also produce RAM for AI platforms. With such a drive for AI in recent years, RAM developers are shifting tack, focusing on catering to AI. This limits supply for consumers, which, in turn, increases price. While RAM isn’t the only component affected by AI, it is one of the most important ones.
According to data measurements taken over the last few months, prices of RAM kits over the last few months of 2025 have already skyrocketed. In these measurements, a single set of Patriot Viper Venom 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR-6000 RAM went from $49 in August of 2025 up to $189 in December. This illustrates a nearly 4X price increase, and alongside the cost of solid-state storage drives, these leaps aren’t uncommon.
Will More Expensive RAM be a Problem?
The answer to this question ultimately depends on what you use your current system for, how demands might grow, and if you intend to upgrade. RAM prices might not affect you at all, or they could cause serious issues for your plans.
On one end, consider if you’re the type of person who already owns a low-mid range phone, but you only use your devices for less demanding software, like social media or online casino gaming. If you’re a big fan of experiences like bingo online UK games, then you won’t have anything to worry about. Titles like Triple Gem Treasure and Big Bass Reel Repeat are efficient enough to run at full speed even on older devices. These games are unlikely to jump in requirements any time soon, either, so device upgrades aren’t necessary, and RAM price jumps won’t matter.
The people most affected by RAM increases will be those purchasing the coming line of phones, or people looking to put together their own PCs, or upgrade older ones. This process involves buying and installing the RAM individually, which will be vastly more expensive now than it was a few months ago. With similar price jumps in solid-state memory, upgrading to the newest tech is less cost-effective than it has been in a very long time. For users on any kind of budget, this will be a serious problem.
A Potential Solution
With a formerly major name in the RAM production space, Micron, ending its sales to consumers, the direction of price increases doesn’t seem to be slowing down. If patterns continue as they’re doing right now, the viability of reasonably-priced upgrades for digital platforms will continue to decrease. All of this hinges on one central point: continued investment in AI.
As touted as AI is, it rarely meets the potential that AI hardware developers and marketers like to espouse. According to a recent report from MIT, 95% of recent business investments into generative AI are seeing no return on investment. This is coupled with big AI companies gambling huge amounts on development, but seeing little return. OpenAI is bringing in around $13 billion annually, for example, which seems significant. Factoring in its commitment of more than $1 trillion, however, and balancing the books seems less likely.
While we can’t make any definitive predictions about the ultimate fate of AI, experts in hardware space have noted that a pop of an AI bubble, if it is indeed a bubble, might be the only realistic solution for rising memory costs. Whether this happens, when it could happen, and its net positive or negative effects on the rest of our lives, those are questions we don’t really have any answers for.
