Ongoing RAM Shortage and Rising Laptop Prices Expected to Persist Through This Year and Beyond

Ongoing RAM shortage and rising laptop prices expected to continue through this year and beyond, impacting tech markets globally.

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Every time you refresh laptop listings and see prices creeping higher, you are looking at the visible edge of a much larger problem: AI data centers quietly consuming the world’s memory chips and reshaping what you pay for everyday computers.

Why the RAM shortage is hitting laptops so hard

The current RAM shortage did not start in retail stores. It began inside massive AI data centers owned by cloud providers and large platforms. Training and running generative models requires clusters of servers packed with high-bandwidth memory and vast pools of DRAM, far beyond traditional enterprise needs.

As those operators scaled up, memory makers redirected a growing share of their factories toward high-margin high-bandwidth modules. Standard consumer DRAM, which your laptop uses, suddenly moved down the priority list. The same factories, the same wafers and the same engineers now serve a different customer mix, and the result is a tight hardware supply for PCs and notebooks.

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RAM Shortage
RAM Shortage

From AI boom to everyday electronics cost spikes

Industry trackers such as Counterpoint Research indicate that contract DRAM prices jumped by about 80 to 90 percent within a few weeks early this year. This surge followed months of capacity reallocations toward AI workloads. When memory contracts renew at higher levels, PC builders either absorb the hit or pass it on; margins in the PC market leave little room to absorb it.

Memory vendors have made those priorities explicit. Micron, for instance, has signaled that its Crucial-branded DRAM shipments will be wound down in order to serve “larger, strategic customers in faster-growing segments.” That phrase translates directly to hyperscale AI buyers. With a shrinking pool of consumer modules and robust memory demand from servers, the laptop segment must compete for what is left, bidding prices higher.

How AI, chip shortage pressures and supply chains collide

On the surface, this looks like a straightforward RAM shortage. In reality, several technology trends are colliding at once. AI training drives unprecedented memory demand. At the same time, a broader chip shortage in specific process nodes still affects controllers, power management ICs and supporting components used in SSDs and memory modules.

Manufacturers attempt to balance long-term contracts with hyperscalers against volatile consumer cycles. When demand from data centers looks stable and lucrative, capacity for lower-margin retail products is trimmed. This pattern has been described in analyses such as global DRAM memory supply crunch, which highlight how even a small shift in allocation can create noticeable retail scarcity.

The knock-on effects across the PC market

When DRAM and NAND become constrained, laptop makers do not only face higher component prices. They also deal with forecasting risk. A delay or shortfall in one part can stall entire product lines. Some vendors respond with “shrinkflation”: they keep headline laptop prices stable while reducing default RAM or storage configurations to protect margins.

Others are more direct. Reports indicate that brands such as Dell are preparing list price increases of roughly 15 to 20 percent on several PC ranges. Lenovo has signaled similar moves. Analysts quoted in resources like expert warnings about PC price rises suggest that this trend could extend for several refresh cycles, especially for models that rely heavily on DDR5 and high-capacity SSDs.

What rising laptop prices mean for buyers right now

For an individual buyer, the most immediate impact is simple: new laptops with decent specifications cost more than they did a year ago. A midrange configuration that once included 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD might now ship with 8GB and 512GB at the same sticker price. Paying to restore previous levels pushes you into a higher bracket.

This dynamic affects different user profiles in distinct ways. Students and remote workers often feel the pinch first, because they look for machines that balance cost with longevity. Creative professionals and gamers, who already buy higher-spec devices, now face even steeper jumps for configurations with 32GB or 64GB of memory.

Why “buy now” is rational, not alarmist

Executives across the semiconductor industry do not promise quick relief. Some forecasts, echoed by commentary similar to the outlook in analyses of prolonged RAM shortages and higher prices, point toward a more balanced supply only around 2028. That horizon reflects the time required to build new fabs, qualify new processes and diversify supply chains.

For someone already planning an upgrade, waiting in the hope of a price drop becomes a poor bet. You face a period where laptop prices are more likely to climb or specifications quietly degrade. Buying during a promotional window, while monitoring discounts for a few weeks, often secures a better outcome than postponing into another cycle of increases.

How to choose and configure a laptop under memory pressure

The RAM shortage changes how you should evaluate configurations. In the past, buyers often accepted base memory and planned an upgrade later. That strategy becomes risky when standalone modules also inflate in price. Thinking about lifetime needs at the moment of purchase matters more than before.

Most thin-and-light notebooks today use soldered memory, which you cannot expand after purchase. If you expect to keep such a machine for four or five years, choosing 32GB instead of 16GB at the outset can delay performance bottlenecks, especially once operating systems and productivity tools grow more memory hungry.

Smarter configuration strategies under supply constraints

Consider a fictional buyer, Sara, who edits video and runs heavy browser workloads. She examines a premium ultraportable with a Snapdragon-based processor and beautiful OLED display. One configuration offers 16GB of RAM for a lower sticker price, while another offers 32GB for several hundred more. In a normal market, upgrading later might be tempting; under current memory demand, that future upgrade could cost even more or be difficult to source.

For gaming laptops with DIMM slots, the trade-off differs slightly. You can still add modules later, yet the same inflation applies to aftermarket RAM. Configuring the system with 32GB or 64GB from the factory, while prices are known and financeable, often proves cheaper over the full life of the machine. The logic resembles advice in GPU buying guides such as comprehensive overviews of purchasing a GPU, where total platform cost across several years matters more than a single upfront saving.

  • Prioritize higher preinstalled RAM on soldered-memory laptops to avoid expensive future upgrades.
  • Track pricing for several weeks and buy during temporary dips rather than on the first day of research.
  • Accept slightly lower CPU or GPU tiers if that allows you to secure more RAM within budget.
  • Evaluate storage carefully; SSD prices are rising alongside RAM, so 1TB may be a safer baseline.
  • For upgradable systems, fill both memory slots for dual-channel performance and price predictability.

Market forecast: how long will the RAM crunch last?

Industry roadmaps suggest that new fabs and process optimizations are on the way, yet they take years to translate into relief for consumers. Construction, tooling, yield ramp-up and certification all introduce delays. During that period, AI deployments continue to accelerate, absorbing much of the incremental output.

Analyst houses such as IDC describe a scenario where the global memory shortage reshapes smartphone and PC configurations, not only prices. Some manufacturers may deliberately lower default RAM or SSD capacity to hit key price points. Others may push subscription-based cloud features more aggressively, positioning local hardware as a thinner client for remote processing.

The current squeeze on laptop prices also interacts with other supply chain stories. Projects depending on both storage and memory, like certain compact gaming systems and even delayed console-style PCs, face their own postponements, similar to the storage and memory supply challenges described in reports on delays to hardware launches. These illustrate how a constrained component can stall entire categories.

Your practical takeaway is straightforward. For the next few years, you should assume that memory is a premium resource. When evaluating any computing device, from laptops to small form factor PCs, treat RAM capacity and storage not as optional luxuries but as core parts of the investment decision that safeguard performance and value over time.

Why are laptop prices rising faster than other electronics?

Laptop prices are tightly linked to DRAM and SSD costs. AI data centers are buying large quantities of high-performance memory, pushing manufacturers to prioritize server clients. With less supply left for consumer DRAM and NAND, PC builders pay more for components and pass that increase through to retail laptop prices.

Should I wait for the RAM shortage to end before upgrading?

Waiting for a quick correction is unlikely to pay off. Industry leaders and analysts indicate that memory demand from AI and cloud workloads will stay elevated for several years. If you already plan to replace a machine, it is usually better to buy during a good promotion now than to postpone in hope of a broad price drop.

How much RAM is enough for a new laptop purchase?

For basic web and office use, 16GB still works, but 32GB provides more headroom as software grows heavier. Creators, developers and frequent multitaskers benefit from 32GB or even 64GB where available. Because most modern laptops use soldered memory, selecting higher RAM at purchase is often cheaper than upgrading later, if upgrading is possible at all.

Can I save money by buying a laptop with less RAM and upgrading later?

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That approach only works on systems with user-accessible DIMM slots. Many thin-and-light models cannot be upgraded. Even when upgrades are possible, aftermarket modules are affected by the same RAM shortage, so prices may be higher later. For important workloads, configuring extra memory at the factory usually delivers better long-term value.

Will the RAM shortage affect desktops and DIY PCs in the same way?

Desktop and DIY systems are affected, but the impact differs. They rely on separate memory kits, and enthusiasts have more freedom to mix brands and capacities. However, contracts and spot pricing still reflect the global supply situation. Expect noticeable increases in DDR5 kit prices and factor that into total system budgets and upgrade plans.

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