It's Not Your Imagination: RAM Prices Are Sky High

Dec 19

If doomscrollers have found a source of lamentation for the end of 2025, it’s the affordability crisis. While we’ve seen regular headlines about steep jumps in prices for groceries and consumer goods, one major price spike that’s largely flown under the radar is the price of RAM.

Random access memory, or RAM, is a key element of computing devices of all types. Rather than the lengthier amount of time required to transfer data back and forth to a hard drive, RAM enables keeping necessary data at the ready at high speeds. Traditionally, it’s been inexpensive: enough so that it’s been one of the preferred budget-friendly go-tos for upgrading hardware to enhance performance without needing to be entirely new devices.

Then came the AI boom. Regardless of whether or not it’ll hit a bust anytime soon, the heavy investment in AI data centers and quick data processing has meant that manufacturers are facing heavy demand for RAM, which has had a noticeable impact on the consumer and small-to-medium business market. Several have either announced or are expected to announce that they’ll be leaving the consumer market for RAM entirely.

A recent article in Lifehacker.com by tech editor Michelle Ehrhardt showed price increases of several hundred percent for many once-affordable RAM upgrades.

The increase in RAM prices is, in many ways, analogous to the enormous jump in GPUs during the BitCoin gold rush 2020-2022. While prices stabilized, the increase in cost for what was once relatively run-of-the-mill hardware remained in place.

The news isn’t entirely bad: While custom PC builders and IT departments trying to enhance performance of existing units are feeling the biggest squeeze, some PC manufacturers, including Apple, Microsoft, and Lenovo are keeping RAM prices for pre-built units at near pre-spike levels. Given the unpredictability of the AI market, either holding off on purchasing new RAM or sticking to full-system replacements may be the most cost-effective bet in the long term.

Not sure whether or not to upgrade your RAM or buy new workstations? Trying to figure out what the AI market has to do with your VFX studio? Nodal can help! Contact us today.