RAM and SSDs are becoming unaffordable: prices continue to explode - by more than 100 per cent

Kevin Hofer

2/2/2026

Translation: machine translated

The storage industry is currently experiencing an unprecedented price shock. Also to blame: the unchecked hunger for AI computing power.

RAM and bulk memory have already become damn expensive in recent months. There is no end in sight to the price explosion: anyone looking to buy or upgrade a new PC/server in the coming months should dress even warmer. The market research company TrendForce reports dramatic price increases for RAM and SSDs. To an extent that has never been seen before.

PC RAM: over 100 per cent more expensive

The PC sector has been hit the hardest. Prices for DDR RAM are expected to rise by more than 100 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 - compared to the previous quarter. That is a record. Even large PC manufacturers who have fixed supply contracts with memory manufacturers are no longer getting enough RAM. Their stocks are shrinking.

The reason: PC sales in the fourth quarter of 2025 were better than expected. Now there simply isn't enough. As if the AI boom , producers such as Crucial are also shifting their production to HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) and highly specialised enterprise NAND.

Server RAM is also becoming increasingly important.

Server RAM: Bidding war for scarce chips

The server sector is also in a state of emergency. Large cloud suppliers and server manufacturers from the USA and China have been desperately negotiating long-term contracts with memory producers since January. The result: server RAM is expected to become around 90 per cent more expensive. A historic record.

The manufacturers are facing a dilemma: they have to carefully distribute their limited production capacity among the most important customers without alienating anyone.

Smartphone memory: 90 per cent plus

Even smartphone manufacturers are not spared. Prices for LPDDR4X and LPDDR5X memory - the RAM used in mobile phones - are rising by around 90 per cent. That too is a record.

US smartphone brands have already finalised their contracts by the end of 2025. Chinese manufacturers are still negotiating - probably until the end of February, after the Chinese New Year.

SSDs: AI eats up memory

The situation is no better for SSDs. Enterprise SSDs, i.e. high-performance storage for data centres, are set to become 53 to 58 per cent more expensive. Again: a record

The trigger: AI applications need more and more storage space, especially for inference processes. In other words, when trained AI models perform tasks. Large cloud suppliers from the USA have been buying SSDs en masse since the end of 2025. The manufacturers can't keep up.

Will it be even more expensive?

TrendForce warns: Prices could rise even further. The current forecasts have already been drastically revised upwards. Originally, the price of conventional DRAM was expected to rise by 55 to 60 per cent - now it is 90 to 95 per cent.

For end customers, this means that for all those who need hardware, the point of tolerability has probably already been passed. Anyone for whom RAM and SSD are not yet too expensive should buy now at the latest. Or prepare yourself for unaffordable products.

Kevin Hofer

Senior Editor

kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.ch

From big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.

---

News + Trends

From the latest iPhone to the return of 80s fashion. The editorial team will help you make sense of it all.

Show all

These articles might also interest you