RAM prices will stay high, as 2027 memory production slots are already sold out

2026 has seen prices of computer memory, particularly DDR5 RAM, soar to eyewatering levels. The retail price on a set of 32GB DDR5 RAM is already four times higher than late 2025 levels, now costing well over $400 in August 2026 compared to around $100 in September 2025. Indications are that prices will continue to rise, as demand massively outstrips supply.

The surge in demand has come as AI firms buy up record levels of memory to support their server farms, with the knock-on effect that gamers are paying more for their products, whether building a gaming PC, or buying a laptop, console, or handheld.

Previous analysis has indicated that the memory shortage will last until at least 2030, and a new report from Taiwan's Digitimes once again shows no signs of improvement on the horizon. The story claims that production allocation for DRAM and High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) has now been sold out for all of 2027, across the three main manufacturers.

Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are responsible for the overwhelming majority of global supply, so with their order books filled, there's essentially zero capacity to respond to increased demand - no matter how strong it may be. Unfortunately, any new capacity that opens up is likely to be prioritised towards HBM for AI farms rather than consumer-level DDR5 RAM, as these firms are willing to pay a far larger premium than the average gamer ever could.

If you're building a PC this year or planning a build in 2027, it's sadly increasingly clear that there's no point waiting for prices to drop. If you find a good deal on DDR5 RAM right now, you'd be wise to snap it up on the spot, as retail prices for consumer memory continue to go up. The nightmare continues…