Memory loss: As AI gobbles up chips, prices for devices may rise

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NPR

December 28, 2025 6:00 AM ET


The world has a memory problem, thanks to artificial intelligence. The explosion in AI-related cloud computing and data centers has led to so much demand for certain types of memory chips that now there's a shortage. The imbalance is expected to start affecting prices of all sorts of products powered by technology.

"I keep telling everybody that if you want a device, you buy it now," said Avril Wu, a senior research vice president at TrendForce, a Taiwan-based consultancy that tracks markets for computer components. "I myself bought an iPhone 17 already,"

The chips are known as RAM, or random access memory, and are crucial to making sure that things like smartphones, computers and game consoles run smoothly. Chips allow you to keep multiple tabs open in browsers, for instance, or watch videos without them being choppy. Wu said TrendForce's data indicates that demand for RAM chips exceeds supply by 10% – and it's growing so fast that manufacturers are having to shell out a lot more to buy them each month.

Wu said this quarter alone, they're paying 50% more than the previous quarter for the most common type of RAM, known as DRAM – dynamic random access memory. And if producers want the chips sooner, they're paying two to three times more. Wu expects DRAM prices to rise another 40% in the coming quarter, and she doesn't expect the prices to go down in 2026.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/12/28/nx-s1-5656190/ai-chips-memory-prices-ram

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Don't toss the old 1 and 2 GB RAM either

Suddenly older computers are emerging from mothballs and everyone wants a GB or two. Lite OSs abound - Linux, Tiny11, Ubuntu, Fluxbox and more. Some work on systems meant for Win98 or XP. Price of 1GB has more than doubled over the last year.

[Cheezoholic]

3. When this AI crap blows up there's going to be a glut I bet. You are right. I've been repurposing laptops for 20 years

I'm using a 15 year old Acer right now with Linux that can benchmark better than new 800 dollar Walmart specials lol

[BumRushDaShow]

4. "Lite OSs abound - Linux, Tiny11, Ubuntu, Fluxbox and more."

I'm running Raspian on a a headless 4GB Raspberry Pi 4 kit.

Has an apache webserver and weewx app for my weather station data plots.

Looks like this (but with a white case) -



Have been building and fooling around with Linux and other *nix boxen since 1998.

[bucolic_frolic]

5. lol, that's great BumRushDaShow!

Thanks for putting it all out there! with Visuals!

I'm aware of similar technology but couldn't hold a candle to it. But using Linux since my Vista gave up about 2016 I think.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. I have to thank a coworker from back then

First a little Debian, and then Red Hat 5.0 (and I was running that (and Red Hat 5.1) on all sorts of stuff including a hand-off SPARCstation and an old Alpha Workstation that I got off of eBay. Also ran NetBSD on a machine and overclocked some PIII 600 CPUs on caseless mobos (running different Linuxes including Mandrake and my usual SuSE) - all of this for my SETI@Home WU farm.

[Cheezoholic]

2. Bought 64GB's for a new PC build back in early Oct, paid 149 for it on sale. It's 779 right now.

I took 2 sticks out barely used and sold 32GB on a friend's FB page for 250. I had 250 set back for a new tv (my 15 year old one broke). Was able to afford a nice a 4K I can double as a racing monitor lol. Many of us saw this coming like the GPU shenanigans (they still haven't recovered) that started 5 years ago but not this bad. Some of the forums I'm on people grouped together and bought 100 or 200 sticks of RAM then resold them 2-3 months later at up to a 500% increase. Stuff was better than crypto. Every stick of RAM scheduled for production through 2027 is already sold. These Datacenter hogs are screwing everything up because damn near everything uses DDR 4,5 and 6 style RAM now. There were old DDR 4 machines that were warehoused to be destroyed that companies have bought on the wholesale market and are bringing online because facilities are in place and it can be done quickly. People don't realize that bringing a new chip of just about any kinds, but especially CPU, GPU and RAM production facilities online from scratch takes 5 to 7 years. There's really only 2 major producers of RAM right now capable of this crazy demand. Its messed up.

[bucolic_frolic]

7. That's incredible.

I have an old XPMCE to upgrade and already have the RAM. Plan to sell of the old once the upgrade is working. Thanks for the insight to the market!

[tinrobot]

9. Same here. 64GB went from $160 in July to $689

So glad I built that computer when I did. Don't get me started on graphics card prices.

All of this so that a bunch no-talent billionaires can try to put truly creative people out of work.

[Aussie105]

8. Not just RAM prices.

Fast storage in the form of NVMe sticks have gone up too.
Like, double or more.

Chip makers are shifting production to those parts needed for data and AI mega-centres, so even electronic goods manufacturers like phone makers feel the effect.

Result?
Home DIY people hold back the urge to buy the latest, and give older machines a bit of a dust off and start using them again.

It may well be a repeat of the car market during COVID.
People who were regular updaters found what they wanted was too expensive or not available, so they made do with what they had.
When supplies became available again, many people just couldn't be bothered.

Maybe 2027 will see a glut of cheap components in the consumer market.