64GB of RAM at the Price of a PS5 Pro: What’s Going On With Memory Costs?

Despite the fact that 2025 has treated us to some excellent releases, it hasn’t been without unpleasant surprises: game and console prices have risen, the Game Pass subscription has become more expensive, and by autumn the prices of RAM sticks suddenly surged — a problem for anyone interested in PC gaming. Let’s break down why RAM is becoming more expensive and what this will affect.

RAM prices had been slowly creeping upward all year, but in October and November things became outright absurd, as DDR5 modules suddenly jumped in price two-to-threefold on average.

In U.S. electronics stores, 64 GB DDR5 kits like Corsair CL30 or G.SKILL Trident Z5 are being sold for $500–600, whereas in summer those same kits would have cost up to $250. In other words, at the moment, 64 GB of DDR5 is $200 more expensive than a standard PlayStation 5, and for just $50 more you could buy a PS5 Pro. And this is a global problem, not something limited to the U.S.

Prices for the older DDR4 standard have also spiked. On November 30, 2024, 32 GB of CORSAIR Vengeance LPX DDR4 cost $50 on Amazon U.S., in June of this year — already $70, and today — a full $150. Again, we’re seeing a threefold increase compared to the same period in 2024.

As for other PC components, things remain relatively calm for now. Although many analysts warn that SSDs and graphics cards may soon rise in price, no major upward jumps are observed at the moment. If anything, in some cases prices are even falling. For example, the popular AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT with 16 GB can be found for $650, whereas back in June it averaged around $900.

People are quick to blame neural networks, and yes, that is indeed the key reason for the RAM price surge. However, it’s important to understand that AI companies are not buying the same DDR5 sticks you see on store shelves. They primarily need high-performance multilayer memory (HBM) and server-grade DRAM. But given the demand for these types of memory from the biggest tech corporations, manufacturers are shifting focus to serve clients willing to pay almost any price to execute their plans.

AI infrastructure is growing faster than production capacity. NVIDIA buys up almost all available HBM output. OpenAI signed a multi-year contract with Amazon Web Services (AWS) worth $38 billion, gaining access to hundreds of thousands of GPUs. Additionally, through the Stargate joint venture (with Oracle and SoftBank participating), OpenAI is deploying several new data centers across the U.S. — by the end of this year their combined planned capacity is expected to reach 7 gigawatts, with a long-term target of 10 GW.

OpenAI also announced a strategic partnership with NVIDIA to deploy no less than 10 GW of next-generation AI infrastructure in the coming years. Naturally, all this server and GPU hardware requires colossal volumes of high-performance memory, which creates a shortage of consumer-grade DDR5 — currently not a priority.

The situation with DDR5 is clear enough, but why is older DDR4 also rising in price? First, demand for it has also grown now that newer RAM has become less accessible. Second, DDR4 modules are becoming increasingly scarce — the standard is in its final years. Manufacturers like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron originally planned to completely discontinue production of the outdated format, but at the last moment decided to prolong its life slightly. However, in a reduced volume — much smaller than before — since most capacity has shifted to other types of memory. The small batches of DDR4 now go primarily to support older servers and embedded systems, not the retail market, hence the shortage.

Alongside the logical reasons for RAM price increases, you can also find explanations online bordering on conspiracy theories. Some users on social media believe that prices have risen due to collusion among manufacturers. After all, the RAM market is controlled by the three aforementioned companies (Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron), meaning that in theory it would be relatively easy for them to manipulate pricing by acting in concert. There’s no evidence that this is actually happening, but it’s not hard to see why such theories emerge.

A far more likely explanation is that manufacturers simply failed to adjust in time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a noticeable shortage of microchips, which led to a strategic decision to ramp up production. When the previous crisis ended, companies producing DRAM faced oversupply and reduced output. Now that AI has caused a sudden spike in demand for RAM, the industry simply hasn’t had time to pivot production back in the other direction. The bad news: the situation is unlikely to improve until 2027.

Looking at such a dramatic price surge, it’s no surprise that people online are panicking and asking how things may develop further. Will prices on all memory-equipped devices skyrocket next? For example, smartphones or consoles. In reality, even if that happens, it will likely be due to other factors like tariffs — not RAM shortage.

When it comes to phones and consoles, long-term supply contracts must be taken into account. Major vendors like Apple, Sony, or Nintendo sign multi-year DRAM procurement agreements, fixing prices years in advance with small allowable variations and largely shielding them from market volatility. These agreements also define volumes, guaranteeing priority allocation even during shortages.

Nobody is going to break these contracts, especially since mobile and console companies are large, reliable, and predictable clients. Furthermore, consoles benefit from another major advantage — their configurations remain unchanged throughout the lifespan of a generation. Production of DRAM for such devices is planned years ahead.

But online, people worry even more about PC components — especially graphics cards, since GPUs use GDDR memory. However, as mentioned above, the GPU market is stable at the moment. Why?

If HBM and consumer RAM compete for the same resources, GDDR does not. It is produced with different technology on separate production lines optimized for extremely high frequencies and wide memory buses. These lines cannot simply be repurposed for regular DRAM, which means shortages do not reduce GDDR output — and, by extension, do not limit GPU supply. In other words, RAM issues are not a valid reason to panic over graphics card prices. Total immunity is impossible, but rushing to buy a GPU “before it’s too late” makes little sense. Technical reviewers rule out a two- to three-fold price increase.

So what does the RAM shortage actually affect? Primarily DDR5 and DDR4 sticks pricing. Eventually, SSD prices may also begin rising aggressively. In theory, prebuilt PCs from smaller companies might become more expensive, but not from giants like Lenovo. The corporation has increased its memory reserves by about 50% due to the shortage and claims it has enough chips stockpiled for all of 2026, which should allow to avoid price hikes on Lenovo products.

For PC owners on DDR5 or DDR4, now is actually a good time to upgrade a graphics card. GPU prices have stabilized at a more or less reasonable level compared to what we saw at the beginning of 2025. But building a new gaming PC from scratch is less attractive today. If you don’t want to overpay for DDR5, your options are to plan a build using older DDR4 (which has increased in price, but is still cheaper than DDR5), look for a good prebuilt deal, or simply wait until 2027, when analysts expect the situation to begin normalizing.

What do you think about rising RAM prices? Share your thoughts in the comments.