RAM Prices Just Took a Hard Drop, But It's Still 5x More Expensive Than a Year Ago

China has just seen its first significant drop in laptop DDR5 RAM prices since the beginning of the year. We're talking about 16GB SO-DIMM modules — exactly the kind most commonly used in gaming and productivity laptops. According to industry tracking sites, such a kit dropped by 34% in just two months, which is about $87.

Back in February 2026, a 16GB DDR5 SO-DIMM in Chinese retail cost about 1,759 yuan ($257). By the end of April, that price had fallen to 1,159 yuan ($169), marking the lowest level so far this year. But don't get too excited about a return to normal pricing just yet — even after this discount, RAM is still many times more expensive than before the global shortage.

For comparison, back in June 2025, the exact same module was selling for just $36. That means today's price is still nearly five times higher than last year's. What exactly caused this movement? Insiders aren't saying. It might be a local correction as some retailers work through bloated inventory, or a temporary drop in demand for laptop upgrades. But so far, there's no broad trend toward sustained DDR5 price declines — neither in China nor elsewhere.

The DRAM market right now is highly volatile. In Germany, for example, a similar price drop was seen on several DDR5 kits back in March, but prices partially rebounded just a couple of weeks later. In April, some kits kept getting cheaper, others went back up, and the average DDR5 module price in most countries remains 4–5 times above pre-crisis levels. The main reason behind this mess? Major memory makers are pivoting production to fulfill AI data center orders. As long as server demand stays high, consumer memory supply remains limited — and that keeps prices inflated.

April's price drop in China could be the first notable correction episode of 2026, but it's not a market reversal. Whether this turns out to be a one-off or the start of similar price drops across other product lines and countries — that's still an open question. Given how unstable the market is, don't be surprised if we see prices bounce back up as soon as May.

What's your take on the current state of RAM prices — do you think we'll see DDR5 return to spring/summer 2025 levels anytime soon, or is this going to be a long-term shortage? Drop your thoughts in the comments.