DDR5's RAM in stores became 5.6 times more expensive on average than in July 2025. Individual sets were raised by 550%. The price crisis has already affected the old generations of memory, SSD and graphics cards, turning the assembly of a new computer into an expensive pleasure.
The scale of the price showed the October monitoring of the German market of computer components. Analysts compared the minimum retail prices for memory of different standards and volumes with the July 2025 figures, when the current deficit has not yet had time to affect the cost of the equipment. Over the past 15 months, DDR5 has risen in price several times, and the growth has affected almost all categories of modules.
Prices for DDR5-6400 kits with a total volume of 96 GB, consisting of two modules of 48 GB, have grown especially strongly. According to the data, the price increase reached 550%, that is, buyers have to pay 6.5 times the previous amount. High-speed memory of a large capacity, which is installed in powerful game and workstations, was among the most affected categories.
The transition to old standards also does not save from spending. DDR3 and DDR4 average rose by about 220% relative to July 2025, although in absolute DDR4 figures is still significantly cheaper than DDR5. For the owners of computers of previous generations, the situation is particularly unpleasant. Even a simple expansion of RAM is much more expensive, and it is impossible to replace the DDR4 with DDR5 without a compatible motherboard.
The crisis went far beyond RAM. SSD solid-state drives have also been significantly added in price, although they use a different type of chips, NAND Flash. Back in September, the average cost of domestic SSD relative to July 2025 was 125%. The price of the video card also affected the price of which, according to the October estimates, increased by an average of 65% relative to the same comparison base.
At the same time, the indicators reflect the situation primarily in Germany, not the average world prices. Monitoring is based on the cheapest available offers of ordinary retailers collected through the Geizhals price comparison service. Analysts match kits with the same technical characteristics, rather than necessarily the same models of specific manufacturers. Therefore, individual shops and other countries may show different dynamics.
The main reason for the protracted memory deficit remains the rapid growth of demand from data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure. Manufacturers are more profitable to direct production capacity to server DRAM and HBM memory with high bandwidth, which is used by AI accelerators. As a result, conventional computers and consumer electronics get fewer chips, and competition for the remaining supplies pushes prices up.
Memory producers do not yet expect a rapid balance between supply and demand. According to the forecast for the quarter published by TrendForce on September 30, contract prices for ordinary DRAM in the fourth quarter of 2026 may grow by another 10-15%, and on NAND Flash by 15-20%. Particularly strong demand is maintained for corporate SSDs, which data centers buy for the storage and processing of huge data sets.
The increase in cost already forces computer manufacturers to revise the features. Some companies reduce the volume of SSDs in mass laptops in order to keep the final price, and the increase in the cost of RAM further complicates the release of inexpensive models. Consumers are actually paying for the redistribution of production capacity in favor of server equipment, even if they never intended to run neural networks on their own computer.
A quick return to the prices of the summer of 2025 is not yet visible. Expanding memory production requires large investments and time, and demand from the AI industry continues to grow. For buyers, the consequences are practical. The upgrade of a computer, which was recently limited to the purchase of additional RAM or a new SSD, may now require a budget comparable to the cost of a much more serious system update a few years ago.
The scale of the price showed the October monitoring of the German market of computer components. Analysts compared the minimum retail prices for memory of different standards and volumes with the July 2025 figures, when the current deficit has not yet had time to affect the cost of the equipment. Over the past 15 months, DDR5 has risen in price several times, and the growth has affected almost all categories of modules.
Prices for DDR5-6400 kits with a total volume of 96 GB, consisting of two modules of 48 GB, have grown especially strongly. According to the data, the price increase reached 550%, that is, buyers have to pay 6.5 times the previous amount. High-speed memory of a large capacity, which is installed in powerful game and workstations, was among the most affected categories.
The transition to old standards also does not save from spending. DDR3 and DDR4 average rose by about 220% relative to July 2025, although in absolute DDR4 figures is still significantly cheaper than DDR5. For the owners of computers of previous generations, the situation is particularly unpleasant. Even a simple expansion of RAM is much more expensive, and it is impossible to replace the DDR4 with DDR5 without a compatible motherboard.
The crisis went far beyond RAM. SSD solid-state drives have also been significantly added in price, although they use a different type of chips, NAND Flash. Back in September, the average cost of domestic SSD relative to July 2025 was 125%. The price of the video card also affected the price of which, according to the October estimates, increased by an average of 65% relative to the same comparison base.
At the same time, the indicators reflect the situation primarily in Germany, not the average world prices. Monitoring is based on the cheapest available offers of ordinary retailers collected through the Geizhals price comparison service. Analysts match kits with the same technical characteristics, rather than necessarily the same models of specific manufacturers. Therefore, individual shops and other countries may show different dynamics.
The main reason for the protracted memory deficit remains the rapid growth of demand from data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure. Manufacturers are more profitable to direct production capacity to server DRAM and HBM memory with high bandwidth, which is used by AI accelerators. As a result, conventional computers and consumer electronics get fewer chips, and competition for the remaining supplies pushes prices up.
Memory producers do not yet expect a rapid balance between supply and demand. According to the forecast for the quarter published by TrendForce on September 30, contract prices for ordinary DRAM in the fourth quarter of 2026 may grow by another 10-15%, and on NAND Flash by 15-20%. Particularly strong demand is maintained for corporate SSDs, which data centers buy for the storage and processing of huge data sets.
The increase in cost already forces computer manufacturers to revise the features. Some companies reduce the volume of SSDs in mass laptops in order to keep the final price, and the increase in the cost of RAM further complicates the release of inexpensive models. Consumers are actually paying for the redistribution of production capacity in favor of server equipment, even if they never intended to run neural networks on their own computer.
A quick return to the prices of the summer of 2025 is not yet visible. Expanding memory production requires large investments and time, and demand from the AI industry continues to grow. For buyers, the consequences are practical. The upgrade of a computer, which was recently limited to the purchase of additional RAM or a new SSD, may now require a budget comparable to the cost of a much more serious system update a few years ago.
