The latest technical news and developments regarding the RAM crisis

The 2020s have been a tough decade for gaming hardware so far. Manufacturers barely had time to recover from the various covid-related supply chain issues that crippled the launches of consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, when they faced a new problem: the rise of AI data centers and the RAM they've gobbled up.

In fact, if you've been trying to build a computer in the past few months, I probably don't need to tell you that some components can be hard to come by. Specifically, DDR4 and DDR5 RAM, as well as hard drives and solid state drives, have skyrocketed in price. Frustratingly, these sharp spikes are almost exclusively the result of aggressive global investment in artificial intelligence. Last year alone, AI companies accounted for 61% of all global venture capital investments – representing a total of $258.7 billion. I wish I had better news for you, but I don't: RAM and SSD prices will probably get worse before they get better.

Don't expect the frame shortage to end anytime soon

AI data centers continue to put global RAM supplies in a choke hold

You may have heard about the material impact of AI before. For example, many are eager to point out the enormous amount of water that AI data centers consume. But they also, unsurprisingly, require very hard hardware, including high-bandwidth memory, which is the type of RAM most often used for general-purpose system RAM and VRAM. Again, generative AI is not a cottage industry, so the strain it puts on this market is extremely significant. I'd call it immeasurable, but that's not quite true: analysts have reported that ChatGPT platform holder OpenAI had reserved as much as 40% of global RAM by 2025.

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The result is an increase of between 200% and 400% in RAM prices worldwide, as well as an extreme increase in demand for raw materials used in RAM stick construction, further exacerbating the shortage. Part of this is an increasingly worrying decline in parts available for NAND storage, which is the type of storage used in hard drives and SSDs. This will likely have a knock-on effect for other PC parts as well – expect CPU prices to rise at an abnormally fast rate as well.

There are precious few signs that this trend is slowing; several financial reports have suggested that it will actually accelerate. Take a remarkable 2024 analysis by the well-known management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, which predicted that data center demand could increase by as much as 27% by 2030, requiring nearly five times the power they use today. Such growth would require an unprecedented amount of material for this sector. To put a fine point on that, as of April 2026, Samsung and SK Hynix – which together supply around 90% of global dynamic RAM – have publicly warned that they are unlikely to meet their supply needs until 2027.

Geopolitical factors further complicate component manufacturing and shipping

While their impact on RAM costs is not as significant as that of the AI ​​industry, President Trump's tariffs and escalating global tensions have certainly exacerbated skyrocketing RAM costs. In addition to tariffs and war-related supply chain issues, many tech companies have reportedly scaled back some global trade operations. For example, throughout 2025, when Trump enthusiastically announced a number of tough tariffs and aggressive trade strategies, Samsung and SK Hynix both halted shipments of phased-out semiconductor production machinery to China, where a significant amount of electronics is made. Normally, these machines would play a key role in global technological manufacturing; now the unused ones are in stock.

What gaming hardware will be affected by the ongoing RAM shortage, and for how long?

Steam recently reported that the new Steam Controller was not affected by parts shortages, which is some good news that probably won't apply to most gaming hardware. For now, it's safe to assume that basically every piece of technology that uses RAM or storage will become more expensive in the coming years, and in fact, prices may continue to climb. It may seem like we're deep into this issue now, but we might just be getting started: AI companies like OpenAI are very much in the research and development phase right now – their power and hardware needs will only grow if AI adoption becomes more widespread.

Upcoming gaming hardware likely to be affected by the RAM and SSD crisis

• PlayStation 6

• Project Helix (Next Xbox)

• Steam engine

• Steam deck 2

• Steam framework

• All GPUs and SSDs

• All pre-built computers

• All new laptops, desktops and mobile devices

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This may not last forever, however. By and large, the AI ​​industry remains unprofitable, and general hype for the technology has died down, especially as obvious, applicable AI developments become less frequent and dramatic. If investors continue to grow bearish on the growing industry, AI companies may pull back into data center construction, relieving some of the pressure on the aforementioned materials. Or the industry could undergo a bubble, where huge capital investments are not met with meaningful returns, which would completely recontextualize the AI ​​discussion. There is also the possibility that technological innovation leads to more efficiency or alternatives that reduce the burden on resources. And while the political sphere, especially in the West, has been surprisingly pro-AI in recent years, this could change dramatically going forward. The political upheaval in the US alone is enough to make such a change seem more realistic than it was a year ago.

But even in the best case scenario, these RAM problems won't be solved overnight. There will be a wind-down period regardless, during which time-shifting supply chain structures, reallocation of resources and power vacuums may result in latency or further complications between high-level changes and actual consumer prices. More importantly, solutions to the AI ​​data center problem don't appear out of thin air. Lawmakers, local leaders, and all citizens of democratic societies will need to push for meaningful AI regulation, if they want it. Similarly, consumers will have to vote with their wallets if they want to stop seeing AI colonize the tech world.