You might have noticed: buying memory modules lately feels like you’re paying for a small island in the Bahamas rather than a few sticks of silicon. If you’re shopping for gaming PCs or even a regular office laptop, memory prices are also causing significant increases to the overall device cost. Is everyone in the PC market suddenly scalping their customers, or is something else afoot? Pull up a chair, grab a brew, and let’s dive into the current state of absurdity.
1. The Memory Cartel: Three Big Players
The memory chip business is dominated by three big beasts; Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology. They manufacture most of the world’s DRAM supply – as of 2025, SK hynix has a ~38.7% market share, Samsung ~32.7% and Micron ~22%. When only three companies hold the keys to the DRAM kingdom, supply becomes a feature, not a bug.
2. AI Is Gobbling Up Memory Like Pac-Man on Candy
Enter the AI overlords. Projects such as OpenAI’s “Stargate” are reportedly set to consume up to 70 % of global DRAM output. Those datacentre projects for AI that broke ground a few years back are suddenly coming online all at once, and the hunger for DRAM, flash and storage is insatiable. So while gamers are trying to upgrade from 16GB to 32GB, AI data-centres are clearing whole warehouses of inventory with each order. For the memory manufacturers, Christmas has come early. Why put a load of effort into supporting an intricate hardware channel with 3rd party brands (like Corsair, Kingston), distributors, importers and tricky end users when you can effortlessly sell all of your inventory to a single customer without the hassle.
3. Capacity Gaps + High Cost of Expansion
If you thought memory fabs were quick to ramp up, think again. Building DRAM manufacturing lines is mega expensive, complicated and takes time. Even switching from DDR4 to DDR5 is a mammoth undertaking, requiring many weeks of down time. It’s like trying to turn a super tanker around on a dime. The big three are investing heavily to expand capacity, but meanwhile demand is sprinting ahead. SK hynix, for example, is said to plan doubling DRAM capacity by H2 2026. So while future capacity is promised, the present supply remains incredibly tight and will do for the foreseeable.
4. All Your Gigs Belong To Us
Because AI workloads demand high-bandwidth, high-density, low-latency memory, the memory that is available often carries a premium. The kind of memory you might normally use in gaming rigs is now also being eyed for enterprise use. Also: when the big AI companies place giant orders, memory manufacturers can pick and choose – consumer or gaming buyers get whatever leftovers, and those leftovers cost more (because economies of scale, supply & demand, you know the drill).
5. Why You Should Care
For your PC builds: expect memory pricing to remain elevated and volatile. Whether you are building a “Starter” or a “Performance” system, don’t assume cheap memory will be available. System integrators like Wired2Fire are doing everything we can on behalf of our customers – locking in memory supply, negotiating buffer stock and fighting for allocation, but ultimately we are having to accept higher list prices and extremely limited availability on certain SKUs. Hanging on for that gold plated, diamond encrusted limited edition G.Skill with just the right latencies? Reality is, you could be waiting forever. Now is a time to be flexible with your expectations. From a trend perspective: this isn’t just a blip. The AI-driven memory boom is shifting the whole memory price floor upward and there is no end in sight.
6. The Bitter Reality Right Now
So in summary:
The world’s memory supply is dominated by three big players who set the pace.
AI companies are hoovering up memory like there’s no tomorrow.
The memory factories can’t scale instantly.
The stock that is left comes with much bigger price tags.
The result: we all pay more. A lot more.
