Maingear’s Opening Salvo for PC Memory Shortage: Supply Your Own

Getting a new PC might be harder than usual right now, and it’s not just because of higher prices. Maingear, an excellent custom PC builder, has found a way around the RAM shortage: bring your own.

On Tuesday, Maingear introduced the BYO RAM program. This is its attempt – and probably the first – to resolve the persistent computer component supply problems caused by the exorbitant sums of money supporting the construction of data centers.

The program allows you to purchase a built-to-order system with RAM that you ship to them. They then install, optimize and test. Customer service will consult with you in advance to verify that the memory you have is suitable for the desired system configuration.

This only actually solves the problem in a minimal number of cases, but the goal is simply to reduce the purchasing bottleneck wherever possible. In other words, if you have access to DDR5 memory, you might be able to take advantage of it, even if it has to be DDR5 memory.

This means, for example, that if you want to use your current PC’s memory, the system must be less than five years old because DDR5 first shipped in 2020. But you can’t assume that it is DDR5 because, even then, many high-end systems still used DDR4. You probably can’t extract memory from an all-in-one system either, since many of them have memory soldered to the motherboard. Additionally, DDR5 from an older system may be too slow to get optimal performance from a new system.

Wallace Santos, co-founder and CEO of Maingear, told reporters at a press briefing earlier in the day that this was not a normal shortage. Memory manufacturers are not increasing capacity due to long-term concerns about demand. He added that even then, “we’re told it will be a year and a half before they increase their lines.”

SK Hynix, a leading memory supplier, predicts that the crisis will last until 2028.

Additionally, PC builders do not obtain memory modules directly from memory manufacturers. The RAM first goes to a packager, where it is then made into modules that you can plug into the motherboard, which then extends the timeline from there.

According to Santos, even the packers are having trouble getting supplies. He explained that in the past, a larger company, like Intel, would step in to help in one way or another. Now, “new players with deeper pockets are entering our space and committing to multi-year deals with memory vendors.” This can lead, for example, to companies abandoning supply to consumers altogether, which is what Micron, another major player in the memory industry, did by shuttering its Crucial memory brand.

Uncertainty is also a huge problem. Santos doesn’t know where prices will eventually stabilize, and he’s not sure if they will ever return to where they were before the bubble.

On the other hand, if data center financing deals go bad (beyond just scaring off shareholders), these memory deals will disappear. This could at least be the best-case scenario for buyers: it would flood the market and prices would fall. If this happens en masse, we could have bigger problems than a lack of memory.