RAM Shortage and Higher Laptop Prices Not Expected to End This Year (or Next)

AI can be blamed for many things, from the enormous environmental impact AI Data Centers consume enormous amounts of land, water and electricity to AI slope it’s somehow making advertising and social media even worse. AI is sucking the meaning out of our livesand it is also Sudoku sucks. AI can also be blamed for the rising cost of computers.

The AI ​​boom has led to a shortage of PC memory, as AI companies gobble up RAM and storage to power the thousands of servers in their growing data centers. This increased demand has led to a sharp rise in the price of RAM as memory chipmakers shift their manufacturing toward more cost-effective, high-bandwidth memory for AI data centers and away from consumer DRAM.

According to Counterpoint Research, DRAM prices increased by 80-90% in the first six weeks of 2026 alone. Micron, in fact, will completely stop shipping its Crucial brand of DRAM by the end of this month to “improve supply and support for our larger strategic customers in faster-growing segments.” These larger strategic clients are AI companies.

As the supply of DRAM decreases, prices increase for anything that contains DRAM, namely laptops and desktops. And it could take years – plural – before prices start to fall. At a Cisco conference earlier this month, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said, “There will be no let-up until 2028.”

Dell is reportedly raising the prices of its computers by 15 to 20 percent, and Lenovo has announced that its prices will increase this year. You can expect other PC vendors to follow suit. If you want to anticipate the rising costs that are expected to arrive sooner rather than later, here are two suggestions.

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1. Don’t delay if you buy a computer now

With no relief expected before 2028, it makes no sense to wait. If you have money set aside for your next laptop and can buy it now, I would make that purchase before the price increases.

Major laptop manufacturers and retailers are constantly offering discounts, so you can usually find a good deal for laptop if you keep an eye on prices for a few weeks and buy low. Prices are generally on the rise, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a falling price during a period. laptop sales.

2. Buy as much preinstalled RAM as you can afford

Most laptops have soldered RAM that you cannot upgrade after purchase, so this is a good rule of thumb at all times when purchasing a laptop. But it’s even better advice (if I do say so myself) at this particular time, with prices set to take off. If you can fit 32GB or even 64GB of RAM into the laptop you’re considering, I say go for it.

For gaming laptops with user-replaceable RAM not soldered to the motherboard, it may be a good idea to populate these DIMM slots when you configure a model for purchase. Because if you plan to buy a gaming laptop with minimal RAM now, leaving one or two DIMM slots free to add more RAM later, you’ll likely find yourself paying more for it than you do today.

Five Laptop Recommendations

To help you find a laptop before prices rise, here are five laptops that I recommend without hesitation. Each won an Editors’ Choice award and each serves 32GB of RAM or gives you the option to increase the base 16GB allocation to 32GB or 64GB.

THE HP OmniBook 5 14 And Asus ZenBook A14 are thin and light consumer laptops with sleek all-metal designs and beautiful OLED displays. Each offers a Qualcomm Snapdragon standard processor and exceptional battery life. The ZenBook A14 I reviewed came with 32GB of RAM and the OmniBook 5 14 only had 16GB of RAM. But HP lets you configure the OmniBook 5 14 with 32GB of RAM while keeping the cost under $1,000.

For players, the Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 provides a high-resolution OLED that extends its appeal beyond just gaming. Its price has remained constant at $1,569 at Newegg. It’s unclear how long the price will stick around, but it’s a good deal for a well-rounded mid-range gaming laptop with an RTX 5060 graphics card. Lenovo also made the best two-in-one CNET reviewed last year in a near-perfect build. Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition.

Rounding out my recommendations is my favorite MacBook, the 15-inch Air, which offers an optimal balance of screen size and system weight, as well as Apple’s powerful and efficient M4 processor. I reviewed it with 16GB of RAM, however, you can expand it to 24GB or 32GB before purchasing.

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