Soaring RAM Costs Set to Hit Laptops and PCs in 2026: Black Friday Could Be Your Lifeline!

Tobias Nguyen

November 27, 2025

A major RAM price rise will impact laptops, PCs and GPUs in 2026 — Black Friday is your only chance to survive the surge

Expect a notable spike in prices by next year!

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Throughout this year, the prices of laptops, tablets, GPUs, and PC parts have been climbing. The main culprit now appears to be the escalating costs of RAM and SSD storage chips, which suggests a potential surge in retail prices for technology products by 2026.

Amidst the buzz about Black Friday bargains, it may seem out of place to talk about price increases. However, this year’s shopping season might be your last opportunity to purchase tech goods at current prices before they skyrocket next year.

Understanding the Surge

The issue has been building up quietly throughout 2026, but now it has erupted due to the AI technology explosion. AI companies are purchasing vast amounts of silicon to power data centers that run advanced programs like ChatGPT and Gemini. The most affected components are DRAM (Dynamic Random-Access Memory) and NAND flash, which you probably know as RAM and SSD storage.

The surge in demand for these chips has led to two significant changes:

Manufacturers of these chips are phasing out cheaper, older models as the AI sector’s demand for cutting-edge technology increases, making these older versions obsolete.
There’s a shift in production focus towards catering to the highest bidders—AI data centers—thereby sidelining smaller, less profitable orders for NAND flash chips.

These changes are contributing to a significant silicon shortage, which is driving up manufacturing costs for PC and smartphone manufacturers and ultimately leading to higher prices for consumers.

The Potential Impact

To put it simply: it’s looking quite grim.

For example, the price for DDR5 RAM kits for desktop PCs has surged by up to 171% compared to 2024. A specific 32GB DDR5 kit from Crucial, priced at $174.99 just over a month ago, now costs $300. Laptop prices are expected to rise by 5-15% in 2026, according to TrendForce. AMD and Nvidia have also hinted at a minimum 10% price increase for their GPUs. When you combine these increases, the overall cost for prebuilt PCs could be staggering.

A Glimmer of Hope

Fortunately, many companies are aware of these impending challenges and have been stockpiling chips in anticipation of high demand periods like Black Friday.

This is why I firmly believe that this is your final opportunity to purchase laptops, GPUs, and PCs at reasonable prices before the anticipated price surge. Lenovo has publicly acknowledged this situation, and I suspect other companies are also preparing for it.

From now until the end of Cyber Monday, you have a brief window to secure laptops at MSRP, GPUs slightly below MSRP, and desktops at fair prices before the cost of memory drives prices significantly higher.