RAM shortages are here until 2028: 64GB DDR5 is now $500, 256GB DDR4 costs over $3000

DDR5 and DDR4 prices are absolutely out of control, with shortages here until at least Q4 2027... 32GB DDR5 costs $300+ while 256GB DDR4 costs over $3000.

RAM shortages are here until 2028: 64GB DDR5 is now $500, 256GB DDR4 costs over $3000
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Gaming Editor
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TL;DR: RAM prices are soaring due to ongoing DRAM shortages driven by AI demand, with DDR4 and DDR5 kits costing thousands of dollars. These supply constraints will persist through 2027, impacting consumer memory, GPUs, and gaming hardware, with no significant price relief expected until 2028.

RAM prices aren't slowing down, with skyrocketing costs seeing things like a 256GB kit of DDR4 memory now retailing for over $3000... with RAM shortages here to stay until 2028, and high prices for DDR5 and DDR4 throughout 2026 and 2027.

RAM shortages are here until 2028: 64GB DDR5 is now $500, 256GB DDR4 costs over $3000 36
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If you thought there would be a magical fix for the DRAM shortages and price increases, you're out of luck... this is like a triple-storm all at once. DDR5 and DDR4 memory shortages will likely stay until at least Q4 2027 (two years from now), so don't expect cheap RAM prices until 2028 most likely.

Why is this happening? AI, we can all blame AI. AI is gobbling up all of the DRAM and NAND that it can get, where just a couple of days ago we had Micron dive out of the consumer SSD and RAM business with the closure of its Crucial brand, as the company goes all-in with AI. This leaves South Korean memory manufacturers SK hynix and Samsung to provide all of the DRAM and NAND for both AI and consumer products.

DRAM shortages will cause issues with the supply of not just DDR4 and DDR5 RAM, and not just GPUs either, but DDR5, LPDDR5, GDDR6, GDDR7, and DDR4, which are all facing shortages that will last well into the first half of 2026, and most likely far beyond that.

Zoning in on Taiwan's PCHome retailer, a 256GB kit of DDR4-3600 memory costs $96,899 NTD (which is over $3000 USD), while a 256GB kit of DDR5 memory is a little cheaper, but getting close to $2000. It's truly out of control. If you didn't get a big RAM kit a few months ago, I'm sure most people wouldn't (and couldn't) want to splash down 3-5x what those kits cost just a few months ago.