RAM

Although the price of DDR5 memory has skyrocketed in recent months, with the supply situation likely to get worse before it improves, it's still good to see that some things remain the same. The annual G.SKILL OC World Cup 2026 overclocking competition for extreme DDR5 memory overclocking kicks off this week, with the Grand Final once again set to take place live on stage at Computex 2026 in Taipei, Taiwan.

The G.SKILL OC World Cup 2026 is the competition's tenth annual extreme overclocking event, with the Online Qualifier set to run from February 15, 2026, to March 23, 2026. Eligible competitors must pair G.SKILL DDR5 memory with an Intel Z790/Z890 motherboard and complete five demanding overclocking trials. The Top 9 will then move on to the Live Qualifiers stage at Computex 2026, which will culminate with the Grand Final on June 5, 2026.

With a $40,000 USD Total Prize Pool, the OC Champion and winner will walk away with $10,000 USD. Each of the Top 9 finalists participating in the Live Qualifier round at Computex 2026 will also receive a G.SKILL DDR5-8000 32GB (2x16GB) memory kit, which, in today's market, is worth a lot of money.

Intel is re-entering the memory business, teaming with Japan's SoftBank on a next-generation DRAM bonding technology.

Intel's Next-Generation DRAM Bonding (NGDB) initiative was completed under the Advanced Memory Technology (AMT) program that was managed by the U.S. Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration through the Sandia National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory... some advanced tech then, eh?

The use of ZAM next-generation memory technology allows SoftBank's subsidiary, SAIMEMORY, to sign a collaborative agreement with Intel to advance the commercialization of Z-Angle Memory (ZAM), a next-generation memory technology.

As the old saying goes, things are going to get worse before they get better. When it comes to the DRAM and NAND Flash crisis affecting all corners of the consumer technology space, including PC hardware, the analysts at TrendForce have "significantly raised" their pricing forecasts for memory (DRAM) and storage (NAND) due to the unprecedented global supply and demand constraints caused by "persistent AI and data center demands."

Translation: things are looking worse than what was previously forecasted, and that right now, it's a seller's market. TrendForce's previous estimate of a 55-60% increase in DRAM pricing for Q1 2026 has been raised to 90-95%. On top of this, NAND Flash contract prices are now expected to increase by 55-60%, up from the previous estimate of 33-38%.

One reason for the change is that PC shipments in Q4 2025 were much higher than expected. And with that, it has escalated the DRAM shortage and crisis. TrendForce notes that Tier-1 PC OEMs, which include companies like Dell, HP, and Lenovo, are now "experiencing declining inventory levels." And with that, an almost 100% increase in DRAM contract pricing will set a "new record for a quarterly surge."

DRAM memory prices have skyrocketed since the beginning of 2025, with estimates now estimating that prices have increased by nearly 300%. In addition to DRAM, NAND flash prices have already increased, and these hikes can be attributed to AI companies pulling manufacturing supply away from the consumer market.

The thirst for more memory from AI companies isn't expected to be quenched for some time, as billions of dollars have been thrown into the global race to create the most sophisticated AI model possible, and no company participating is expected to just stop building and upgrading the data centers that provide more power to their infrastructure.

Counterpoint Research, a global technology market research firm in the TMT industry, was recently cited by The Wall Street Journal, and explained that AI firms are crowding out other buyers of memory, and the disproportionate supply allocation is due to builders of data centers who are happy paying a premium. MS Hwang, a research director at Counterpoint Research, who has been in the industry for more than 30 years, stated prices are expected to continue increasing, with supply already being allocated to companies for 2026, 2027, and 2028.

Is Samsung jacking up the price of its RAM by an earth-shattering 80%? No, thankfully, this rumor has been clearly shot down as untrue.

Tom's Hardware reports that there was a buzz of speculation around the idea that an 80% hike was in the cards for Samsung's entire catalog of memory products, but this isn't the case. The rumor came from a Samsung distributor which supposedly penned a memo claiming the hike was incoming thanks to "significant changes in the global semiconductor market" (see the above post on X).

United Daily News, a newspaper in Taiwan, said that Samsung, as well as its memory making partners, are saying that this 80% price increase claim is a complete fabrication.

The emergence of AI and its demand for as much DRAM as possible has put a global strain on the market, but Micron, one of the three big memory makers, has now secured a way to add more manufacturing capacity to its portfolio.

Micron and Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC), a Taiwanese company, have announced a deal that transfers ownership of Powerchip's P5 site located in Tongluo, Taiwan, for $1.8 billion. Micron announced it signed a letter of intent to carry out the purchase, which includes an existing 300 mm fab cleanroom of 300,000 square feet.

According to Micron's statement, the purchase of the fab will assist in satisfying the demand for DRAM, and it expects the fab to begin contributing with meaningful output in the second half of 2027.

On the heels of Micron announcing a new $100 billion foundry complex planned for Syracuse, New York, which is part of the company's wider $200 billion commitment to expanding its facilities in the US, the US Commerce Secretary spoke to reporters and gave a heated statement.

Howard Lutnick, the US commerce secretary, said last Friday, "Everyone who wants to build memory has two choices: They can pay a 100% tariff, or they can build in America. That's industrial policy." For those who don't know, the DRAM and NAND flash market is currently controlled by three parties: SK Hynix and Samsung, both located in South Korea, and Micron, located in the US. While there are other memory makers, their market share is nothing compared to the aforementioned companies.

More specifically, the three companies previously mentioned are the only companies to manufacture High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), which they are prioritizing over producing standard modules to feed the seemingly never-ending hunger of AI companies and their servers.

DRAM shortages are about to go from extremely bad, to another universe of issues with the US government considering new 100% tariffs on offshore DRAM production.

The Trump administration has been quite clear on its focus on American semiconductor manufacturing, with the "Made in the USA" push seeing multiple big tech giants investing trillions of dollars between them, including Apple, NVIDIA, Intel, and many others.

However, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was recently at Micron's New York semiconductor fab groundbreaking ceremony, where he said that memory manufacturers that aren't producing on American soil, will face a 100% tariff on their chips.

DDR3 motherboards are making a comeback, and if you think the world is going insane, well, the RAM price crisis is certainly crazy enough - and this apparent shift in China is the result of all the memory-related chaos.

VideoCardz reports that according to the Board Channels forum in China, sales of DDR3 motherboards have increased by two to three times - or possibly more than trebled - while bundles featuring these old mobos and past-gen Intel CPUs (6th to 9th-generation) are also selling well.

The post in question observes that the driving factor here is likely to be "a rebound in demand for lower priced builds", which is a translation, and it makes some sense that people might be seeking alternatives that allow them to avoid extremely pricey DDR5 or DDR4 RAM.

Micron says that the DRAM memory shortages will NOT be improving before 2028, even with billions of dollars being invested right now. I had a chat with one of my industry sources on the floors of CES 2026 who told me the DRAM crisis would be here until 2031... which is even worse.

In an exclusive chat with our friends at Wccftech, Micron's VP of Marketing, Mobile and Client Business Unit, Christopher Moore, talked about the DRAM shortage. The chat with Moore centered on how much Micron is expanding its production capacity, and what impact this will have on consumers and the AI segment in the future.

Moore said that Micron's semiconductor fab expansion plans won't have any meaningful effects until 2028, with the buildout and customer certifications needing a lot of time, and that AI customers require perfection in terms of technology and yield rates, meaning setting up new fabs has become a much more extensive (and much more expensive) process.

Chinese chip maker Innosilicon has announced it has provided its domestic customers with its new LPDDR6/5X memory controller IP.

Innosilicon's new LPDDR6/5X PHY + IP Controller combo has been designed using an advanced FinFET process technology, allowing for low-power operation, high bandwidth, and low latency in a multi-packaged controller with multiple other core advantages.

The company says that its expertise with other DRAM technologies including GDDR6, GDDR6X, GDDR7, HBM3E, and even HBM4, allowed Innosilicon to develop a robust LPDDR6/5X solution for the mass market.

CES 2026 has officially wrapped up, and after spending a week walking around the Las Vegas Convention Center, and ducking in and out of numerous casinos for private meetings with companies, I have gathered my thoughts on what we can expect out of the upcoming year in terms of new technology, road bumps, and what to get excited about.

The whole week of meetings involved being introduced to new products, but every conversation was plagued by conversations about memory pricing, which is undoubtedly going to be a hurdle consumers will be hit by in 2026. For those who don't know, DRAM pricing is skyrocketing due to AI companies gobbling up the limited supply.

As a result, DRAM has become such a sought-after component that it's causing the pricing of products that require even small amounts of DRAM to increase significantly. For example, Dell's XPS 14, the company's entry-level laptop, has increased its price from last year's model at $1,699 to $2,050 for the latest generation.

DDR5 memory prices have gotten so out of control that a 256GB DDR5 memory module in China costs $5700, and that just 100 modules would buy you a housing unit in Shanghai.

The South China Morning Post reports that China's secondary semiconductor market is seeing a "sharp run-up" in memory chip prices as global supply tightens, with vendors saying that the rally has an interesting hurdle ahead: the prices are much higher, but consumers are disappearing.

Cai Zhaojie, a merchant who sells electronic components at Huaqiangbei, told SCMP: "We're looking at high asking prices, but no buyers". Merchants at Huaqiangbei reported huge increases in memory chips since late 2025, with DDR5 being one of the most in-demand items.

There's been no hotter topic in the PC sphere of late than the rocketing cost of RAM - although other components have been hit with price hikes, notably storage, and also GPUs to an extent - but an AMD exec is trying to put a brave face on things in the face of these pricing pressures.

Still, some consumers may not appreciate the advice from Rahul Tikoo, AMD's SVP & GM of its Client Business Unit, who was interviewed by Tom's Hardware at CES 2026.

The tech site asked Tikoo how AMD is reacting to the steep increase in the cost of DRAM and storage, and how it could affect Team Red this year, given predictions of falling PC sales as a result of these hikes.

Patriot Memory showed off a bunch of its new products at CES 2026, and another one that caught my eye was the new Viper Elite 5 Ultra DDR5 memory, tuned for Intel Core Ultra CPU platforms.

If you're building a new Intel-based system in the near future and need a set of tuned DDR5 RAM for it, Patriot has the goods with its new Viper Elite 5 Ultra DDR5 memory. The company has specifically designed it for the Intel Core Ultra platform, optimized for next-generation Intel architectures.

Intel is reportedly natively supporting DDR5-8000 memory with its next-gen Nova Lake-S desktop CPUs later this year, moving over to the new LGA 1954 socket. Patriot has positioned itself as ready for when that happens with its Viper Elite 5 Ultra DDR5 coming in up to 8000 MT/s and up to 96GB capacities.

Patriot Memory had a few interesting new products at CES 2026 this year, with its next-gen Viper Steel 5 DDR5 memory, offering up to huge 128GB capacities and up to 8600 MT/s speeds, without breaking the bank.

Patriot's next-gen Viper Steel 5 DDR5 memory will come in 32GB, 48GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities, with speeds ranging from 6000, 6400, 7200, 8000, and 8600 MT/s. Patriot is positioning the Viper Steel 5 DDR5 memory with a balance of performance, capacity, and clean industrial design.

With speeds of up to 8600 MT/s and capacities of up to 128GB, Patriot's new Viper Steel 5 memory is designed for high-performance systems that are after scalability, reliability, and broad platform compatibility. Patriot Memory had plenty more on display at CES 2026 including its new Viper Elite 5 Ultra DDR5, designed specifically for Intel Core Ultra platforms, optimized for next-gen Intel CPUs.

I don't think the RAM scams will slow down, with a Redditor purchasing a Corsair Vengeance DDR5 memory kit from Amazon but received DDR4 sticks that had scam DDR5 stickers on top. Check it out:

Redditor u/Leading-Growth-8361 has received some "fake" RAM and posted the pictures on Reddit, he said that he purchased a Corsair Vengeance DDR5 kit (two sticks) from Amazon, but noticed that the heatsink casing on the modules was loose. He continued building his PC, but discovered the RAM wouldn't fit on his motherboard... that's because they weren't DDR5 sticks, but DDR4 sticks.

DDR4 modules have the cutout a little out from the middle of the goldfinger, with the user saying that both of the sticks he received look to be the same. That's when he decided to detach the heatsink and discovered an "unknown kind of RAM".

DRAM suppliers are truly the new Santa Claus as they pick and choose who they're providing chips to, with HBM being a "black hole" to DRAM production capacity says the chairman of Etron.

Etron is a famous Taiwanese IC company that specializes in DRAM and SoC design, with its chairman, Lu Chao-Chun, who has said that DRAM giants Samsung and SK hynix are the new "Santa Claus". He added that memory customers are now "grateful" for even getting supply allocated, which is one of the reasons he calls Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron the new "Santa Claus".

Etron's chairman says that one of the main reasons the DRAM supply chain has been completely disrupted is from a few years ago, where DRAM manufacturers weren't worried about increasing production capacity, as demand was at a new all-time low because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

SK hynix has announced that its new 256GB DDR5 RDIMM server memory modules have been approved by Intel for its new Xeon 6 platform.

In a new press release, SK hynix said its new high-capacity 256GB DDR5 server memory modules based on 1b 32Gb have been verified for compatibility with Intel's next-gen Xeon 6 platform. The new registered memory (RDIMM) is a buffered module type of RAM used in servers and workstations, with testing and validation completed at Intel's Advanced Data Center Development Laboratory in the US.

SK hynix says that servers using its new 32Gb based 256GB RDIMM memory module will enjoy 16% more inference performance versus its 128GB modules on 32Gb DRAM, as well as up to 18% more power efficiency versus existing 256GB RDIMMs based on its 1a 16Gb DRAM modules, using a design built around a single 32Gb DRAM chip.

If you're a PC gamer that plays the latest games on enthusiast-grade hardware, then you've no doubt come across G.SKILL's lineup of DDR4 and DDR5 memory kits over the years. With a wide range of stylish kits, the company is also best known for offering some of the most OC-friendly memory options on the market, with its Trident Z5 DDR5 memory being used by the world's best overclockers to set new records.

As a company known predominantly for its memory products, the current DRAM crisis has already led to exponential price increases for DDR5 memory kits, with reports from a wide range of sources, including leading memory manufacturers, indicating that 2026 will see prices continue to rise as supply becomes increasingly scarce.

And with that, G.SKILL has released a statement for its fans and the broader PC gaming community, attempting to answer the question: Why has G.SKILL DRAM memory prices increased so much recently (since 2025 Q4)?