If you’re a PC builder, gamer, or smartphone enthusiast, brace yourself: RAM prices are climbing sharply in 2025 — and it’s not solely due to AI demand.

How steep are the price hikes?

The numbers are alarming. DDR4, still common in many laptops and desktops, may see price spikes of up to 45% this quarter. DDR5, found in newer systems and servers, is up by 3–8%. Graphics memory (GDDR6) is expected to rise by 28–33%, and mobile RAM like LPDDR4X could climb 23–28%, with further increases on the horizon.

These jumps aren’t just temporary. They’re affecting every category — PCs, GPUs, smartphones, and servers — driving up overall hardware costs.

What’s driving the surge?

Surprisingly, AI isn’t the biggest culprit here. The real reasons lie in supply constraints, shifting manufacturing priorities, and ongoing trade tensions. While AI does contribute to the demand for high-performance memory, it’s the limited production capacity and reallocation of resources toward more profitable chips that are putting strain on general RAM availability.

In short, it’s a perfect storm of industry pressures — and consumers are left footing the bill.