RAM pricing seems to be hitting a plateau after several months of constant hikes. We see this in the pricing data compiled by PC-building platform PCPartPicker.com, with the cost of some DDR4 and DDR5 modules finally hitting a stable value. Memory modules that have leveled off prices include DDR4-3200 (2x8GB), DDR4-3600 (2x16GB), DDR4-3600 (2x32GB), DDR5-4800 (2x16GB), and DDR5-5200 (2x16GB). On the other hand, other high-performance memory modules like the DDR5-5600 and DDR5-6000 still seem to have some upticks, although at a slower pace compared to the previous months.
Indications of a memory shortage started appearing in the third quarter of 2025, when the insatiable demand for HBM by the AI infrastructure build-out coincided with several fabs phasing out DDR4 in favor of higher margin DDR5. We started to fully see its impact by November and December, when retailers in Japan and Germany started rationing memory and storage chip-heavy components, like RAM, SSDs, and even GPUs. This is why a Kingston rep told users that they shouldn’t wait if they need to upgrade their RAM or SSD, as prices will only continue to go up.
For now, chip prices seem to be stabilizing, albeit at a new, inflated price that will be difficult for enthusiasts to stomach. One Sapphire employee predicted in December 2025 that we will eventually hit this plateau in six to eight months — hopefully, the price equilibrium we’re seeing at the moment is the early arrival of this forecast and isn’t just a pause before they start racing up again.
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