Memory prices climb 500% in 12 months — 128GB of DDR5 now costs $3,399

Memory prices hit record levels in August 2026. An analysis of PCPartPicker data published by Tom's Hardware shows DDR5 kit averages rising between 355% and 485% over 12 months, with some configurations now costing ten times their lowest-ever tracked price.

What RAM costs today

The clearest example is the 128GB DDR5-6400 kit: once tracked at a low of $329, it now lists at $3,399 — exactly ten times more. A 64GB DDR5-6000 kit moved from $159 to $849, while the 96GB version climbed from $189 to $1,799.

Average prices tell the same story. A 2×32GB DDR5-5600 kit cost $191 in August 2025 and costs $1,118 now, a 485% rise. A standard 64GB kit that sold for under $200 last summer now demands more than $1,100.

DDR4 is no escape

With DDR5 out of reach, buyers have scrambled for older DDR4 platforms, creating a knock-on shortage. DDR4 kits are up 120% to 177% across the board: a 2×16GB DDR4-3200 kit went from $105 to $281, and a 2×32GB DDR4-3600 kit from $300 to $789.

The trend is global. German outlet ComputerBase reports European RAM prices up 345% versus September 2025, with hard drive and SSD prices climbing more than 125% over the same period.

The AI datacenter squeeze

The root cause is HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) production for AI accelerators: each chip stacks many layers of DRAM, which sharply reduces the number of standard memory chips being manufactured. Hyperscale buyers have reportedly locked in nearly all of the world's DRAM production capacity for 2027 through advance deposits.

The scale shows in the numbers: mainstream DRAM chips are now worth more than half as much per kilogram as solid gold. All four memory vendors — SK hynix, Samsung, Micron and China's CXMT — grew revenues by double, triple or more in a single year.

When prices might fall

SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung warns that 2027 will be the worst year for memory supply in the industry's history, with demand outstripping production capacity well into 2030. ADATA chairman Simon Chen is more pessimistic still, suggesting the DRAM crisis could last another decade. Consumer relief would require a sharp contraction of the AI market — and a major correction across global financial markets.