Memory prices climb 500% in 12 months, up to 10x the lowest ever tracked prices — 128GB of DDR5 now $3,399

Historical data analysis confirms that the memory market is in a deep shortage state. Over the past year, popular configurations have increased by 350–480%. For instance, a DDR5-6000 32GB kit that cost $191 last year now costs $1,118. A DDR5-6000 64GB kit has risen from $159 to $849, while a 96GB set has increased from $189 to $1,799.

The situation is not limited to just DDR5. On older AM4 and LGA1700 platforms using DDR4, prices have also jumped by 120–180%. A DDR4-3600 16GB kit has risen from $120 to $307 over the year.

The shortage is affecting other components as well: prices for solid-state drives (SSD) and hard disk drives (HDD) have also risen by more than 125% in Europe. Hyperscalers, such as large data centers, have already booked almost all of the DRAM production capacity for 2027, forcing consumer electronics manufacturers to compete for remaining volumes.

Chip manufacturers predict the continuation of the crisis. SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung warned that 2027 will be the worst year for memory supply in the industry's history, and the shortage could persist until 2030. ADATA Chairman Simon Chen believes the crisis will last another 10 years.

Price reductions are only possible with a significant cooling of the artificial intelligence (AI) market, which would require a correction in financial markets. Under current conditions, buying memory requires being prepared to pay a premium or postpone system upgrades.