If you want to assemble a new gaming PC in the future, you should not only expect high prices for the graphics card. Lenovo warns: the times of cheap RAM and storage prices might be over forever.
Why could the next gaming PC become more expensive? When building a gaming PC, the price is usually first looked at the graphics card. However, according to Lenovo, RAM and SSDs could also hit the budget even harder in the future than they already do.
At ISC 2026, Lenovo explained according to ComputerBase that it would “never again be like last year” regarding DRAM prices. That was apparently not meant to be taken literally for all eternity: The statement was exaggerated and followed by a laugh. However, it is clear that the low prices from 2024 and early 2025 will likely not return for a long time.
Why prices are what they are, we explain briefly and concisely here in the video:
Your ChatBot needs capacity
What is behind the high prices? The main reason is the massive demand for memory for AI systems. Data centers need large amounts of fast memory for AI accelerators. One data center is expected to use as much energy as a whole US state.
Although according to Lenovo, new production capacities are expected to emerge, they will probably only be felt from around 2028. The tech company expects that the additional production will immediately be absorbed by the growing demand for AI infrastructure. Tom’s Hardware summarizes the message as follows: The economic conditions in the memory market have fundamentally changed.
So should we buy everything that’s available now? Lenovo emphasizes that when purchasing systems, memory capacity must be considered much more significantly in the future to survive the so-called RAMageddon
. At all levels.
While server manufacturers recently still liked to advertise with the maximum possible memory expansions that are specified by the respective platform manufacturers, a full configuration is now hardly economically realizable in many cases. (via ComputerBase)
And Lenovo is not alone in the assessment of a long-lasting memory bottleneck: Micron (a US manufacturer of memory elements) expects a tight supply at least until 2027, while SK hynix (a South Korean semiconductor manufacturer) even until around 2030 – driven by the ongoing demand for AI.
Even Apple is said to have requested permission from the US government to source DRAM from the Chinese manufacturer CXMT, which is on the Pentagon list (via Tom’s Hardware).
Which hardware component do you pay the most attention to regarding price: GPU, CPU, RAM, SSD, or something entirely different? And what part are you currently missing for your next gaming PC? Let us know in the comments.
Lenovo’s exaggerated forecast shows a clear trend compared to the other big players in the business. Building your own PC could become more expensive in more areas than just the graphics card in the coming years. For over 1000 euros, you can get another pre-built model, the Steam Machine. A bargain hunter shows how he can do without the Steam Machine with an affordable alternative.
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