Remember when GPU prices skyrocketed because of crypto mining and the overall mood just became awful because getting one seemed like an impossible task?

Well it’s happening again. This time with RAM and SSDs. AI companies, such as OpenAI, are buying in massive quantities. The reason for this is to build multiple data centers to power AI. And AI needs a lot of processing power.

Now this is important because RAM and SSD prices are going up.

Manufacturers, seeing the billions and billions thrown at their feet, will shift gears and focus a majority of their production power for these companies instead of consumer markets.

Not only will this mean a memory shortage to everyday buyers like you and I, but the huge spike of “demand” will see to it that these prices will go up.

It’s like the GPU crisis all over again, when companies have been buying all the GPUs to power machines capable of mining cryptocurrency. This time, with memory, and given that AI is a fast-paced ever-developing technology that everyone seems keen on pursuing for the next couple of years, we may continue to see a “scarcity” of RAM and SSD.

OpenAI has already made a deal with Samsung and SK Hynix, two of the biggest memory chip makers, to make DRAM for the Stargate AI infrastructure. The agreement entails producing 900,000 high-bandwidth DRAM per month.

If my Search is correct, 900,000 high-bandwidth DRAM per month is anywhere between 900 to over 150,000 PCs.

More recently, Crucial, a brand who sells budget-friendly RAM and SSDs, is shutting down as parent company Micron will devote all resources in manufacturing memory for AI companies.

Who is affected by this?

Basically every electronic that requires RAM and SSDs. That means smartphones, laptops, PCs, gaming consoles, and tablets.

Due to this, we will see more expensive devices. We might see a 20-30% increase in prices.

We may likely see lower RAM in more expensive laptops. I’ve been seeing that right now and it baffles me to see a laptop worth almost 90K has 16GB of RAM.

A gaming enthusiast who we spoke with earlier said the 2TB external storage he was planning to buy was out of stock and that the 1TB version now costs P4,400, when its previous price was P3,700.

So expect a jump in prices in 2026. If you’re planning to buy a device and saving up for next year, you may reconsider if buying now will mean saving more money.