Why Memory RAM and SSD Prices Are Skyrocketing in 2026
Over the past year, the cost of RAM and SSD storage has risen at an unprecedented pace, catching both IT Support London companies, IT buyers, and PC manufacturers off guard.
What once felt like a stabilised component market has been shaken by extraordinary global demand for RAM and SSD memory, and the key driving force is artificial intelligence (AI).
Industry forecasts suggest that pricing pressures are unlikely to ease before 2027, with analysts warning that tight supply may persist until new fabrication plants come online.
Meaning businesses may benefit from accelerating any planned hardware purchases rather than waiting for costs to fall.
AI Demand Is Consuming the World’s RAM and SSD Memory Supply
The dramatic surge in memory pricing is primarily the result of massive demand from AI data centres worldwide.
Hyperscale’s such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and major AI compute providers require enormous amounts of memory, especially high‑bandwidth memory (HBM) and high‑capacity DDR5, to run their ever‑growing fleets of AI servers.
This shift has left far less manufacturing capacity available for standard consumer and business‑grade RAM, SSD and NAND flash.
In fact, analysts estimate that AI‑centric memory now consumes around 70% of global memory production, leaving the remainder stretched thin across the entire PC, laptop and mobile device sector.
Memory makers including Samsung, Micron and SK Hynix have reallocated capacity away from consumer DRAM in favour of higher‑margin enterprise memory, further tightening supply.
Why Manufacturers Cannot Just “Build More Memory”
Some might assume manufacturers could simply expand production. Unfortunately, semiconductor fabrication plants take years to design, build, equip and certify.
With the current demand shock rising faster than new facilities can come online, analysts predict shortages and elevated pricing could persist well into 2027 and even 2028.
This structural bottleneck means that even though demand for consumer memory is high, supply simply cannot catch up in the short term.
At Speedster IT, we are already seeing this trend first‑hand, with entry‑level 14″ business laptops (Intel i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Windows 11 Pro) rising from around £650 + VAT to nearly £750 + VAT. All indications suggest these prices are likely to climb further as component costs continue to surge.
If you are in the market for a server rather than a laptop or desktop, expect even steeper price increases, as servers require significantly larger amounts of RAM and high‑performance SSDs to run modern server operating systems and business applications.
Much like oxygen to a processor, the higher‑speed memory and storage you provide, the smoother and more efficiently the entire system performs.
Memory RAM and SSD Prices Have Doubled in Some Segments
Reports show that:
- DDR5 RAM prices have more than doubled in many markets.
- NAND flash (SSD storage) prices are climbing sharply, with some SSDs now twice the cost they were in late 2025.
- PC makers including Lenovo, Dell, HP, and Asus are warning of 15–20% price increases on systems through 2026.
Combined with Windows 11’s higher hardware demands and the emergence of “AI PCs”, the result is upward pricing pressure across nearly the entire device ecosystem.
Are Laptop Makers Really Downgrading to 8GB RAM?
Rumours, and some internal discussions in the industry, suggest a few laptop manufacturers are considering reverting entry‑level models to 8GB RAM to keep prices down.
The logic is simple: with component costs rising, cutting RAM is one of the only ways to preserve sub‑£600 laptop price points.
However, this trend runs directly counter to Microsoft’s modern hardware requirements and the real‑world performance businesses expect from Windows 11.
- AI‑enabled “Copilot+ PCs” require at least 16GB RAM.
- Even standard Windows 11 workloads increasingly struggle on 8GB, especially with browsers, collaboration tools, endpoint security, and cloud apps running concurrently.
In short: while 8GB may technically run Windows 11, it no longer offers a good user experience, particularly in a business environment.
Any manufacturer dropping to 8GB is doing so purely to hit a price bracket, not because it is the right technical choice.
Speedster IT’s Recommendation: Stick with 16GB Minimum, But Be Smart About Higher Capacity Memory
Given current pricing and supply constraints, here is the most pragmatic approach for UK businesses:
✔ 16GB RAM should remain the minimum standard.
It aligns with Windows 11’s performance requirements and avoids future‑proofing issues as software grows more memory‑hungry.
✔ If costs need reducing, consider stepping down from 32GB to 24GB — not 16GB to 8GB.
This is a practical way to cut costs on higher‑end builds without compromising usability. Many modern architectures (especially DDR5) support 24GB configurations, offering a good middle ground.
✘ Avoid new devices with only 8GB RAM.
Even if budget‑friendly models appear, their lifespan and performance will be significantly limited, costing more overall.
SSD Recommendations
While SSD prices are also rising, the performance difference between 256GB and 512GB is more tolerable than inadequate RAM. If budgets are tight, dropping storage capacity is preferable to reducing memory.
Speedster IT’s Advice for Smarter Memory Hardware Planning in 2026
The global memory market has entered a historic crunch, driven not by traditional consumer electronics, but by the explosive growth of AI infrastructure.
With manufacturers prioritising high‑margin server‑grade memory and limited new production capacity in the pipeline, pricing pressures are here to stay for at least the next 18–24 months.
For UK businesses purchasing laptops, desktops, or workstations in 2026, the key is balancing cost with long‑term performance.
While some manufacturers may be tempted to cut RAM to maintain low headline prices, Speedster IT strongly advises keeping 16GB as the new non‑negotiable baseline, and using smarter tiered configurations like 24GB instead of 32GB when budgets are tight.
If you are in the market to buy new hardware, it is worth acting sooner rather than later, as delaying purchases could mean facing even higher prices as the memory and storage shortages continue through 2026.
Contact our hardware IT procurement experts: 0204 511 9111 we are here to help you secure the right devices at the right time, before prices climb even further.
With over 15 years at Speedster IT, I’ve built a career around helping businesses navigate the evolving world of technology. I publish all the content for the IT Support London Blog and Cyber Security Blog, where I share practical insights on infrastructure upgrades, cybersecurity trends, and smart IT strategies for growing companies.
