Apple over here not raising their RAM prices because they’ve always been massively and unjustifiably inflated. Now, they’re no longer unjustifiably inflated.
64GB of DDR5 RAM now costs more than a MacBook Air - memory prices have surged 300% in just six months
Submitted 2 months ago by throws_lemy@reddthat.com to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
blitzen@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
mushroommunk@lemmy.today 2 months ago
I dunno. “AI companies bought literally everything” seems like an unjustifiable reason still.
blitzen@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
Perhaps. I guess my point is they no longer are as out-of-line with the rest of the market. Comment meant as a backhanded “compliment” toward Apple.
totesmygoat@piefed.ca 2 months ago
They also buy allotments months in advance. Just waiting to see how much apple will charge soon.
4am@lemmy.zip 2 months ago
I mean, they are, just for a different reason
Jhex@lemmy.world 2 months ago
This article sucks… I think they felt the need to excuse AI lest they upset corporate masters
While it’s easy to point the finger at AI’s unquenchable memory thirst for the current crisis, it’s not the only reason.
Followed by:
DRAM production hasn’t kept up with demand. Older memory types are being phased out, newer ones are steered toward higher margin customers, and consumer RAM is left exposed whenever supply tightens.
Production has not kept up with demand… demand being super charged by AI purchases
…newer ones are steered towards higher margin customers… again AI
consumer RAM is left exposed whenever supply tightens… because of AI
altkey@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
The LLM writing this feels almost sentient lol.
garretble@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Me to my 10 year old gaming pc: “I guess it’ll be another couple of years, buddy.”
UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 2 months ago
They aren’t really making a ton of games that justify a costly upgrade anyways.
garretble@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Honestly, my PC at this point plays FFXIV and that’s basically it. And I’m OK with that.
scintilla@crust.piefed.social 2 months ago
My computer can run heavily modded Minecraft and honestly that’s all I need.
Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus 2 months ago
I agree. I recently swapped out my aging 2600x6core for a 5950x32core processor and upgraded from an 3070ti to a 5070 (well actually more of a sidegrade - my vram was simply too small). before this, my system had already a few years where there wasn’t much difference regarding gaming - In the current configuration and the glacial speed gaming developed i’d say i have a decade before upgrades are really needed.
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 2 months ago
Right? My APU can run almost all games up to 2020 in 3k. Not high-fps but i’m not sensible to that.
Except a few, like Valheim and Empyrion, which have 1 fps on the menu. Do they require some special instruction sets or something, that a APU can’t handle?
ivanafterall@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Don’t worry, I suspect Cloud Terminals will be super cheap. You don’t even need that ol’ thing anymore!
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
Another couple of decades, even!
MOARbid1@piefed.social 2 months ago
Give it a lil pat pat for good measure
Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
Saaame. I’m still chugging along with an RTX 2060 😭
garretble@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I’m running a 1070.
eli@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Same here, running my 3700X with a 3080.
I should’ve pulled the trigger on the 9800X3D last year like I wanted, but thought it was just too expensive.
Welp.
Zephorah@discuss.online 2 months ago
Increasing RAM (from 16) and SSD space (from .5TB) on a laptop now is easily +$1k and up.
MrLLM@ani.social 2 months ago
Willoughby@piefed.world 2 months ago
for you
- posted from my Lenovo Thinkpad x250
Tja@programming.dev 2 months ago
Chuckles in x200s with 8GB of RAM since 2009…
rogsson@piefed.social 2 months ago
When the yet-to-be data centers never get built because AI slop bubble pops, we will be able to build houses out of RAM sticks for the poor
Nindelofocho@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Theyll just manufacture another reason to keep prices high
T00l_shed@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Ahhh the de beers technique
veni_vedi_veni@lemmy.world 2 months ago
the problem with data center hardware is that they are often bespoke and nowadays can’t be reused in a consumer context. Think about those headless GPUs, they probably making these RAM modules with a different interface.
Tja@programming.dev 2 months ago
The modules yes, but ram is bought on the chip level. If the modules are never built, the chips can be reused in normal dimms.
Worst case we get a new HBM dimm format :D
Paranoidfactoid@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Those headless GPUs are great for simulation work in blender and other creative tools. I’d love an opportunity to buy a good used one on the cheap.
Zarajevo@feddit.org 2 months ago
US oligoarchys wants to have all computation done in their warehouse so they have to power to change any computation at any time
MadBits@europe.pub 2 months ago
When I first saw “GeForce Now” that’s exactly what I imagined. Building a market for cloud computation. “Just own the display, we will rent you the brain for it”.
deadymouse@lemmy.world 2 months ago
You will own nothing and will be happy.
LoafedBurrito@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Ruining the PC market for consumers on purpose so people will think it’s cheaper to rent computers than to own.
In the future, you will lease your computer and not own it, just as you are told to do by the billionaires who steal your pay.
BanMe@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Yep cloud providers definitely came up with the AI boom in a roundabout conspiracy to end PCs. Total direct chain there.
Exatron@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I remember when people claimed that Socialism meant people would own nothing and like it. Turns out, they were actually describing capitalism. Granted, I don’t like one bit of this.
SourGumGum@lemmy.world 2 months ago
In the future you will connect to a corporate owned terminal and use an online hosted OS, where your files are kept in their cloud ecosystme.
hark@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Apple was overpricing RAM before it was cool.
trongod_requiem0432@lemmy.world 2 months ago
nice profile pic! Snatcher was a gg
hark@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Thanks! I was blown away by the quality of voice work in a game back then. Combined with the story, it was a real treat.
9point6@lemmy.world 2 months ago
TBF that is a crucial ram stick in the picture, those are rare shinies now
Prove_your_argument@piefed.social 2 months ago
Not at microcenter. Their bundles are full of crucial chips. Just built one for a buddy last week.
9point6@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I more meant now they’re not being made because Micron recently killed the Crucial brand to focus supply towards data center customers
ArmchairAce1944@discuss.online 2 months ago
I can’t believe how lucky I was to upgrade my desktop before the surge. This is an outrage!
Rooster326@programming.dev 2 months ago
mlg@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I did my desktop but skipped my server.
Even decade+ old used surplus server DDR4 didn’t escape the apocalypse.
carpelbridgesyndrome@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
I did as well which is a polite way of saying I blew all my RAM savings on the how overpriced GPUs were at the time
hdsrob@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Same … I hadn’t upgraded since 2012, and had some extra cash, so rebuilt in August. Feeling pretty lucky to have done it then, and really glad I went ahead and put 64GB RAM in it.
PalmTreeIsBestTree@lemmy.world 2 months ago
You waited a long time holy shit
adavis@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I upgraded January last year. My only regret now is not getting 64GB of ram
G0rb@infosec.pub 2 months ago
Built a new PC in April 2025. 192GB DDR5 for 650€.
dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de 2 months ago
Same. Feel like I could sell my rig for more than it cost me a 18 months ago.
hdsrob@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Minus the case and video card, I have an entire 3rd gen i7 machine sitting in a box that would actually make a pretty good machine for a lot of different uses.
1984@lemmy.today 2 months ago
Im on Linux and it requires just as much memory as it did in 2018. No problem here.
glorkon@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Built my new PC in late 2023… so glad I put 96 GB of RAM into it, despite several people asking me why the fuck I need so much RAM…
jaykrown@lemmy.world 2 months ago
We’re in the late stages of the AI bubble.
Soulphite@reddthat.com 2 months ago
mrodri89@lemmy.zip 2 months ago
This is crazy because I bought 64 gb ram for like 130 in July of 2025.
Now it’s 530 for the same exact brand.
SqueakySpider@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
32GB of DDR4 3200Mhz cost me $115 in October, now the listing is out of stock and says $392. 240% increase.
Nioxic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
The 64gb memory i bought in june are up 400%
Still cheaper than my macbook air though
Professorozone@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Yeah, I bought 32GB of RAM about three months ago for my new computer build and last I checked it had doubled in price. Thinking about selling it for a profit. Can a computer run without RAM?
Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 months ago
My RAM kit is worth more than my GPU 🥲
TomMasz@lemmy.world 2 months ago
This is the future
liberalsno one wants.GenosseFlosse@feddit.org 2 months ago
Ram is the new Bitcoin.
bitjunkie@lemmy.world 2 months ago
All of these fucks kiting $10B checks need to be locked up for price fixing.
moonshadow@slrpnk.net 2 months ago
I used to scavenge all the ram I needed from the trash, nothing in months
FellowEnt@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
I looked at how much my 128GB DDR4 costs and holy shit £900. Timed my build well I feel with the 3080Ti.
anon_8675309@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Apple: see!? We do not inflate our ram prices!!!
melfie@lemy.lol 2 months ago
2026 is going to suck for hardware, but 2027 might be better if this nonsense blows over. For one thing, AMD’s RDNA 5 was announced for 2027, which is supposed to be more comparable to Nvidia for compute workloads, including real RTX cores. AMDs recent SoCs have been pretty impressive, so I’m looking forward to AMD SoCs that are competitive with Nvidia discrete GPUs beyond just rasterization, except without artificially constrained VRAM and lower power requirements.
carrylex@lemmy.world 2 months ago
You know at this point people are probably gonna start insuring their RAM…
darkmogool@feddit.org 2 months ago
what a stupid metric…
PieMePlenty@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Cost me 200eur towards the end of 2023. Crazy, I’d sell it if I didn’t need it.
empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
Damn never thought the gaming PC I built two years ago would actually be APPRECIATING in value over time.
Asmodeus_Krang@infosec.pub 2 months ago
tempest@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
I have 128 GB of ddr5 memory in my machine. I paid 1400 for my 7900xtx which I thought was crazy and now half my ram is worth that.
Never thought I would see the day where the graphics card was not the most expensive component.
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
Just about all electronics older than a year or so have. Even a Switch, which came out 9 years ago, costs more to buy now than it did then!
user224@lemmy.sdf.org 2 months ago
Wait what? I still remembered it as a recent console…
I feel like my brain is stuck. When I think of most powerful GPU, my brain’s muscle memory replies with 1080 Ti.