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If you’re planning to buy a laptop, a desktop PC or a memory upgrade, the RAM shortage isn’t going away soon. Micron, the largest US maker of memory chips, says supply will get “much tighter” in 2027 and 2028.
That matters because memory is in almost everything you buy with a screen. RAM, the short-term memory a computer uses to run apps, and flash storage, where your files live, are both in short supply. AI data centers are buying up as much as chipmakers can produce, and shoppers are paying the difference.
What did Micron say?
Micron reported record results on Sept. 30: $54.23 billion in revenue for the three months that ended Sept. 3. Its revenue for the full year more than tripled, from $37.38 billion to $133.19 billion.
Here’s the number that tells you who has the upper hand. Micron’s gross margin was 86.8%. That means about 87 cents of every dollar it took in was left over after the cost of making the chips. Companies don’t earn margins like that when buyers have other options.
On the earnings call, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said the company expects memory and storage supply to be “much tighter in fiscal 2027 and 2028 than they were in 2026.” Micron expects revenue to climb again next quarter, to about $61.5 billion.
How much have prices gone up?
A lot. A 32GB kit of DDR5, the type of RAM in most new desktops, sold for about $95 before the shortage. In late September it cost $429 to $560 at US retailers, according to the price tracker Capital and Compute.
We did the math: that’s about 4.5 to 6 times the old price. Put another way, you now pay roughly $13 to $18 for every gigabyte of memory that used to cost about $3.
Those costs reach finished products too. Over the past year, Dell, HP, Asus, Acer and Lenovo all raised PC prices or warned they would, with increases of roughly 10% to 25% depending on the brand.
You can see it on shelf prices right now. On Oct. 1, we checked Best Buy’s listing for the 13-inch MacBook Air with Apple’s M5 chip, 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage (paid link). It was $1,299, with no sale. That same laptop launched at $1,099 in March. Apple raised it by $200 on June 26, saying AI data centers had created “an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage.” Open-box units started at $1,110.99.
Why won’t it get better soon?
Building a chip factory takes years. Micron says its new factories won’t add meaningful supply until mid-2027 at the earliest.
Until then, AI companies and consumers are competing for the same supply. AI wins that fight, because data center buyers order in huge volumes and pay top prices.
Not everyone agrees on how long this lasts. Acer’s chairman has suggested the shortage story helps chipmakers protect their profits, and some investors think AI spending could cool faster than expected. Even so, Micron’s own outlook points to tighter supply, not looser.
Should you buy now or wait?
Our take: if you need a computer in the next six months, don’t count on prices falling. Here’s how to shop smart.
- Buy when you need it, not when you hope prices drop. Black Friday deals will still exist, but they’ll start from prices that are already higher.
- Get the memory you’ll need for years. Many laptops have RAM soldered to the board, so you can’t add more later. Choosing 16GB over 8GB now usually costs less than replacing the laptop early.
- Look at last year’s models and refurbished units. Some were built with memory bought before prices spiked, so compare them against this year’s version before you buy.
- Hold off on upgrading an older PC’s memory unless you have to. That’s where the price jump hits hardest.
- If you already own a decent machine, keep it. A cleanup and a battery replacement can buy you another year or two.
Shopping now? Start with our best laptops for students and best laptops for remote work, or our budget laptop picks for students if every dollar counts.
What to watch
Watch holiday laptop prices from Dell, HP and Lenovo in November, and Micron’s next earnings report in December. If Micron hits its forecast again, expect the same message: memory stays expensive into 2028.
