Starting in Q3 2026, Micron will allocate all of its DRAM production into AI products and customers, which is exactly the problem. The AI industry is eating up all of the high-speed memory it can get, with TSMC, SK hynix, and Samsung all fabbing and making as much DRAM as it can, with the likes of NVIDIA requesting that TSMC increase its 3nm semiconductor production capacity by 50% so it can make (and sell) more AI GPUs, with the ever-important DRAM-based HBM3E and HBM4 memory.
DRAM production being increased and allocated towards AI chips has seen the price of consumer RAM (single sticks, kits of all sizes) rapidly increase in price over the last few months. We've seen 64GB kits of DDR5 memory skyrocket from around $150, to over $500, making 64GB of RAM for your PC cost more than a PlayStation 5 console... and it's not slowing down, and it's not going to stop for the foreseeable future.
It's not just DDR5 RAM for your system, as DRAM is inside of many tech products, including your GPU (up to 32GB of ultra-fast GDDR7 memory on the flagship GeForce RTX 5090), and many other products and devices that are sold. Anything with DRAM in it will cost more in 2026, as AI is unfortunately gobbling up all DRAM production, and some.
This is why Micron has decided to axe its Crucial consumer memory business, as it can use its vast semiconductor production capacity into DRAM-based HBM3, HBM3E, HBM4, and more for the AI industry. Micron was one of three of the biggest DRAM suppliers, leaving SK hynix and Samsung in South Korea to keep up DRAM production for consumer devices, as the technology world would crumble without consumer-focused DRAM production.
2026 is going to be a bumpy year, with CES 2026 right around the corner, it'll be interesting about what's said, what products are sold (in enough quantities, especially with higher amounts of RAM, SSDs, etc), and what the outlook is for next year regarding the consumer RAM and SSD space with Micron's exit from the Crucial consumer business.
JayzTwoCents and Gamers Nexus talked about it. Steve of Gamers Nexus says he's working on an in depth story on his other channel about the memory situation.
Yeah, if it was just "Crucial" I wouldn't give a fuck, I don't buy their shit anyway. It's going to mean less DRAM chips on the market, with Micron diverting all of theirs to AI customers.
RAM and video cards are going to be expensive for our lifetimes.
I'm not too keen on Steve's conspiracy. Firstly, people still need devices to access software and services in the cloud.
Secondly, that's not how things work. Nature abhors a vacuum (Don't believe me? Just try leaving that old Hoover unit out in the rain overnight lol). Someone else would fill the void, more chips would get manufactured. RAM chip consumption isn't going away, and in the event of a permanent shortage deliberately caused by these douchebags, there would be incentive to build more manufacturing which could then also put more high speed DRAM on the market. Then you'd see Micron and their ilk change their tune, with new competitors.
Him saying Micron is the first of many is just fearmongering, with no basis in actual fact. He could be right, but there's likely a greater chance of him being wrong.
I agree, if DRAM production went away there would be no new phones and computers with which to interact with all the AI based services, only older aging machines. Not that it isn't used for other things that aren't consumer facing but that's a significant part of it.
Tech billionaires (empowered by the current regime in the U.S.) are another reason nobody can have nice things.
I just looked and Corsair Vengeance DDR5 (which is what I'd want to buy if I was buying a new motherboard) is near $600 CDN for a 32 Gb kit. I wouldn't even bother with 32 Gb, I'd want 64 or 128. That's utterly ridiculous.
So this is likely the last computer I'm going to have.
