[Software] Explainer: This is why memory and storage is so expensive (of course it's AI) and why PC gaming hardware prices are only going to keep rising, even probably for GPUs

[JustManiac]

We can't seem to get a moment's respite in the PC gaming industry, can we? We spent the better part of this year lamenting ridiculously high GPU prices, and as soon as said prices finally start dropping, memory and storage prices start climbing.

We're in a memory shortage right now, and this applies to both DRAM memory used for RAM and NAND memory used for SSDs, and it will likely also affect GPUs, too. This shortage means there's more demand than supply, which causes prices to rise. We're already seeing RAM prices skyrocket, and prices for SSDs and even GPUs could follow suit before long.

We're keeping track of the latest changes to RAM prices here.
The cause is mostly the newly booming AI industry, as AI servers require a lot of memory, both in terms of long-term storage and short-term system memory. And many of the same production facilities that make memory for these AI servers also make memory for our RAM, SSDs, and graphics cards, thus why there's an impact on PC gaming hardware.

 

Link: https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/memory/ram-and-storage-is-ridiculously-expensive-right-now-because-of-drumroll-ai-of-course-and-theres-little-reason-to-think-prices-will-drop-any-time-soon/