The future of purchasing a new PC looks daunting for gamers and tech enthusiasts. Reports suggest a significant price increase could soon ripple through the supply chain, making next year’s PC acquisitions potentially costly.
Memory Supercycle Threatens PC Market Stability
The current memory supercycle poses a significant challenge for those eager to build new systems. RAM prices are climbing, and in response, GPU giants like AMD and NVIDIA are adjusting their prices upward due to the rising costs of DRAM. According to a 2026 market analysis, the outlook for PC gaming is concerning, predicting a tough year ahead for the community.
The timing of the memory shortage creates a perfect storm for the PC industry, colliding with the Microsoft Windows 10 end-of-life refresh cycle and the AI PC marketing push.
PC vendors are signalling broad price increases as cost pressures intensify into H2 2026. Lenovo, Dell, HP, Acer, and ASUS have warned clients of tougher conditions ahead, confirming 15-20% hikes and contract resets as an industry-wide response.
– IDC
Projections indicate a 4.9% decline in PC market shipments moving into the next year. If memory issues worsen, this decline could be more severe. As large OEMs are poised to gain market share with pre-built systems offering “attractive value,” custom PC building could become increasingly expensive.
AI Trends and Memory Challenges
As the ‘AI PC’ trend wanes next year, the demand for higher RAM configurations to support on-device AI features like Copilot+ will face challenges due to memory constraints. Mid-tier laptops might standardize on 8 GB memory, limiting manufacturers’ ability to offer both advanced features and competitive pricing. The coming year could be more challenging than previous crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the crypto-mining boom, in terms of supply chain disruptions.