"AI-driven memory and storage price hikes have been the defining feature of the PC industry in 2026, and hobbyists have been hit the hardest-companies like Apple with lots of buying power have been able to limit the price increases for their PCs, phones, and other gadgets so far, but smaller outfits like Valve and Raspberry Pi haven't been so lucky."
"Patel says that standalone RAM sticks are being priced "as close as we can to the weighted average cost of our purchases from suppliers." In September, buying an 8GB stick of RAM with a Framework Laptop 13 cost $40; it currently costs $130. A 96GB DDR5 kit of two 48GB sticks costs $1,340, up from $480 in September. Framework Desktop systems and boards with built-in RAM are seeing price increases between 6 and 16 percent-in general, the more RAM you're buying, the higher the increase."
AI-driven memory and storage price hikes have disproportionately raised costs for hobbyist and small-scale PC builders while larger companies with purchasing power have limited pass-through increases. Framework stopped selling standalone RAM sticks in November 2025 and has raised prices on multiple systems monthly since then, with DIY laptop editions and the Framework Desktop hit hardest. Both removable SODIMM modules and soldered LPDDR5X memory costs have climbed steeply, with an 8GB stick bundled with a Laptop 13 moving from $40 to $130 and a 96GB DDR5 kit rising from $480 to $1,340. Framework Desktop configurations have increased between 6% and 16%, with base and maxed systems rising by $110 and $600 respectively.
Read at Ars Technica
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