If you priced a custom PC last year and priced it again this month, you already know something changed. The same 32GB memory kit that cost $100 to $200 in October 2025 now starts at roughly $350 to $400, and a 2TB NVMe drive that sold for $123 in late 2024 is now $300 and up. This is not a markup at one store and it is not a tariff story. It is a global memory shortage driven by AI data centers, and every custom build that leaves our Somerville bench has to be planned around it. Here is what the industry data actually says, and what we do about it.
Street prices from Tom's Hardware's weekly price trackers, updated August 17–18, 2026. These are the lowest prices found, not averages.
| Part | Lowest price, Aug 2026 | Per GB | What it was a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16GB DDR5 kit | $214 | $13.38 | A 32GB DDR5 kit sold for $100–$200 in October 2025 |
| 32GB DDR5 kit | $394 | $12.31 | |
| 64GB DDR5 kit | $869 | $13.58 | |
| 16GB DDR4 kit | $89 | $5.56 | DDR4 has risen too, but far less |
| 32GB DDR4 kit | $179 | $5.59 | |
| 1TB NVMe (PCIe 4.0, e.g. Silicon Power UD90) | $142 | — | A reader reported paying $123 for a 2TB drive in Nov 2024 that now lists at $379 |
| 2TB NVMe (PCIe 4.0, e.g. Samsung 990 Pro) | $389 | — |
Sources: Tom's Hardware RAM price index (updated Aug 17, 2026) and SSD price tracker (updated Aug 18, 2026). Prices move weekly; treat these as a snapshot.
None of this is our opinion. Each cause below is on the record from the memory makers, the analysts who track them, or the trade press that covers them.
Every AI server needs far more memory per box than a conventional server. Market analyst TrendForce reported in October 2025 that cloud providers accelerating AI build-outs were pushing memory content per server well beyond earlier expectations, and raised its DRAM contract price forecast from 8–13% growth to 18–23% "with a strong likelihood of further upward revision." That revision turned out to be conservative.
Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron make essentially all of the world's DRAM. In a December 2025 interview with Tom's Hardware, Kingston's Cameron Crandall, a 29-year veteran of the company, called the situation "like we've never seen" and said manufacturers were hesitant to add capacity because of concern the AI boom could reverse. His advice was blunt: "prices are going to continue to go up."
The same Kingston interview put NAND flash contract pricing up 246% from the first quarter of 2025, with 70% of that jump landing in a single 60-day window. Since NAND makes up roughly 90% of an SSD's bill of materials, there was no way for drive prices to stay put. That is why a 2TB drive that was a routine $120 upgrade on our bench in 2024 is now a $300-plus line item.
TrendForce's October forecast made a striking prediction: DDR5 profitability would surpass HBM3e, the exotic memory used on AI accelerators, starting in early 2026. When a commodity memory part becomes that lucrative, makers prioritize the big server contracts that pay it. Retail kits for PC builders get whatever is left, and in 2026 that is not much.
We get asked this at the counter every day. The honest answer is that credible sources disagree, and none of them is predicting a return to 2024 prices this year.
On one side, Kingston told Tom's Hardware in December 2025 that it expected prices to rise throughout 2026 and recommended buying now rather than waiting 30 days. TrendForce's outlook had DDR5 contract prices climbing through at least the first half of 2026. Graphics card maker Sapphire, quoted in the same Tom's Hardware piece, offered the more optimistic view that DRAM might stabilize within six to eight months.
Eight months later, the August 2026 price trackers above show the stabilization has not arrived for DDR5 or for NAND. The ripple effects have even reached the chip roadmaps: Tom's Hardware reported in February 2026 that both AMD's Zen 6 and Intel's Nova Lake desktop CPUs slipped toward 2027, with DDR5 costing "three times more" cited among the industry turmoil, and Nvidia's RTX 50 Super cards have been held up by GDDR7 memory shortages.
This is what has changed about how we spec a custom build in Somerville since the shortage began.
For years we defaulted to 32GB because it was cheap insurance. At $394 a kit it is no longer cheap. A 1080p or 1440p gaming build, a student machine, or a home office PC runs well on 16GB today, and the board keeps two slots open for a second kit when prices normalize. We reserve 32GB and up for video editing, CAD, virtual machines, and local AI work where it is actually used.
DDR4 is about $5.60 per gigabyte versus $12 to $13 for DDR5. A 32GB DDR4 kit is $179; the DDR5 equivalent is $394. Tom's Hardware's July 2026 best CPUs guide still lists AM4 chips like the Ryzen 5 5600 (about $117) and the Ryzen 7 5800X3D 10th Anniversary Edition as current picks, and Newegg and Micro Center still stock AM4 boards. For a $900 build, that $215 memory savings is a whole tier of graphics card.
Every modern board has at least two M.2 slots. A 1TB PCIe 4.0 drive from a reputable maker is $140 to $240 depending on model; the 2TB version is $250 to $390. If your game library fits in 1TB today, start there and add a second drive when NAND pricing improves. Storage is the one component you can expand without touching anything else.
If your current PC has a good 2TB NVMe or a 32GB DDR4 kit, that hardware is worth two to three times what it was when you bought it. Our custom build service will migrate your existing drive, memory, case, or power supply into the new build whenever it makes sense. Customers have saved $400 or more this year doing exactly that.
Graphics cards, by contrast, have not moved nearly as much. Tom's Hardware's July 2026 GPU guide notes that "unless you're shopping for an RTX 5090, graphics card prices haven't risen much more than they already did earlier this year." If your PC is on a reasonably current platform, a graphics card upgrade plus a fresh SSD often beats a full rebuild in 2026 pricing, because you sidestep buying new RAM entirely.
⚡ Want a build quote that reflects this week's prices? Tell us what you do with the machine and your budget. We will spec it around today's memory market, with an honest note on what to defer.
📞 Call (908) 428-9558Walk-in welcome · No appointment needed · 75 N Bridge St, Somerville NJ
Both can be the right call. Here is how we help NJ customers decide.
The questions we answer most at the Somerville counter this year.
AI data centers are buying memory faster than Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron can make it, and those three makers have shifted production toward higher-margin server and HBM parts. TrendForce and Tom's Hardware both document DDR5 prices tripling or more between late 2025 and mid 2026.
Credible sources disagree on timing. Kingston said in December 2025 that prices would keep rising through 2026; Sapphire suggested stabilization within six to eight months. As of August 2026, the trackers show no meaningful relief yet for DDR5 or NAND.
If you need the machine, build now and size memory and storage to what you actually use. If your current PC works and you want 64GB or a next-gen CPU, waiting is reasonable, but there is no reliable signal that prices fall soon.
For a budget build, yes. A 32GB DDR4 kit was about $179 in August 2026 versus roughly $394 for DDR5. Paired with an AM4 chip like the Ryzen 5 5600 or Ryzen 7 5800X3D, it is a real savings path, with the trade-off of no future CPU upgrades on that board.
Usually, and in 2026 it is one of the best savings available. DDR5 carries over to any current AM5 or Intel board, a DDR4 kit works with AM4, and any NVMe drive can move. We test reused parts during the diagnostic.
Labor is quoted up front and parts are at current market price. We start with a $75 diagnostic that is credited toward the work, so you only pay for the upgrade that actually helps.
Bring your budget and your old PC. We will tell you what to reuse, what to buy now, and what to defer until memory prices calm down.
📞 (908) 428-9558