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Why PC Hardware Prices Are Skyrocketing in 2025 — And How to Make Smart Upgrade Decisions

RAM and SSD prices are climbing because AI data-centres are buying huge amounts of memory, manufacturers are prioritising high-margin products, and NAND flash supply is tight. Analysts are reporting double-digit contract price rises for DRAM and NAND in late 2025, with some server-grade DRAM up far more.


Why PC Hardware Prices Are Rising in 2025 — And How to Make Smart Upgrade Decisions

If you’ve been watching the PC market lately, you’ve probably noticed something unusual: instead of prices dropping the way they normally do over time, key components like RAM and SSDs have been getting more expensive. This isn’t temporary discount fluctuation — there are real industry-wide factors behind it, and they’re expected to continue through late 2025.


What’s actually driving the price increases?

1. Global demand for memory has shifted toward AI and data-centre hardware. Manufacturers are prioritising production of high-end server memory, HBM (High Bandwidth Memory), and DDR5 for enterprise systems. As a result, less manufacturing capacity is being allocated to standard desktop consumer memory, which pushes pricing upward.

2. DDR4 is being phased out. Most major manufacturers have already reduced DDR4 production and are focusing on DDR5. Any time a product reaches its end-of-life stage, what’s left in the supply chain becomes more volatile in price. That means DDR4 won’t necessarily get “cheaper later” the way some people expect — in fact, it may slowly rise as stock dries up.

3. SSDs are affected by the same supply issues. Flash storage (NAND) pricing has been increasing because production cuts that were made during the slower demand period in 2023–2024 are now colliding with a surge in demand from AI servers, cloud storage providers, and next-gen laptops.

4. Australia pays more than the global average. Exchange rates, import freight costs, and smaller local retail inventory mean Australian buyers feel price movements sooner and more sharply than US or European markets.


What this means if you’re planning an upgrade

  • If you’re already planning to move to a new platform (such as DDR5), doing it sooner rather than later may be cheaper than waiting for “the right sale”.

  • If your system is still performing well, there’s no need to rush out and replace parts, but it’s wise to budget a little higher than last year’s pricing.

  • If you’re on DDR4 and were hoping to buy a memory upgrade later, be aware that DDR4 is not guaranteed to get cheaper over time — it may do the opposite as inventory expires.

  • For professional workloads (3D scanning, content creation, VMs, CAD, engineering), capacity matters more than raw MHz speed. A stable 128 GB or 512 GB build is more valuable than the fastest benchmark-rated RAM kit.


How to make cost-smart upgrade choices in 2025

  1. Prioritise capacity and compatibility over peak speed numbers. Real-world performance is usually bottlenecked by not having enough RAM or SSD space, not by running slightly slower RAM clocks.

  2. Secure the hard-to-find parts first. Large-capacity DDR5 ECC modules, workstation-class GPUs, and multi-terabyte NVMe drives are the most affected by supply pressure.

  3. Don’t assume “next month will be cheaper. The current pricing trend is upward, not downward. Waiting only makes sense if your system is already meeting your needs.

  4. Compare multiple local suppliers. With tight stock, different Australian distributors often have very different pricing on the same item depending on shipment timing.



SOURCES:

  1. “DRAM prices are about to skyrocket — DDR4 and GDDR6 among formats that could increase in price by up to 45 percent.” TrendForce via Tom's Hardware, July 2025. https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/dram/dram-prices-are-about-to-skyrocket-ddr4-and-gddr6-among-formats-that-could-increase-in-price-by-up-to-45-percent

  2. “DRAM Revenue Drops 5.5% in the First Quarter of 2025; SK hynix Overtakes Samsung.” TrendForce press release, June 3, 2025. https://www.trendforce.com/presscenter/news/20250603-12603.html

  3. “Some clarity on 2025’s DDR4 price surge.” TheMemoryGuy blog. https://thememoryguy.com/some-clarity-on-2025s-ddr4-price-surge/

  4. “NAND flash prices to rise 5–10% in 4Q 25.” Evertiq, September 25, 2025. https://www.evertiq.com/news/2025-09-25-nand-flash-prices-to-rise-5-10-in-4q25

  5. “DRAM and NAND flash prices are expected to rise in the second half of 2025.” Tom's Hardware. https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/dram-and-nand-prices-are-expected-to-rise-in-the-second-half-of-2025

  6. “AI data centers are swallowing the world’s memory … driving up storage costs.” Tom's Hardware, October 3, 2025. https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/storage/perfect-storm-of-demand-and-supply-driving-up-storage-costs

  7. “DDR4 RAM prices continue to surge ahead of DDR5 … now averaging US$25 per DDR4-3200 module.” PCGamer, October 28, 2025. https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/memory/ddr4-ram-prices-continue-to-surge-ahead-of-ddr5-now-averaging-usd25-per-ddr4-3200-module/

  8. “DRAM and NAND prices surge by up to 20% — contract price increases driven by AI demands and tight supply.” DigiTimes via Tom’s Hardware, September 17, 2025. https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/nand-and-dram-prices-spike-in-q42025

  9. “DRAM prices unlikely to drop in 2025; …” DigiTimes reporting, June 4, 2025. https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20250604PD207/dram-2025-team-group-ddr4-production.html

  10. “Rising Demand Driving SSD Prices Up to 10% Higher in Q4 2025.” Tech4Gamers, September 26, 2025. https://www.tech4gamers.com/nand-flash-memory-prices-increase-q4-2025/

  11. “Memory Spot Price Update: SK hynix, Micron Push DDR4 Last-Time Buys as Phase-Out boosts Q3 Prices.” TrendForce news, June 18, 2025. https://www.trendforce.com/news/2025/06/18/insights-memory-spot-price-update-sk-hynix-micron-push-ddr4-last-time-buys-as-phase-out-boosts-q3-prices/

  12. “China’s Xiaomi says surging memory chip prices push up smartphone costs.” Reuters, October 24, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/chinas-xiaomi-says-surging-memory-chip-prices-push-up-smartphone-costs-2025-10-24

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