DDR5 RAM hits €500, driving up PC build costs

DDR5 RAM hits €500, driving up PC build costs

Building a gaming PC has become an act of faith. A rig with a Ryzen 7 5700X—a four-year-old processor—, 32 GB of RAM and an RX 9070 reaches **€1,580**, even when assembled piece by piece. In 2020, a top-tier system cost **€900**. The difference isn't in graphics cards, which have remained relatively stable: it's in memory and storage.

**32 GB of DDR5** has hit **€500**. The previous generation, DDR4, doesn't drop below **€250** for its cheapest version. Two years ago, that same DDR5 could be bought for **€150**. A 1 TB SSD can't be found for less than **€160**; 2 TB models hover around **€300**. And a 2 TB mechanical hard drive, which cost under €100 thirteen years ago, is now more expensive than back then.

Why memory prices surged while GPUs stayed flat

The most widely circulated explanation points to **artificial intelligence**. Large data centers absorb memory and storage production, leaving the retail market with scraps. Some view this through a conspiratorial lens: if local AI at home becomes unaffordable, users end up dependent on centralized services. There's no proof of this, but the effect is the same: individual consumers pay the price.

The result is an imbalanced market. **CPUs**, failing to sell, see their prices drop. Memory rises. Those looking to upgrade their platform find that the cheap component is useless without the expensive one. Thus, the PC market cools down from the most unexpected angle.

Hard drives that traveled back in time

Storage deserves its own chapter. A **WD Green 2 TB** drive bought thirteen years ago cost under **€100**. Today, the same type of mechanical disk costs more. It's not that HDDs have improved; they've been relegated to secondary storage, and their prices rose dragged along by SSDs, which themselves increased due to memory demand. Like how sunflower oil pushed up olive oil prices.

Some argue that high-end SSDs with **MLC** cells—nearly indestructible, ten years old with 93% health—are no longer manufactured, and that current TLC drives fail sooner. A 1 TB MLC drive sells for **€400**; the 2 TB model for **€700**. A collector's paradox.

The China theory and stubborn prices

Hope rests on **China**. Rumors suggest that by 2027, it will mass-produce DDR5, causing prices to fall. Precedent doesn't invite optimism: Chinese SSDs already exist and haven't halted the rise. An alternative reading is that manufacturers are harvesting margins before competition arrives.

Meanwhile, the average user waits. A mini PC with **Ryzen 7 8845HS, 32 GB of DDR5 and 1 TB** was bought on sale for **€300**. Another for just over **€200**. The irony: memory skyrocketing in the component market comes integrated and cheap in compact systems. Something doesn't add up in the narrative.

When will RAM prices finally drop?

There's no date. Memory production depends on industrial decisions not made with gamers in mind. If AI demand remains strong, prices hold. If it cools, they fall. The most likely scenario is a gradual correction, not a collapse. Those in a hurry will pay. Those who can wait will save. Patience, in this market, is the most profitable component.

The most widespread prediction suggests prices will ease once supply meets demand. No one knows when. Meanwhile, the 2016 PC keeps running, which is the year's best economic news.