In the midst of ongoing pc component crisis, tech giant Samsung quickly doubled the price of DRAM it makes for various brands, bringing the contract price closer to $20 for parts like DDR5 RAM. So customers buying PC parts will have to pay premiums for core components, as Samsung said the sudden price hike is because the company has no DRAM stock.
At the time of writing, Samsung is the largest business conglomerate in South Korea and is one of the major manufacturers of consumer RAM, along with companies such as SK Hynix and Micron. Samsung's main customers for DRAM include companies such as G.Skill and Corsair. Along with its components for PCs and smartphones, Samsung is known for making storage for PCs, smartphones and game consoles. This includes SD cards of various sizes, including the recently introduced microSD Express format. Currently, microSD Express cards are used by the Nintendo Switch 2 as the main method of expandable storage for the console, with products such as the Samsung P9 Express Card being sold at competitive prices to consumers looking to add more space.
If you're considering buying a Nintendo Switch 2, you might not want to wait much longer before pulling the trigger
Skyrocketing RAM costs cast a worrying shadow over the Nintendo Switch 2 as industry prices rise and rumors of console price hikes grow.
PC makers will bear the cost of Samsung's price hike
As the prices of DDR5 RAM kits continue to rise for consumers, a new report claims that Samsung has increased the contract prices of the DRAM it produces. According to a Taiwanese media report shared by Twitter user Jukan05, Samsung has increased the contract price of DRAM by more than 100%, from nearly $7 to the current rate of $19.50 per unit. The contract price is a number that represents the bulk price rate that manufacturers like Samsung and SK Hynix offer to major component manufacturers like Corsair. While Samsung sells the actual DRAM chips, the latter companies then mount them on their own printed circuit boards (PCBs) and heatsinks, which they then sell to consumers and other companies. However, the continued shortage has caused consumers of RAM manufacturers to drastically increase their prices, with RAM kits costing more than four times the amount previously offered before October 2025.
Samsung said via a media release that it has no stock of DRAM kits and has therefore decided to double its contract prices. This change will inevitably affect DDR5 and DDR4 RAM kits that use Samsung components, as Samsung's contract price for DDR4 kits has also increased to $18 per 16GB module. The price increase will also affect Samsung's own line of smartphones and tablets across the board. One of Samsung's current premium smartphones is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, which at the time of writing carries a hefty price tag of $1,999.
Samsung's decision comes at the worst time for PC gamers
Samsung's sudden announcement comes days after one of Samsung's main DRAM competitors announced a major shift in its manufacturing processes. On December 3, Micron announced that it was exiting consumer RAM and SSD components and focusing its attention on manufacturing parts for enterprise customers and corporations. Ergo, Crucial's line of consumer products will be discontinued on February 28, 2026, ending a 29-year run as one of the world's leading PC parts brands. Micron said this was a move to ensure its success in the long term as it continues to supply DRAM exclusively for the AI-based servers currently being built. Despite the announcement, Micron has assured consumers that it will continue to offer warranties and support for its line of Crucial RAM and SSDs after the February 28 shutdown.
Since Samsung is also responsible for selling NVMe SSDs like the 990 Pro, the price of storage will also increase as the ongoing RAM shortage and crisis continues. As companies like Google and OpenAI continue to open data centers that require DRAM from Samsung and SK Hynix, it remains to be seen when consumers will see any relief.
Source: Tom's Guide
