2020 has been a tough decade for gaming hardware so far. Manufacturers had barely recovered from the various COVID-related supply chain issues that crippled the launches of consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S when they faced a new challenge: the rise of AI data centers and the RAM they gobbled up.
Indeed, if you've been trying to build a PC in the past few months, I probably don't need to tell you that certain components can be hard to come by. In particular, DDR4 and DDR5 RAM, as well as hard drives and SSDs, have skyrocketed in price. Frustratingly, these sharp spikes are almost entirely the result of aggressive global investment in AI. Last year alone, AI companies accounted for 61% of all global venture capital investments – equating to a total value of $258.7. billion. I wish I had better news for you, but I don't: RAM and SSD prices are likely to get worse before they get better.
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AI data centers continue to throttle global RAM stocks
You may have already heard about the material impact of artificial intelligence. For example, many want to point out the huge amount of water consumed by AI data centers. But they also require, unsurprisingly, a lot of hardware, including high-bandwidth memory, which is the type of RAM most commonly used for general system RAM and VRAM. Again, generative AI is not a cottage industry, so the burden it places on this market is extremely significant. I'd call it immeasurable, but it's not quite true: analysts reported that ChatGPT platform holder OpenAI has reserved up to 40% of global RAM by 2025.
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The result is a 200% to 400% increase in RAM prices worldwide, as well as an extreme increase in demand for the raw materials used in RAM construction, further exacerbating the shortage. Part and parcel of this is the increasingly alarming decline in available parts for NAND storage, the type of storage used in hard drives and SSDs. This will likely have a knock-on effect for other parts of the PC as well – expect processor prices to rise at an abnormally fast rate as well.
There is very little sign of this trend slowing; several financial reports have suggested that it will actually accelerate. Take a remarkable 2024 analysis by renowned consulting firm McKinsey & Company, which predicted that demand for data centers could increase by as much as 27% by 2030, requiring nearly five times the power they use today. Such growth would require an unprecedented amount of materials for the sector. To put this into perspective, as of April 2026, Samsung and SK Hynix – which together supply about 90% of global dynamic RAM – have publicly warned that they are unlikely to meet their supply requirements by 2027.
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Geopolitical factors further complicate the production and transportation of components
Although their impact on RAM costs is not as significant as in the AI industry, President Trump's tariffs and escalating global tensions have certainly exacerbated skyrocketing RAM costs. In addition to tariffs and war-related supply chain issues, many technology firms have reportedly scaled back certain global business operations. For example, during 2025, during which Trump enthusiastically announced a series of tough tariffs and aggressive trade strategies, both Samsung and SK Hynix halted shipments of outdated semiconductor machinery to China, which produces a significant amount of electronics. Normally, these machines would play a key role in global technological production; now lying unused in warehouses.
Another potential complicating factor for the RAM market in May is the ongoing unrest from Samsung's trade unions, which are threatening an 18-day strike from the 21st.
What gaming hardware will be affected by the persistent RAM shortage and for how long?
Steam recently announced that the new Steam Controller has not been affected by the parts shortage, which is good news that probably won't affect most gaming hardware. For now, it's safe to assume that pretty much any technology that uses RAM or storage will become more expensive over the next few years, and in fact, prices could continue to rise. It may seem like we're knee-deep in this issue, but we may just be getting started: AI companies like OpenAI are very much in the R&D phase right now—their power and hardware demands will only grow as AI expands.
Upcoming gaming hardware likely to be affected by the RAM and SSD crisis
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PlayStation 6
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Project Helix (next Xbox)
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Steam engine
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Steam Deck 2
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Steam Frame
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All GPU and SSD wafers
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All pre-built computers
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All new laptops, desktops and mobile devices
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However, this may not last forever. Overall, the AI industry is still unprofitable and general hype for the technology has died down, especially as it becomes clear that the development of usable AI is less frequent and dramatic. If investors continue to feel bearish on the emerging industry, then AI companies could pull back from building data centers, easing some of the pressure on the above materials. Or the industry could go through a bubble where mammoth capital investments fail to meet meaningful returns, completely recontextualizing the AI debate. There is also the possibility that technological innovation will lead to greater efficiency or alternatives that reduce the burden on resources. And while the political sphere, especially in the West, has been surprisingly pro-AI in recent years, that could change dramatically going forward. The political upheaval in the US alone is enough to make such a change seem more realistic than a year ago.
But even in the best case scenario, these RAM issues won't be fixed overnight. Regardless, there will be a lull period during which time shifts in supply chain structures, reallocation of resources, and energy vacuums can lead to latency or other complications between high-level changes and actual consumer prices. More importantly, the solution to the AI data center problem will not appear out of thin air. Legislators, local leaders, and all citizens in democratic societies will need to push for meaningful regulation of AI if they want it. Similarly, consumers will have to vote with their wallets if they want to stop seeing AI colonize the tech world.
