RAM prices are about to double in 3 months (Jefferies confirms it):
here's the only thing you should spend your money on BEFORE everything else goes up

A report from Jefferies Equity Research spells it out in black and white: RAM prices will rise between 40% and 50% this quarter, with another 30-40% increase in the last quarter of the year. A DDR5 module that costs around 240 euros today could approach 500 euros by December. If you're planning to build or upgrade your PC, there's a move almost nobody is making that could save you hundreds of euros.

Some hardware crises only hit one component, and some completely reshuffle how you should plan your entire PC build. This is the second kind. For years, building a PC has been a matter of flexible priorities: if your budget was tight, you'd cut corners on the PSU or the case and make up for it later. In 2026, that logic has broken down.

Right now, RAM — and by extension GPUs and laptops that include it — is caught in a price spiral that very few PC components are experiencing. Meanwhile, the power supply, CPU cooler, and case stay at prices nearly identical to a year ago. That means buying that part of your PC well right now is, quite literally, the smartest financial decision you can make before summer ends.

1. Why RAM prices are skyrocketing (and why it won't stop anytime soon)

The trigger has a name: artificial intelligence. Large data centers need HBM memory, a stacked-layer chip type that consumes up to three times more silicon wafer capacity than manufacturing conventional DDR5. Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have prioritized those multi-billion-dollar hyperscaler contracts over the consumer market, since they're far more profitable multi-year deals than selling loose modules in stores.

In plain terms: imagine a bakery that suddenly gets a huge, very well-paid order from a single client. To fulfill it, it stops baking the everyday bread it used to sell to the neighborhood. That's exactly what's happening with RAM right now: factories are "baking" memory for AI instead of for your next PC, and whatever little reaches the consumer market goes to the highest bidder.

2. The smart strategy: lock in what isn't rising, wait on what is

If you're planning to build a new PC or upgrade your current one, the logic of 2026 is different from any previous year. It doesn't make sense to buy RAM today if prices keep dipping occasionally in some markets like China ahead of the high season, but it also doesn't make sense to wait on the power supply, cooler, or case, since those components aren't subject to the same supply-and-demand pressure.

3. The power supply: the component most underrated during a price crisis

If RAM and GPU prices are about to climb, the last thing you want is a power supply failure forcing you to replace expensive components at the worst possible moment. A low-end PSU isn't just less efficient: in a scenario where the rest of your components are getting pricier, it's the part most likely to drag down your CPU, GPU, and motherboard with it if it fails.

4. Cooling and case: the other part of your PC that isn't getting more expensive

If you're going to stretch out the life of your current RAM or GPU while waiting for prices to drop, the smart move is making sure the rest of your system runs in optimal condition for as long as possible. That means low temperatures and proper airflow, two factors that depend directly on your cooler and case.

5. The brief truce in China: is it a sign you can wait now?

It's not all bad news. Analysts like Bai Wenxi have spotted a 34% drop in the price of some DDR5 modules in the Chinese market, a signal that has historically reached markets like Spain four to eight weeks later. But even with that correction, the module still costs almost five times more than it did in June 2025, and most Western analysts place real normalization between 2027 and 2028.

The practical takeaway doesn't change: RAM may have brief windows of better pricing, but your PC's PSU, cooler, and case will never be cheaper than they are right now. Locking in that part of your purchase today is the only decision in this entire crisis that carries zero downside risk.