Micron has discontinued its Crucial consumer brand

In February 2026, Micron, the only US-based DRAM manufacturer, announced the end of its Crucial brand, which for years had been the go-to choice for millions of builders. The company has stated it is leaving the consumer market to focus on its largest strategic customers: AI data centers. When the manufacturer that made the RAM kit you put in every recommendation openly says it's no longer interested in you as a customer, the market has changed in a structural way.

Samsung has told its OEMs there's no stock

Industry sources in Taiwan reported that Samsung passed on a simple message to its manufacturing customers: no conventional DRAM stock is available. This isn't a pricing issue; it's a physical absence of product in standard distribution channels. When the world's largest memory manufacturer can't supply its regular customers, prices can only move in one direction.

New RAM manufacturers won't arrive before 2028

Building a new memory semiconductor fab takes four to six years and costs tens of billions of euros. Micron has plants under construction in Idaho, but its own executives have admitted they won't have a meaningful impact on the consumer market before 2028. SK Hynix has committed an additional $15 billion to capacity expansion, but that too is aimed mainly at HBM. There's no short-term rescue coming.

A video game now recommends 64 GB of RAM

To top it off, the first commercial title has already appeared listing 64 GB of RAM among its recommended requirements. In a context where 32 GB is already expensive, this news carries a significant psychological impact on the gamer and builder community. The debate over whether 16 GB is still enough in 2026 is now officially settled.

Builders and upgraders

The hardest-hit segment. People who build their own PCs buy components at market price without the negotiating power of a Lenovo or a Dell. Taiwanese distributors are in some cases even requiring RAM purchases to be bundled with a motherboard, driving up the cost of any individual purchase even further.

Gamers with 16 GB

16 GB of RAM, the dominant standard in the gaming community until very recently, is starting to fall short in modern titles. Upgrading to 32 GB cost under €70 a year ago. Today that same upgrade tops €150, and the trend doesn't invite optimism.

Laptop and prebuilt buyers

Big manufacturers have more negotiating muscle, but they've still announced 15-20% increases to their retail catalog prices for the second half of 2026. Buying now, before those increases show up in the retail price, is a real advantage.

If you're going to upgrade, do it now: don't wait

The CEO of MAINGEAR, one of the leading American system integrators, put it bluntly: consumers considering a RAM, SSD or GPU upgrade shouldn't wait. Every market signal points to prices continuing to rise through 2026 and possibly into 2027. Waiting for a short-term drop isn't backed by current data.

DDR4 is now the smart choice for most people

DDR5 prices have risen far more sharply than DDR4, since DDR5 production overlaps more with HBM manufacturing lines. A 32 GB DDR4 kit at €150-180 is still a reasonable buy for a gaming or work system. In real-world gaming performance, the difference between DDR4 and DDR5 in most titles is under 5%. In price, the gap today exceeds 200%.

Don't pay the speed premium on DDR5 if you have to buy it

If your platform requires DDR5, or you already have it and need to expand, go for base speeds like DDR5-4800 or DDR5-5200. High-performance DDR5-6000 or DDR5-7200 kits carry a steep price premium that makes no sense in the current situation. The real-world performance difference in games and everyday applications doesn't justify the extra cost.

Upgrade your storage too, if you need it

NAND Flash, the technology behind SSDs, is undergoing the same manufacturing-capacity shift. SSD prices have already risen between 50 and 100%, following the same trend as DRAM. If your SSD is close to its limit, this isn't the year to put off the upgrade.

Compare prebuilts before ruling them out

For the first time in many years, building a PC from scratch doesn't always come out cheaper than buying a prebuilt system. Big manufacturers have access to RAM and storage at contract prices that individual buyers can't match on the spot market. If you're starting from zero, it's worth comparing a prebuilt before automatically assuming self-building is the cheaper option.

How much RAM do I need for gaming in 2026?

For the vast majority of current titles, 16 GB is still functional, but more and more cases are showing up where 32 GB makes a real difference in stability and load times. The first game to list 64 GB among its recommended requirements has already appeared, marking a trend that isn't going to reverse. If you have 16 GB and your platform supports DDR4, upgrading to 32 GB with a DDR4 kit is the best cost-to-impact upgrade you can make right now.

Is it better to buy DDR4 or DDR5 right now?

It depends on your platform. If your motherboard supports DDR4, stick with DDR4: the gaming performance gap between DDR4 and DDR5 rarely exceeds 5%, while the price gap today exceeds 200%. If your platform only supports DDR5, Intel 12th gen or later, AMD Ryzen 7000 and up, go for base speeds like DDR5-4800 or DDR5-5200. There's no reason to pay extra for high-speed DDR5-6000 or higher kits in the current pricing environment.

Will prices drop before the end of 2026?

The forecasts aren't encouraging. Gartner, TrendForce and IDC all agree that prices will keep rising through the rest of 2026, with a possible stabilization in 2027 if the major producers' additional manufacturing capacity starts reaching the consumer market. Waiting for prices to drop this year isn't supported by any real market signal. Micron has been the most direct: its new plants in Idaho won't have an impact on the consumer market before 2028.

Does this crisis also affect graphics card prices?

Indirectly, yes. GDDR, the memory used by GPUs, is also under pressure, though to a lesser extent than consumer DRAM. Some graphics card manufacturers have already warned of increases to their list prices. The most visible effect for the gaming market is that prebuilts and gaming laptops are getting more expensive because of system memory, even when the GPU's own price hasn't changed. It's a domino effect that impacts the total cost of any build.

Can I mix my current RAM modules with new ones to expand capacity?

Technically possible in many cases, but not ideal. Mixing modules of different brands, speeds or latencies can force the system to run at the lowest common denominator of both, meaning the speed of the slower module, and in some cases can cause stability issues. If you're expanding, it's best to buy a full kit for the free slots on your board, matching the brand and specs of your existing modules whenever possible.

Why have SSD prices also gone up if the problem is with RAM?

NAND Flash, the underlying technology in SSDs, is made by the same manufacturers as DRAM, Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, and they're in exactly the same situation: production capacity diverted toward higher-margin data center products. The result is that RAM and storage are seeing parallel price hikes. SSDs have risen between 50 and 100%, somewhat less steep than DRAM, but enough to hit the budget of any new build.

Does it make sense to buy used RAM in this context?

It's an option worth exploring, especially for standard-speed DDR4 kits from owners selling to migrate to newer platforms. The secondhand market hasn't absorbed the same level of price increase as the new-product market yet, which creates real opportunities. The risks are possible speed or XMP profile incompatibility and the lack of manufacturer warranty. If you go this route, always buy from sellers with a verifiable track record and confirm compatibility with your motherboard before closing the purchase.