Memory shortages could hit PC shipments in 2026
PC makers are warning that 2026 could be a frustrating year for buyers: not because CPUs or GPUs are unavailable, but because the industry is running into memory shortages that push up bill-of-materials costs and force awkward configuration choices.
Memory shortages meet the PC refresh cycle
Channel analysts cited by The Register say mainstream PC memory and storage costs rose by roughly 40–70 per cent between Q1 and Q4 2025, with increases being passed on to customers. The core problem is allocation: memory makers are chasing higher-margin server DRAM and HBM for AI infrastructure, leaving less capacity for the more pedestrian DDR parts that feed laptops and desktops.
The knock-on effect is simple. If you are Dell, Lenovo or any other big OEM, you either (a) pay more and raise prices, or (b) hold the line on pricing and ship leaner specs. Option (b) is risky in a Windows 11 world, where buyers expect “baseline” RAM to be higher than it was a few years ago.
Why memory shortages are not clearing quickly
In a normal cycle, rising prices would attract extra output, and the market would eventually swing back to glut. Several research firms now argue this cycle is being distorted by sustained AI demand and by manufacturers prioritising premium products. In separate market commentary, TrendForce has been pointing to sharp contract-price moves for conventional DRAM, while Reuters has linked the latest surge to the industry’s broader shift towards AI-related chips and tight supply in traditional memory lines.
You can already see the pressure reaching end products. Framework, for example, has publicly raised prices on RAM configurations for its desktop PC, explicitly blaming supplier cost increases tied to the shortage.
What to watch next
For PC buyers and enterprise IT teams, the practical question is whether memory shortages become an extended constraint through 2026, or a first-half spike that eases once procurement and production plans catch up. Shipment forecasts are already being nudged down, and competition for allocation could reward the biggest buyers and the fattest-margin SKUs.
As previously reported by eeNews Europe when memory pricing accelerated across DRAM and NAND, the same forces pulling capacity into AI infrastructure are squeezing the rest of the electronics supply chain. If that continues, memory shortages may become a design constraint as much as a pricing problem.
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