RAM prices are so out of control that stores are selling it like lobster

Michael Crider’s headline at PCWorld today perfectly captures how ridiculous the PC memory shortage has become: stores like the San Francisco Bay Area’s Central Computers are beginning to sell RAM at market prices, like you’d pay for the catch-of-the-day at a seafood restaurant.

“Costs are fluctuating daily as manufacturers and distributors adjust to limited supply and high demand,” reads a message posted in the store’s display case, as spotted by Steve Lin. “Because of this, we can’t display fixed prices at this time.”

Micro Center is apparently doing the same: “Due to market volatility, we ask that you please see a Sales Associate for price,” reads an in-store message captured by Redditor CassTexas (via Tom’s Hardware).

It’s hard to overstate just how quickly the RAM crunch is changing the affordability of computers — and it might soon impact other realms as well, as everything from game consoles to smartphones require RAM to function.

Three months ago yesterday, I bought 32GB of memory for my gaming PC and the price of that exact kit has more than tripled since then. It now costs $300 more. ($440 vs. $130, in case you’re curious; a more common version of the same kit went from $105 to $400.) Some prices have doubled since October, and while you can still find some 32GB kits for as low as $230, a 64GB DDR5 kit can easily run you $700, $800, even $900.

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says it may take years for high-end gaming to recover, because “factories are diverting leading edge DRAM capacity to meet AI needs where data centers are bidding far higher than consumer device makers.”