According to PC and laptop company XMG, the price of DDR5 SO-DIMM memory modules has increased sixfold since July 2025. According to manufacturer forecasts, the RAM shortage will continue until at least 2027. Against this background, XMG announced a mandatory price increase of 100-200 euros for most models of gaming laptops, and a 300 euro price increase for one of its professional laptops.
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The sharp increase in DDR5 SO-DIMM prices is related to the desktop memory market, where prices have increased by 500% in the past 12 months. Rising costs for other components are also a concern. XMG pointed out that in addition to RAM and SSD, there are similar price pressures on printed circuit boards, electronic components, processors, graphics cards and memory, which leads to an increase in overall costs.
The conflict in the Middle East has exacerbated the situation: rising oil and fuel prices have led to higher air travel prices, as well as rising insurance premiums for seaborne cargo from Asia to Europe via the Red Sea and Suez Canal. In response, the company was forced to increase the prices of many of its models. XMG representatives assured customers that trading margins remained unchanged and that the price increase was entirely due to the increased cost of purchasing parts. Company representatives promised that when raw materials and parts prices fall, retail prices will be adjusted accordingly.
XMG made a pessimistic forecast for the memory situation, echoing Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra’s view that DRAM shortages will continue until 2027. ASUS CEO Jason Chen takes the opposite view. He believes that component prices will begin to decline in the second half of 2027, and that the long-term forecast of high memory costs is just an attempt by chip manufacturers to maintain high gross margins for as long as possible. Chen believes that increased production by Chinese companies will help alleviate shortages, and that the pace of price increases is slowing as consumers are unwilling to pay more.
Unfortunately, we cannot be sure which of these views is correct. We can only hope, believe and see how memory prices will change over the next 12 months.
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