- The RAM crisis may worsen beginning in 2026 based on new TrendForce estimate
- The report suggests we may see more 8GB configurations
- This will ultimately impact gaming laptop performance if system RAM and VRAM are 8GB
The PC market is in a shaky state due to rising RAM prices, and while rumors suggest SSDs are next to be affected, a new report hints that the RAM crisis will only worsen.
As reported by Wccftech, a new report from TrendForce estimates that a wider adoption of 8GB RAM specifications for Notebooks will make higher-end 16GB (or more) RAM configurations unaffordable, beginning in 2026.
While this appears to be an estimate solely on system RAM, it could very likely spell the same fate for VRAM in gaming laptop GPUs. Prices for RAM kits are already exceeding those of entry-level gaming PCs, ultimately leading to price hikes on the latter.
Prices for DRAM have increased for manufacturers, so aiming to provide the cheapest specification (8GB) will help in damage control by keeping consumer pricing as low as possible. It may explain exactly why Valve has decided to opt for 8GB of RAM for the upcoming Steam Machine, to ensure that consumers don’t end up paying obscene prices.
For gaming laptops, the move to more 8GB configurations will be a major issue for game performance. 8GB of VRAM is already a dealbreaker for most gamers, since it’s not future-proof, and can struggle in modern games that are VRAM-hungry (which is a lot of them), but with a push down to 8GB of system RAM, gaming performance will be heavily bogged down.
It could feel like a huge step backwards if a move back down to less RAM for most systems does become a reality, especially since there’s plenty of triple-A games launching with the system requirement of 32GB of RAM for higher graphics settings, and 16GB as a minimum for medium to low graphics settings.
RAM bottlenecks could easily become a bigger issue now; usually, GPU or CPU bottlenecks were more common, but the tables may be turning, especially for PC gaming newcomers.
Analysis: Whatever you do, don’t let go of your RAM kits
At this rate, the AI boom isn’t going to slow down, and that means RAM pricing is only going to get worse. To put it simply, if you still have any spare RAM kits lying around, whether 8GB or not, it would be in your best interest to keep hold of them, because this crisis may become a normality if it sticks around long enough.
It could be months or years before we see any stability return to this region of the PC market, and the last thing you’ll want to deal with is paying more than you would for a new GPU, on a new set of RAM.
Gaming isn’t getting any cheaper, and while RAM is the main PC component being impacted, the same could soon apply to SSDs and GPUs, and the latter has already seen a fair share of price hikes over the last year.
If you’re unlucky not to have acquired a RAM kit before the crisis, it would be ideal to keep your eyes peeled for any potential winter discounts and strike fast before stock disappears.
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