- 128GB of DDR5 memory now costs more than $4,000 at a popular store like Micro Center.
- The price of a 2TB Samsung SSD is also upwards of $500, showcasing a constant increase in DRAM pricing due to AI workloads.
- This means that 128GB of DDR5 memory is now more expensive than an RTX 5090.
As companies around the world are continuously investing millions of dollars in AI, the spotlight is no longer on GPUs like Nividia. They also require as much RAM as possible while training with larger LLM models.
This includes GPUs/accelerators with the most VRAM, as well as enough RAM and high-capacity SSDs/HDDs to power everything. Because of the huge demand, RAM prices have surged, and if you want to buy 128 GB in the United States from stores like Micro Center, expect to pay more than $4,000.
Why it matters: RAM prices have been on the rise for a few months now, and the latest example shows just how much the AI push has impacted this part of the tech industry.
It wasn’t too long ago that 32GB of DDR5 RAM in a high-end PC was regarded as one of the most affordable components, but the price has suddenly risen from €100 to €400 or more.
Given that price, one might expect 128GB of RAM to cost €1,600 or €2,000 at most, but Micro Center is now selling 128GB of Corsair Vengeance 6400 MHz RGB DDR5 RAM for $4,199, due to the present shortage, although the store shelves remain full.
The image attached above shows that there are dozens upon dozens of packages of DDR5 RAM modules, and people aren’t interested in them. Unlike other components, such as GPUs, RAM will not deliver a huge FPS and visuals boost.
Normally, 128 GB RAM is not needed, so it is considered a complete waste, and only a handful will require that much memory for professional use, such as rendering, millions of polygons in ZBrush, video editing with several plugins and high quality, or AI programs.
Among the dozens of products for sale, we can find both RAM and SSDs among those products suffering from inflated prices at the moment, since price increases and shortages have resulted in outrageous costs.
The 2TB Samsung 9100 PRO SSD costs $679.99, but considering the limited availability, few customers will be ready to pay that much. If you require additional storage, the 8TB Samsung 9100 Pro costs $2,719.99.
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[Editor-in-Chief]
Sajjad Hussain is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Tech4Gamers.com. Apart from the Tech and Gaming scene, Sajjad is a Seasonal banker who has delivered multi-million dollar projects as an IT Project Manager and works as a freelancer to provide professional services to corporate giants and emerging startups in the IT space.
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