The artificial intelligence (AI) hype doesn't seem to be dying down, and the tech giants know it. They are pouring billions into datacenters, each one consuming electricity like a small city. We have already seen reports of such AI facilities straining power grids and causing environmental harm for people living in the vicinity.
But the hunger doesn't stop there; AI is now coming for your PC components. The memory and storage chips you need to build a decent Linux machine? AI datacenters want them more.
And they are willing to pay whatever it takes to get them. 🥲
An Insatiable Hunger
Let's start with some sad news. After 29 years, Micron has killed off its consumer arm, Crucial, which was known for offering some good quality RAM and SSDs in the retail space.
The official reason for the move is that "the AI-driven growth in the data center has led to a surge in demand for memory and storage." and that they are focusing on "larger, strategic customers in faster-growing segments."
Then there's CyberPowerPC, a major system builder who dropped a bombshell late November, stating that RAM costs have jumped 500% and SSD costs 100%.
According to Tom's Hardware, the situation at the chip level is equally alarming. A single 16Gb DDR5 chip that was priced at $6.84 on September 20, 2025, at DRAMeXchange had hit $27.20 by December 1, 2025. That is nearly a 4x increase in just two months.
TeamGroup's general manager, Gerry Chen, says December contract prices for DRAM and NAND products jumped 80 to 100 percent in a single month for some categories. He expects things to get worse in Q1 and Q2 of 2026.
Even SSDs and laptops aren't spared from this. In a recent earnings call, Phison's CEO, Khein-Seng Pua, warned that NAND companies are increasing prices by 50% to 75%. He told investors that "NAND will be supply tight for many, many years" due to AI demand.
The laptop market is getting hit too. An anonymous source from the supply chain of a major manufacturing firm warns that laptop prices could jump at least 20% in 2026.
So, yeah, if you wanted to build a beefy Linux gaming or workstation rig with decent specs to run distros like Bazzite or CachyOS, then you are out of luck. Either pay for these inflated memory and storage prices or wait it out.
There is also the pre-owned route if you want to snag some good deals on older hardware.
Closing Thoughts
Let me spell out what this is; a gold rush. AI is very much like the new crypto or the new cloud. And just like every gold rush before it, the people actually using the hardware get shafted in the end.
That is regular people like you and me; the enthusiasts, the builders, the ones who just want a decent rig for their money and needs.
This isn't about meeting demand. It is about chasing profits.
Micron didn't run out of capacity to make RAMs under the Crucial brand. They chose to stop. Samsung and SK Hynix didn't suddenly lose the ability to produce DDR5 for consumers. They are just making more money selling HBM to the likes of AWS, Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft.
But let me end this with a nice little question: What happens when the AI bubble pops?
I presume that it will, and these companies will face huge losses, fire employees in large numbers, but retain the greedy management and stakeholders who caused this mess in the first place.
