RAM prices have surged as major chipmakers prioritize high-bandwidth memory for AI chips, squeezing regular PC memory. A former Samsung executive believes Chinese manufacturers could add enough supply in the second half of next year to push prices down—and ear
If you’ve been staring at RAM prices and thinking, “This can’t be normal,” you’re not imagining things. Memory costs have “gone completely off the rails,” and the reason is tightly tied to AI demand.
The shift starts with the biggest makers—Samsung. SK Hynix. and Micron—moving a large share of their production toward high-bandwidth memory. or HBM. It’s the kind of memory that powers the AI chips the industry is chasing. Regular PC memory then has less breathing room, and prices have climbed sharply as supply tightened.
Relief, though, may not be far off. Christian Cawley of Digital Trends reports that Kye-hyun Kyung. a former head of Samsung’s chip and display division. expects prices to ease next year—specifically in the second half. Speaking at an engineering forum in Korea, Kyung argued that Chinese companies are aggressively expanding their memory production capacity. If those investments deliver on their promise, the added supply could move prices downward.
The most visible proof—at least so far—is coming from the Chinese memory players themselves. ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) is already making waves with DDR5 speeds of up to 8000 MT/s. and it’s scaling up fast. Other Chinese competitors, including Jiahe Jinwei, are also ramping data center memory production.
And that isn’t staying confined to spec sheets. Early examples suggest global brands are starting to switch. Corsair. a well-known name in PC components. is among the first. with leaked images showing its Vengeance DDR5 modules using DRAM made by CXMT. The modules are described as meeting standard specs—running at 6000 MT/s with CL36 timings—placing them on par with comparable kits built on DRAM from Samsung and SK hynix.
There’s a simple reason this matters: if any country can manufacture at speed and scale to meet the market’s new memory appetite, it’s China. If it can flood the market with memory chips, prices could finally start sliding.
For anyone planning a PC build, the impact is straightforward but not instant. If you’ve been holding off because of the cost. there is a light at the end of the tunnel—Chinese memory is already reaching global brands. and more supply typically means better pricing. Just don’t expect overnight changes. The expectation is a wait until the second half of 2027 for prices to drop.
RAM prices DDR5 HBM AI chips Samsung SK Hynix Micron China memory CXMT Corsair Vengeance DDR5 data center memory
So we’re just letting China mess with RAM prices now? Love that for consumers.
I swear RAM has been overpriced since forever. If this is true, why do the stores still want like $200 for 32GB??
Wait, they said “second half of next year” but then also “second half of 2027”?? Like which one is it, I’m confused. Also Corsair using Chinese chips is gonna be fine, right? Usually rumors end bad.
This whole HBM vs DDR5 thing is way over my head. But if China can ramp supply then prices should drop… unless companies just keep the price high anyway. They always do that. I just want my PC parts to stop costing like a mortgage payment.