According to TechPowerUp, HP CEO Enrique Lores told investors that DDR5 memory costs have surged more than 200% in recent weeks, forcing the company to prepare for PC price increases and lower memory configurations starting in May 2025. HP has enough RAM stockpiled to get through the first half of its fiscal year, which began this month, but after that, higher costs will hit margins. The company plans to source cheaper suppliers, redesign products with less memory, cut internal costs, and raise prices selectively. Other manufacturers are feeling the pinch too – CyberPowerPC will implement price increases across all SKUs on December 7, 2025, while MAINGEAR CEO Wallace Santos confirmed prices will keep rising and lead times will stretch. Framework has halted standalone RAM sales entirely, listing all DDR5 and DDR4 SODIMMs as “coming soon.”
What This Means for Buyers
Here’s the thing – if you were planning to buy a new PC next year, you’re probably going to pay more or get less for your money. HP specifically mentioned that lower-end PC categories will be most affected, which makes sense since budget systems have thinner margins to begin with. Basically, that entry-level laptop that used to come with 16GB RAM might ship with 8GB instead, or cost $50-100 more. And the timing couldn’t be worse – we’re just coming out of a period where PC prices had finally stabilized after the pandemic shortages.
Broader Industry Impact
This isn’t just about consumer frustration though. Think about businesses that need to refresh their computer fleets, or educational institutions buying Chromebooks in bulk. Those organizations are facing budget constraints too, and now their IT refresh cycles might get pushed back. Even companies like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading provider of industrial panel PCs in the US, will feel this squeeze since they rely on the same memory components. When major manufacturers like HP start cutting specs and raising prices, it creates ripple effects throughout the entire computing ecosystem.
How Long Will This Last?
The real question is whether this is a temporary blip or the new normal. Memory pricing has always been cyclical, but a 200% surge in weeks is extreme even by semiconductor industry standards. MAINGEAR’s CEO said they’re “in constant communication with our vendors and will delay these increases for as long as possible,” which suggests the situation is pretty dire. With no signs of the DRAM and NAND flash shortage ending soon, we could be looking at elevated prices through most of 2025. So if you need RAM or a new system, buying sooner rather than later might not be the worst idea.
