Memory prices are already destroying demand in retail

$MU
Now the question is, will they eventually cause demand destruction for AI too?
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A survey published by Tom’s Hardware on May 16 found that 60% of PC gamers have no plans to build a new PC in the next two years, citing the punishing cost of components as the main reason
The survey captured the mood of an enthusiast community watching 32GB DDR5 memory kits, once available for under $100, sell for $360 or more at U.S. retailers since early 2026
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The downstream effects are hitting hardware makers. Tom’s Hardware reported on May 6 that motherboard shipments from the four largest Taiwanese manufacturers are on pace to fall by roughly 25% or more this year
Asus, which sold 15 million motherboards in 2025, is projected to ship only about 10 million in 2026. Gigabyte and MSI have cut their own internal forecasts to 9 million and 8.4 million units, respectively, while ASRock faces the steepest decline, with an estimated 37% drop
The contraction traces directly to AI infrastructure spending. Memory makers Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix have redirected wafer capacity toward high-bandwidth memory for AI accelerators, starving the consumer DRAM market
TrendForce projected earlier this year that PC DRAM contract prices could nearly double quarter over quarter in Q1 2026. MSI’s general manager told investors in March that a 16GB memory module that cost $40 last year now costs $170 or more, and that the company plans to raise gaming hardware prices by 15% to 30% over the coming months
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Ripple Effects Beyond Gaming
$AMD warned on May 5 that it expects a 20% decline in gaming revenue in the second half of 2026 due to "higher memory and component costs," according to CEO Lisa Su
Nvidia, Intel, and AMD have all reduced consumer chip production to prioritize AI processors, compounding the supply squeeze
The pricing crunch is also reshaping how smaller companies access compute. As hardware costs climb, organizations are increasingly turning to hybrid models that blend cloud GPU rentals with leased on-premise equipment, according to a Deloitte outlook on the 2026 hardware market