The RAM crisis is resurrecting DDR4 memory and motherboard production as hardware cycle reverses

[Daniel Sims]

The big picture: Since RAM shortages have made the latest hardware unaffordable for many, demand for mature GPUs and CPUs has risen. Now, reports claim that memory and motherboards are following suit. As manufacturers face historically low sales, the PC industry seems to be turning the clock back to 2022.

Several manufacturers at Computex 2026 informed Tom's Hardware that they are preparing to increase production of DDR4 memory and older motherboards that support it. Demand has increased significantly since DRAM and NAND shortages have made DDR5 RAM prohibitively expensive.

Over half a dozen motherboard and DIMM manufacturers told the outlet that they are shifting production back to DDR4-compatible platforms to meet renewed demand. One company claimed that sales grew by a double-digit percentage last quarter, while others simply stated that demand grew dramatically.

However, newly produced modules might only consist of DDR4-3600 RAM, as faster variants are no longer in production.

Although DRAM and NAND shortages driven by the mad dash to build AI data centers have raised DDR4 RAM prices, the impact on DDR5 modules has been far worse. According to PCPartPicker, a pair of DDR4 RAM sticks can cost nearly $200, compared to just over $50 last year.

In the same timeframe, average prices for pairs of DDR5 modules have skyrocketed from roughly $100 to over $400. Therefore, anyone who doesn't already possess DDR5 RAM is much less likely to purchase the latest motherboards and CPUs that require it. Collapsing sales of motherboards and CPUs reflect this trend.

AMD responded at Computex by announcing continued support for its last-generation CPU socket, AM4. The platform's most well-regarded processor, the four-year-old 5800X3D, has re-entered production to celebrate AM4's 10th anniversary and is set to return to store shelves on June 25 at a $349 MSRP.

The RAM crisis has also made the VRAM in graphics cards more expensive, prompting Nvidia to resurrect the 12GB RTX 3060, which initially launched five years ago. The return of budget laptops with only 8GB of system RAM is another effect of the skewed market.

However, such mitigations are unlikely to prevent hardware sales from plunging this year. IDC recently estimated that PC sales might fall by 20% in 2026. Smartphones also saw their worst decline since 2013. Analysts predict that prices will remain elevated until at least 2028.

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The RAM crisis is resurrecting DDR4 memory and motherboard production as hardware cycle reverses

 

[TooQik]

Interesting times to be a PC enthusiast.

 

[noel24]

Future for those companies is in support for DDR3.
Seconhand-marketplaces are full of those, at reasonable prices. And While I'm being slightly ironic, It's true if You live outside of like 20 World's richest countries by minimum wage.

When my GenZ, p*ss-poor brother told Me to assemble Him $500 gaming PC, at first I laughed at Him, then I laughed some more, but harder, and then I started looking online at LGA 2011 mobos and CPUs.

 

[Axeia]

Interesting times to be a PC enthusiast.

Is it? I've never been less enthusiastic about it than I currently am. My only interest in it is if the market as a whole will survive.

My hardware is good enough for programming/web browsing/misc things. For gaming it has to be good enough as videocard prices became higher than I'm willing to pay (I'll just play older games). I used to click every CPU/GPU review the second I saw one, now I leave several unread/unwatched or leave 'em for later. When I do it's more to know what the current level of performance is, the pricing makes everything so unappealing I've zero interest in purchasing anything unless something fails and if it does... I'll buy a second hand replacement, not something new.

What I want is affordable gaming hardware. What the market wants to supply is cloud solutions (to take your control/ownership away) and AI nonsense. Neither of which peaks my interest. I'd rather play retro games on a Raspberry Pi than pay for a cloud gaming subscription.

 

[TooQik]

Is it? I've never been less enthusiastic about it than I currently am. My only interest in it is if the market as a whole will survive.

My hardware is good enough for programming/web browsing/misc things. For gaming it has to be good enough as videocard prices became higher than I'm willing to pay (I'll just play older games). I used to click every CPU/GPU review the second I saw one, now I leave several unread/unwatched or leave 'em for later. When I do it's more to know what the current level of performance is, the pricing makes everything so unappealing I've zero interest in purchasing anything unless something fails and if it does... I'll buy a second hand replacement, not something new.

What I want is affordable gaming hardware. What the market wants to supply is cloud solutions (to take your control/ownership away) and AI nonsense. Neither of which peaks my interest. I'd rather play retro games on a Raspberry Pi than pay for a cloud gaming subscription.

I probably should have put on a sarcasm indicator for my original comment.

Agree with you 100%.

 

[MiqWalsh]

I realise I'm in the minority here what with being a Linux user, but my distro of choice - 'Puppy' Linux - is so lightweight that she's probably running faster on DDR4-gen hardware than Windows does for those who are lucky enough to have usable DDR5 gear.

Not being a hardcore 'gamer' - more of an occasional 'time-waster' (!) - and having zero time for AAA+ titles, much preferring free and open-source FPS stuff anyway, I'm also not too fussed about that aspect either.

A Core i7-8700, 32GB DDR4 PC-2400, and an Inno3D GeForce GT 1030 works fine for me......and will do for years to come. Yes, it's bread'n'butter stuff, I know, but it gets the job done......and acquits itself admirably for me. I'm content ATM.

Miq.

 

[wiyosaya]

The only thing constant is change. The current, non-friendly enthusiast market will eventually turn around.

I read an article that companies producing AI models and providing AI to consumers have to make a profit. IMO,whether they do or not depends on the acceptance by the general populace of AI. As I understand it, there are large numbers of the general populace that want nothing to do with AI of any sort. Should that sentiment persist or spread to even more consumers, we might see a shrinkage of AI and its hardware obsession, and that, IMO, might cause prices for computer hardware to drop back to normal or below.

 

[Revolution 11]

The only thing constant is change. The current, non-friendly enthusiast market will eventually turn around.

I read an article that companies producing AI models and providing AI to consumers have to make a profit. IMO,whether they do or not depends on the acceptance by the general populace of AI. As I understand it, there are large numbers of the general populace that want nothing to do with AI of any sort. Should that sentiment persist or spread to even more consumers, we might see a shrinkage of AI and its hardware obsession, and that, IMO, might cause prices for computer hardware to drop back to normal or below.

I mean, just look at the money flows around AI. Record amounts spent on datacenters that increasingly are being blocked by local politics, a decade-long supply constraint on transformers to provide grid connected power, a 5 year backlog on combined cycle gas turbines if you want behind the meter power for those datacenters instead, backlogs on TSMC production vs stated demand, a historically cash-rich company like Google needed to borrow $80 billion because the revenue so far does not justify the spend, AI companies raising token prices again and again etc, etc.

The whole structure looks unsustainable. That's why Antropic and OpenAI are desperate to get their IPOs done this summer. The funding waterfall may not be available by next year.

 

[Megalomaniac]

Now you can build a computer from 10 years ago at modern prices!

 

[Hecate91]

It's interesting how the consumer market is going going backwards, yet the AI tech bros hoard all of the latest RAM to tell us AI is supposed to make everything better.
Hopefully AI is just a bubble, because otherwise the PC gaming market may be very different or the DIY market will completely go away. There is already concern that smaller brands could go out of business, consolidation and less competition would only drive prices up higher.
Also looking at Computex, nothing is really new for consumers, but plenty of RAM, SSD's, and PSU's that are marketed for AI.

 

[Anton Longshot]

While we're reversing out of the hardware street we're in lets also go back to dual or even single core CPUs.
And Windows 7 no scratch that Windows 2000 (which I loved and I've actually been considering building a W2000 box for retro fun stuff though I'm not sure I can do this and also make the thing secure).
But really, build a NEW box with DDR4 RAM? NEVER GONNA HAPPEN! It's beyond stupid.

Been wondering though: what are the AI peddlers going to do when people don't have computers that can access that cr4p? Sell them printed paper AI magazines? Hahaha!

 

[zavrix]

It's pretty crazy, when I first got into computers back in the late 80s it was expensive as hell and as time went on components were more mass produced as more and more people become pc gamers and the internet took off. Prices began to fall and gaming became great on a pc, you could build a system you wanted for a realistic price. Only the real top end stuff was out of reach for the average gamer. Feels like we are going back to square one with prices almost 30 years later. Man I hate all the Ai hype but I guess we are stuck with it now as these companies have poured so much cash into it they wont give up until they line their big fat pockets and suck us all dry. I bet most of it wont be for the benefit oh the human race either.

 

[Hotrod2go]

Nothing wrong with DDR4 based platforms even in today's world. Unless your hell bent on running LLMs or chasing every single frame per second in a gaming rig, for most mainstream stuff, DDR4 is still good enough but with one caveat - tune it up for max performance & test for stability.

 

[Antias]

If your like me (you are, admit it..) you've got a cupboard somewhere stuffed with all your old gaming rigs, old office PC's you've been given, boxes of peripherals, components, HDD's, tons of cables etc...
And like me, you've probably forgotten half the stuff you've got in there. Some of it could be cash-worthy now..Suddenly that very old socket 775 system with a with Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (overclocked), 8GB of DDR3 , 250GB SATA SSD and Gigabyte Geforce 1660 6GB seems like something I should clean up and make a bit of cash on... I'm sure it'd play Fortnight at 1080p for some desperate teen somewhere... and make me a littl bit of cash at the same time

 

[zavrix]

If your like me (you are, admit it..) you've got a cupboard somewhere stuffed with all your old gaming rigs, old office PC's you've been given, boxes of peripherals, components, HDD's, tons of cables etc...
And like me, you've probably forgotten half the stuff you've got in there. Some of it could be cash-worthy now..Suddenly that very old socket 775 system with a with Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (overclocked), 8GB of DDR3 , 250GB SATA SSD and Gigabyte Geforce 1660 6GB seems like something I should clean up and make a bit of cash on... I'm sure it'd play Fortnight at 1080p for some desperate teen somewhere... and make me a littl bit of cash at the same time

Yep I've got a stack of floppy drives and unopened floppy disks, ram,cpus,video cards cables etc the list goes on but to most its just junk now. In fact it's really just junk to me now lol

 

[Watzupken]

Since RAM prices skyrocketed, my interest in PC hardware basically evaporated. I am sure when the dust settles, the PC enthusiast market will never be the same again. As I recalled, demand for PCs were already declining even earlier.

 

[Hecate91]

While we're reversing out of the hardware street we're in lets also go back to dual or even single core CPUs.
And Windows 7 no scratch that Windows 2000 (which I loved and I've actually been considering building a W2000 box for retro fun stuff though I'm not sure I can do this and also make the thing secure).
But really, build a NEW box with DDR4 RAM? NEVER GONNA HAPPEN! It's beyond stupid.

Been wondering though: what are the AI peddlers going to do when people don't have computers that can access that cr4p? Sell them printed paper AI magazines? Hahaha!

I wouldn't mind going back to Windows 7, MS really should go back with developing a modern OS based on it, instead of the telemetry and bloat ridden W11.

The AI companies would rather us rent computers or subscribe to a cloud service, than own hardware, since owning hardware means you can run your own local AI instead of paying for one.

 

[pcnthuziast]

Gimme some 3600 that I can run t1 at low voltage. Smoother framerates even though a bit lower. Smooth>fast if fast isn't smooth.

 

[Liranan]

Future for those companies is in support for DDR3.
Seconhand-marketplaces are full of those, at reasonable prices. And While I'm being slightly ironic, It's true if You live outside of like 20 World's richest countries by minimum wage.

When my GenZ, p*ss-poor brother told Me to assemble Him $500 gaming PC, at first I laughed at Him, then I laughed some more, but harder, and then I started looking online at LGA 2011 mobos and CPUs.

Why did you laugh? 500 USD isn't much but it's enough for a basic PC with a 3600 and 580, if not a higher end GPU.

 

[Anton Longshot]

I wouldn't mind going back to Windows 7, MS really should go back with developing a modern OS based on it, instead of the telemetry and bloat ridden W11.

I really really liked 7 (skipped POS Vista for obvious reasons) - so much that I installed the Win 7 BETA as my OS on a newly built box, and bought it (the first I bought since W95) when the final was released.
That said, at some point I upgraded to Win10 as I was curious. Win 10 ran a bit better than 7: smoother and the rare BSODs that happened on 7 were gone.
Of course a hardware issue could have been in play so I hesitate to say WIN 10 IS BETTER THAN 7.
As always, YMMV!!!
Hell I ran WinME without even the slightest problem hahaha how's thát for an YMMV?.
As for 11, it was clear from the start it's really an ad platform; that and the BLATANT USER HOSTILITY made me decide I'd never upgrade. I still run 10 on my machines.
I decided to move to MacOS - personal issues delayed that step but I expect it to happen some time soon.
Shenanigan-soft can go take a hike. They lost me.

 

[Joeg1484]

Its funny because I upgraded to AM5 October of last year before the AIpocolypse and really enjoy the platform, but I also kept my AM4 system and use it for some gaming. Honestly, I dont see a difference in performance while gaming.

Sure, some compute tasks are better on the AM5, but I see similar FPS numbers on my AM4 system with the same GPU as my AM5 system.

Starting to think the new generation stuff is a scam really! I mean, if your not into professional production stuff or need it for work, previous generation is just fine!

 

[KnightSayNI]

Since RAM prices skyrocketed, my interest in PC hardware basically evaporated. I am sure when the dust settles, the PC enthusiast market will never be the same again. As I recalled, demand for PCs were already declining even earlier.

Long live the mediocre Consoles! What happened to the PC Master Race?

 

[zavrix]

Long live the mediocre Consoles! What happened to the PC Master Race?

Ai happened, dude where have you been?

 

[Rapob]

Long live the mediocre Consoles! What happened to the PC Master Race?

Consoles are affected big time too.

PS5 uses 7 year old mid-end hardware, sells at 700-800 dollars, PS5 Pro sells at 900-1000 dollars.

And best of all, these dated consoles will run GTA 6 at up to 30 fps. PS6 delayed.

Xbox consoles, literally EoL and dead.
Switch 2, price hike.
Steam Machine and Frame, price hike and massive delay. Deck, price hike.

Dat console life. With paid multiplayer and cloudsaves + expensive games/subs.

 

[jd666]

Why not go back to optimizing software to run on lower resources. Too many development cycles end up with "just add another core, or add more RAM". When it comes to power/resource limited applications, that's when the true capabilities of the SW engineering teams shine thru. Stop with AI generated code, and work on optimizing software to run on legacy hardware. Like Linux and the various distros on offer.
I skipped DDR3 entirely and went from DDR2/Ubuntu to DDR4 with AM4/Windows 10 and then Zorin OS. I will continue on DDR4 until this settles down. Got 2 kits spare if any die, but Not upgrading to DDR5.