PC gaming RAM prices are set to rocket, especially for older PCs, says report

Planning a memory upgrade to your gaming PC? You might want to do it sooner rather than later. A new report from TrendForce suggests that PC RAM prices are set to skyrocket in the next quarter of 2025, with DDR4 RAM in particular expected to cost significantly more in the near future.

Whether it's a PC, laptop, or handheld, the cost of system memory is going to play a part in the overall price of a lot of your PC gaming hardware. For instance, if the price of LPDDR5X RAM goes up, manufacturers are likely to pass on those costs, making the devices in our best handheld guide even more expensive. For gamers already facing the uncertainty of tariffs, prices could start to trickle up across the board.

TrendForce, a market research company with a close eye on pricing in the tech world, produced this latest report after analyzing current market data from manufacturers.  In this new report, TrendForce's data shows that three DRAM suppliers are shifting their manufacturing plans, due to a change in market conditions and new product lines.

Common RAM options, such as DDR5 memory used in the latest gaming PCs, are expected to rise in price by 3-8%, while LPDDR5X RAM is projected to increase by as much as 10% over Q3 2025. TrendForce puts this down to "seasonal restocking," along with memory manufacturers looking to raise revenue.

DDR4 RAM faces the biggest bump in cost, however. TrendForce's data suggests DDR4 manufacturing processes beginning to wind down, along with tightening supply as a result, will push the cost of those RAM modules up by between 38% and 43% - a significant increase that is surely set to have an immediate impact on the cost of upgrading an older gaming PC.

Other types of RAM are projected to see price rises, too. Some of the newest cards in our best graphics card guide, such as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090, use GDDR7 memory modules, with TrendForce predicting that those modules could increase in price by up to 5%. Meanwhile, GDDR6 RAM, which is used in new AMD cards such as the Radeon RX 9060 XT, is expected to increase in price by 28%-33% due to a shift towards GDDR7 production.

We're already in the third quarter of 2025, so these price rises are already on the near horizon, if this report turns out to be accurate. If that's enough to spook you, and you're planning a PC upgrade in the near future, make sure to check out our best gaming RAM guide next, which has options to suit a range of budgets.

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