DDR5 RAM retail prices have reached another record in August 2026, extending the memory market’s steep run-up over the past year. The latest increase adds to an ongoing PC hardware squeeze being driven in large part by booming demand for DRAM and high-bandwidth memory.
The newest evidence comes from 3DCenter’s August 2026 retail survey, which put its DDR5 price index at 486% of its July 2025 baseline, up from 445% in July 2026. That works out to another 9.2% month-over-month increase, leaving the tracked DDR5 products at roughly 4.9 times their prices from just over a year ago. The new record is the latest development in the RAM crisis that has been reshaping the PC hardware market throughout 2026.
DDR5 RAM Prices Hit Another Record in August
3DCenter’s figures are based on German retail pricing, so the index should not be treated as a measurement of worldwide RAM prices. Even so, its consistent methodology offers a useful look at just how far consumer memory costs have moved in recent years. One particularly stark example is a tracked 2x32GB DDR5-6400 CL32 kit configuration that cost €181 at the July 2025 baseline and was listed at €1,093 in August 2026, a 503% increase. The broader index has also continued moving higher after reaching 419% in June and 445% in July 2026, meaning the latest record was not caused by a single unusually expensive kit.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
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Average Per-Kilogram RAM Price Near All-Time High in South Korea
Fresh South Korean trade data paints a similarly extreme picture further up the supply chain. Citing Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute figures, ChosunBiz reports that the export unit value of South Korean DRAM chips, excluding DRAM modules, averaged $92,183 per kilogram between August 1 and August 20. That was up 401% year over year, while the total value of the relevant DRAM exports jumped approximately 505% to $9.81 billion. Those numbers underscore how much further the market has moved since RAM prices first began spiraling upward in late 2025, although the $92,183 figure itself was not a new sequential record: the comparable July 1-20 export value was higher at $100,198 per kilogram.
The per-kilogram figures are especially eye-catching when compared with precious metals. ChosunBiz calculated that one kilogram of South Korean DRAM at the August export valuation was worth approximately as much as 620 grams of 24-karat gold. However, that comparison should not be interpreted to mean consumer RAM is literally priced like gold by weight. DRAM products differ substantially in density, generation, performance, and manufacturing complexity, and the product mix being exported in 2026 is more advanced than it was several years ago.
Memory Market Remains Tight Over Sustained AI Demand
As before, AI infrastructure is the main force keeping RAM prices high in 2026. High-bandwidth memory consumes substantial DRAM capacity, while data centers are also buying large volumes of conventional server memory. TrendForce said in July that DRAM contract prices had hit records and forecast another 13% to 18% quarter-over-quarter increase in Q3 2026. New capacity is coming, but fabrication plants take years to build as AI demand keeps rising. SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung recently said the shortage could potentially persist through 2030. The pressure is already spilling into gaming hardware, with Xbox acknowledging that memory costs will affect the pricing and availability of its next-generation Project Helix console, leaving little indication that DDR5 prices will return to earlier levels anytime soon.
Sources: TrendForce, Reuters
