PC Users Choose Lower RAM and Older Memory as Prices Rise

The ongoing artificial intelligence boom is driving up memory prices, causing the average RAM capacity in personal computers to decline for the first time on a year-on-year basis. Data from the CPU-Z hardware survey shows that computers with 32GB and 64GB of RAM have dropped in share, while systems using 16GB, 8GB and 24GB have become more popular. Over the past three months, systems with 32GB of RAM fell by 2.5%, and 64GB computers saw a sharper drop of 18%. In contrast, systems with 16GB of RAM rose by 12.9%, 8GB configurations increased by 5.5%, and 24GB setups grew by 19.7%. Despite this shift, 32GB remains the top configuration at 37.2% of surveyed systems, though 16GB is only 4.2 percentage points behind.

Shifting Standards

Beyond lower capacities, the survey reveals a growing preference for the older DDR4 memory standard over newer hardware. The share of PCs using DDR4 increased by 6 percentage points year-on-year to reach 54.4%, while DDR5 usage dropped by 2.9 percentage points to 32.9%. A similar trend appears in the Steam hardware survey for gamers, where 32GB systems dropped by 5.1% last month while 16GB user share grew by 3.6%.

Industry Outlook

Industry leaders warn that supply limits could last for several months. TeamGroup CEO Chen Ching-wen cautioned last week that rising prices will continue and that the IT industry could face its worst chip shortage between the fourth quarter of 2026 and the end of the second quarter of 2027, driven by heavy demand from AI infrastructure developers and data centre operators.

Context

High-demand components like advanced memory chips are shared across global electronics manufacturing, meaning heavy buying by AI data centres directly impacts consumer hardware costs. When component prices climb, users often delay upgrades or choose budget-friendly alternatives like older DDR standards and smaller memory sizes. This dynamic illustrates how corporate technology trends quickly trickle down to everyday consumer purchasing choices.