RAM and SSD prices are getting out of hand - how are you coping?

Posted by lloydoid@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 40 comments

I'm a working on a piece about the current memory and storage price crisis and I'd love to hear from people who are actually feeling it.

A couple of questions I'm particularly interested in:

How has the recent volatility in RAM and SSD prices affected your build plans - have you delayed, cut specs, or just bitten the bullet?
With prices unlikely to drop significantly until at least 2027, how are you approaching budgeting for a new build right now?

Any one interested in lending some expertise, or a consumer voice, leave a comment below and I will drop you an email address to contact

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Acetonz@reddit

I planned ahead and built when prices were inflated due to crypto mining

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KindSpinach@reddit

Built my first pc 9600x-9060xt in Nov 2025, only thing i'm missing is 2nd nvme drive, rn running 500gb nvme for os and 500 gb sata for gaming.

I was planning to get sn7100 2 tb which cost like 130 usd in nov. now 500 gb variant cost that much and 2 tb 320 usd

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Powernut07@reddit

I’m still running a sata cable SSD :(

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No problem. I have an NVMe and a SATA drive, and I tested Spider-Man 2 on both (probably the biggest demonstration of the need for fast loading I can think of) and didn't notice any difference, unlike the hard drive which was literally unplayable.

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

[removed]

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9okm@reddit

SATA is fine.

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AtlQuon@reddit

So? There is a massive difference between what it can do and what will do most of the time in real world use cases. My NVME drives hardly go above SATA speeds, not because they can't, but because they don't need to. When they do go full throttle, they shoot of like a rocket, but what are we actually talking about? 2, 5, 10 seconds? They have their advantages, but not enough to be bothered about either.

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fistfulloframen@reddit

At least that's fast enough to work.

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badman12345@reddit

Update: Prices are indeed insane.

I posted before that I absolutely NEEDED to upgrade. I do CAD work and my current system is 13 years old (older than my oldest son). It's past time.

In order to stay "cheap", I did a DDR4 build. Cost me $950 for CPU (i5-12600KF), Motherboard (B760... literally no Z690 DDR4 boards available right now), RAM (2x16GB DDR4 3200), PSU (Seasonic 1000W), SSD (Patriot P400 1TB), and a fan (Cooler Master 212... I know there are better options but it was cheap). I'll be re-using my old video card for now. Also re-using Case, monitors, keyboard, mice, etc. etc.

It's crazy to me that it cost me almost $1k for a 5-year old PARTIAL build. I went with the 1000W PSU so I could at least carry that forward and use it in the future when I eventually upgrade to something more modern.

Like I said, if I could afford to wait, I would have... but I'm at a point where I am more or less forced to do something because I do CAD work and I'm essentially losing money at this point with my old build being as slow as it is now on modern projects. This 5-year-old system will be leaps and bounds ahead of my 13-year-old system lol.

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OrderPretty711@reddit

My AM4 rig is from late-2022. Upgraded the GPU recently instead of going for a new build. Now repurposing some old but lightly-used storage drives.

Also looking into other changes to improve my computing/gaming experience. Upgraded my internet connection and switched from WiFi to LAN. Considering a new monitor as well.

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PrimalBySlowdive@reddit

Building my own gaming pc was a huge dream of mine growing up, but looking at these prices angers me. It's not that I don't have the money for it, but I absolutely HATE the feeling of being ripped off, which is exactly what I feel when I see 3-4 months old posts about builds that cost almost twice now. I don't like the fact that others got it for cheap but I have to pay a fortune. This feeling is strong enough for me to not get a pc at all. I have decided not to build a pc unless the prices become reasonable. I am fine with not having a pc. Death to AI. It's always the common man that suffers at the end of the day.

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bumblewacky@reddit

Still running DDR4 with a 12600k and a 3080ti. Fingers crossed it all survives until price stabilization

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badman12345@reddit

I'm still running DDR3 with a 3570k and a RTX 2060. If you take care of temps and don't go too OC crazy it should run as long as you need it to.

I'm just now at a point where I really absolutely NEED to upgrade, and of course the market sucks for it.

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badman12345@reddit

I'm in a place where I'm forced to upgrade. I do CAD design and my workstation is at the point where it simply must be upgraded (built in 2013).

I'm looking at Socket AM4 and LGA 1700 DDR4 builds right now, likely a i5 12600KF build. My work is single-core performance CPU bound so I'll carry my existing video card (RTX 2060) over. Pricing out a motherboard + CPU + 32GB DDR4 + budget PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD + 850 Watt Seasonic PSU + Air cooler. Looks like it'll fall right around $850. I might skip the SSD for now since I already have plenty of raw storage I can carry over (256 GB SATA6 SSD + about 13TB in 5400 RPM HDDs).

This should be enough to last me literally another decade as my workstation computer, and then if/when prices come down in the next few years, I can build a separate gaming rig.

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tpablazed@reddit

I made the decision that I was staying on AM4 for my personal build. I bought a 5800 XT and a new case and a new AIO and a new gpu.. and I haven't stuttered once since I did that.. so pretty sure this build will last me until AM6.. hopefully by then the market cools a bit.

You can get DDR4 WAY cheaper than DDR5.. so if I was looking to do a new budget build (say under like $1500 total) I would go AM4 for now.

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StationAgitated3669@reddit

same. i upgraded my build into a mini itx for space reasons and kept and reused all the same am4 components. only thing that needed upgrading was my gpu and mobo since i was running a 2060 mini and went for a 5070ti, gpu prices are still a bit crap but not as bad as ram.

im on 32gb ddr4 for now but once the ai bs stops, then ill be pushign as much ram as poss

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Easy_Fortune7911@reddit

I pray to the machine god

"Oh faithful DRAM, vessel of the machine spirit and keeper of fleeting processes, I honor your silent labor; though you stand ever on the brink of oblivion with each cycle, you persist, grant me a little more time, a few more stable moments, let no error corrupt you nor fault undo you, and may the machine spirit guide and preserve you; let this RAM crisis pass sooner than later, let scarcity fade and prices fall, and in your endurance you sustain the will of this system, for that, I give thanks."

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Natural-You4322@reddit

no plan for new build. last built on 2019. still happy with performance.

worse come to worse, i can still enjoy retro games. lots of retro games have better storyline than modern games.

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HeavyMetalBluegrass@reddit

Recently updated my Mobo/cpu. Planned to swap ram from old computer. But of course it uses ddr5 ram so I had no choice but to shell out another few hundred bucks for new ram. On the plus side it runs great.

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According_Spare7788@reddit

I was planning on a rebuild around this time this year. Got shafted badly during the pandemic / crypto bubble. Saw the writing on the wall late last October/early November and hurried to piece together my build right before shit really hit the fan.

Feels like i got the last chopper out of nam.

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Midiamp@reddit

For a complex reason I have to build a mini pc today. I lost my main income and my secondary income is only enough to keep me and my family fed. So to build the PC I'm monitoring the used market closely. Almost beat myself up because I missed a chance to buy an affordable 256GB nvme drive from a laptop. I bought a defective 16GB D4 kit which luckily is still under warranty and got replaced with a new one.

So I'm thrift shopping my parts. What a great way to start the year.

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Windigo1000@reddit

Sicking with my AM4 rig and current storage and RAM it's fine for what I do. I can keep using this for a few years if I have to!

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forevertired1982@reddit

I had saved up £600 with the plan of upgrading to am5 ram prices went crazy so I bought a 9070xt for £579 hoping my 5800x will last until prices normalise.

Not much more you can do apart from make do and hope prices normalise within the next 18 months.

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SquizzOC@reddit

2027? Oh honey, I wish I lived in that ignorant bliss….

2030 is the current estimate for production to be able to ramp up, but once it does why would they ever bring pricing back down since the world adjusted to paying more.

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ltsRhysBoi@reddit

I Build Pc's and i've hat to resort to buying green RAM and putting black/white covers over them to make them "look good" saves about 10-£20 and for SSDs i just but the cheapest good brand

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Historical_System_80@reddit

debts

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NefariousSINNER@reddit

Praying to the Hardware Gods that my overly expensive high-end build that I got in late november of 2025 (when I already overpaid for ram, but merely double...) lasts the next 10 years and I never have to deal with broken parts or any kind of RMA process!!!

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