The RAM shortage continues to be a thorn in the side of consumers, as now it’s being reported that the entry-level PC market, specifically that which contains PCs that cost under $500, may be headed for complete annihilation in the next few years. It’s no secret to consumers that RAM, SSD storage, GPUs, and even prebuilt machines like laptops and desktops all cost more money now because of the low stock of RAM and storage available. Of course, AI data centers are the root cause of this issue.
As their needs continue to grow, manufacturers are not only exiting the market to chase the big AI money, but the ones that stick around for consumers as well simply aren’t able to keep up with demand from both sides. Eventually, that’s going to lead to the least expensive PCs being nonexistent.
The RAM shortage will cause the sub-$500 entry-level PCs to disappear by 2028
It might only be March 2026, but it won’t be long before 2028 gets here, and at the current prices of computing hardware, chances are there’s already a lower stock of the items that are the most affordable. That will leave consumers with fewer options that are within a price range they can afford, ultimately leading to a considerably more expensive price tag just to get a PC. That’s essentially the message that’s being given by Gartner, which states that the entry-level PC segment with PCs that cost under $500 will disappear by 2028. Not halfway through 208, but by 2028. That’s just over a year and a half away.
Essentially, PC memory costs are expected to increase to 26% of the total bill of materials for manufacturers, Gartner says. With this increase, manufacturers will no longer be able to absorb the cost of making less expensive desktops and laptops. This will make it so that offering PCs under the $500 price won’t be a viable option.
For some manufacturers, PC memory is already the most expensive component. HP, for example, reported that memory makes up about 35% of its bill of materials. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem likely to slow down, either. Some believe that the RAM shortage could carry into 2030 or beyond.
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