RAM and SSD Prices Have Soared: What Ontario Businesses Should Do Before Their Next Device Purchase

If you've priced a new laptop or workstation for your team this year, you've probably noticed pricing came back higher than last time, or worse, with less memory in it. Memory and storage (RAM and SSD's) are two components every computer depends on, and these components are in the middle of the steepest price run-up the industry has seen in decades. Many organizations are still working through replacing their aging Windows fleet, and the question we hear most is simple: should we buy now, or wait for prices to come back down?

What Actually Happened to Prices?

Through late 2025 and into 2026, contract prices for PC memory rose faster than any analyst predicted. Business experts initially expected conventional DRAM prices to climb 50% to 60% in the first quarter of 2026, then revised that forecast to 90% to 95% for that single quarter. In the retail world, a 32GB memory kit that sold for under US$100 before the shortage now sells for four to five times that.

Storage (SSDs, HDDs) followed the same route. Flash chips inside every SSD roughly doubled in price over the past year, and 1TB consumer drives doubled in cost. Enterprise SSDs (drives used in servers and storage arrays) saw even steeper increases.

These component costs flow directly finished devices, which in turn, falls onto end-user costs. Memory and storage used to make up about 15% of the cost of a typical PC, but that share has since climbed to roughly 35% percent in 2026. Dell, Lenovo, HP, Acer and ASUS all rolled out price increases in the 15% to 20% range, and many manufacturers have also quietly reduced the memory in entry-level configurations to hold price points, which is how 8GB business laptops have made an unwelcome comeback.

Why is Memory Is So Expensive Right Now?

1. Every AI data center needs enormous amounts of memory, dramatically increasing the strain on traditionally stable supply chains.
2. Three companies control the supply. Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron produce the vast majority of the world's DRAM, and all three have indicated their 2026 output is effectively sold out, much of it to cloud providers and AI companies under long-term contracts.
3. Production is growing, just not fast enough. Memory makers do produce more each year. Industry-wide DRAM output is expected to grow by roughly 20 percent in 2026.
4. New factories take years, and manufacturers are being deliberately cautious. A new memory fab takes two to three years to build and longer to ramp to full output. Space is limited, and the equipment needed to fill it is itself backordered. Much of the industry's increased capital spending is going to process upgrades and HBM conversion rather than raw new capacity.

When Will Prices Come Down?

New capacity is expected to arrive in 2027, and RAM producers are targeting early 2027. Industry consensus places real relief in late 2027 at the earliest, and more likely 2028. Even once new capacity comes online, much of it will be absorbed by enterprise and AI buyers before it reaches the laptop/desktop market. The most likely outcome is that prices ease gradually from their peak and settle at a new floor well above what businesses paid in 2024.

Should Your Business Wait or Buy?

Our recommendation: buy what you need, and when you need it. Replace what requires replacement, and don't hold out for a price drop that's at least 18 to 24 months away, at the earliest. Aging devices fail, slow staff down, and fall out of support. For example, Windows 10 reached end of support in October 2025, and business that delay replacing Windows 10 machines to save on memory costs is paying for that delay in added security risks, unpatched vulnerabilities, and lost productivity. And, with prices more likely to plateau than fall over the next year, today's quote may be the best one you see for a while.

A Few Helpful Guidelines:

1. Replace devices that are failing, unsupported, or can't run Windows 11 first. Machines that are healthy and supported can run another year or two.
2. 16GB of RAM is the right baseline for most office users, and it's also the minimum Microsoft requires for Copilot+ PCs. Reserve 32GB for staff whose work genuinely needs it, such as heavy Excel users, CAD users, and developers. For storage, if your files live in OneDrive, SharePoint or other hosted line-of-business systems, 256GB is good, and 512GB is excellent.
3. Avoid 8GB Windows devices. They're the cheapest way to hit a price point and the most expensive way to run a business. Memory in most modern laptops gets soldered directly to the board, so these machines can't be upgraded later. A device you replace in two years instead of five costs far more.

Buy Smarter, Not Later

Memory and storage prices aren't returning to 2024 levels any time soon, and the businesses that come out ahead won't be the ones that waited. Businesses that replace the right devices first, spec each user correctly will.

Keystone Technologies helps Ontario businesses plan and procure devices that fit their workloads and their budgets. If you're facing a refresh and aren't sure whether to buy, upgrade or hold, let's talk.

Visit keystonetech.ca, call 519-451-1793, or email info@keystonetech.ca for more info.