The rising costs of RAM are impacting custom PC manufacturers, including CyberPowerPC and Maingear. CyberPowerPC announced plans to raise prices across all its systems starting December 7, citing a significant increase in global memory prices, which rose by 500%, and a 100% rise in SSD prices. These changes have affected the cost of building gaming PCs since October 1, 2025.
Maingear is attempting to delay any price increases for as long as possible. CEO Wallace Santos indicated that while he expects prices to continue rising, the company is actively communicating with vendors to navigate stock and allocation issues. He acknowledged that lead times may have to increase if conditions do not improve.
The fluctuations in RAM pricing are partly due to increased demand from AI companies looking to expand their data centers. Some physical retailers have begun pricing components based on market conditions, resembling practices such as the “catch-of-the-day” model in seafood restaurants. CyberPowerPC expressed an expectation that these price hikes could be temporary and may revert when market conditions stabilize.
Santos also advised customers considering memory or storage upgrades to start shopping soon, implying that demand may lead to further shortages. He noted that the PCs available for Black Friday sales have been insulated from the recent price increases.
Skytech Gaming, another custom PC manufacturer, has reported experiencing similar RAM price increases, though it is not clear if these changes have yet affected the prices visible on its website.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/news/831032/cyberpowerpc-maingear-ram-price-increases-pc-gaming