CPU, GPU and ram prices and expectations 2026

[BJ]

I’m in the market for a new audio PC this year. I planned on buying one later this year. Right now prices are very high but what if we haven’t reached the peak yet? Would it be wiser to pull the trigger now when high end PC parts might become even more expensive/scarce in the future?

My current PC I bought in 2018 for 1300 € it has served me well. I just made a new configuration with all the quality stuff I want and believe will last me around 8 years again and it will cost me 3200 € it’s crazy and I didn’t even put in an expensive GPU as I have no interest in gaming on PC.

Thoughts?

[Pictus]

I do not know, but newer CPUs on the horizon
https://wccftech.com/ryzen-9-9950x3d2-w ... geekbench/
https://wccftech.com/intel-core-ultra-9 ... ti-thread/

[uOpt]

I don't see any improvements in pricing anytime soon. SSDs are a bit down from the max, though.

What's your old PC, exactly? You could re-use parts. Intel made boards taking DDR4 for socket 1700.

[BJ]

I don't see any improvements in pricing anytime soon. SSDs are a bit down from the max, though.

What's your old PC, exactly? You could re-use parts. Intel made boards taking DDR4 for socket 1700.

I don't really plan on re-using parts except my USB SSD's but this is what I have right now:

Intel Core i7 4 core i7-7700k (4.2 GHz) 8 mb cache
ASUS PRIME Z270-P: ATX, LG1151 motherboard
(upgraded to this in 2023) Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3600 MHz C19 XMP 2.0 High Performance Desktop ram 2 x 16 GB
(added this this week cause the old one broke) Nvidia Inno3D GeForce GT710 | 2GB DDR3 VRAM GPU
500 GB WD Blue 3D NAND 2.5" SSD (560MB/sR | 530 MB/sW)
PSU: Corsair 550W TXm SERIES SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS GOUD, ultra quiet.
(added these in 2023 replacing old HDD's) 2 Samsung T7 Shield 2TB USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps, Type-C) External SSD's

[Pictus]

Looks like it will get worst.
PC DRAM prices may double in Q1 2026
https://www.guru3d.com/story/pc-dram-pr ... n-q1-2026/

[BJ]

Looks like it will get worst.
PC DRAM prices may double in Q1 2026
https://www.guru3d.com/story/pc-dram-pr ... n-q1-2026/

Ram is generally easier and cheaper to manufacture than CPUs it's just that right now there's a shortage. I'm hoping production will pick up with the high demand as time goes by. I've decided to wait a little longer till later this year which was my original plan and I'll keep saving extra money every month.

[uOpt]

Ram is generally easier and cheaper to manufacture than CPUs it's just that right now there's a shortage. I'm hoping production will pick up with the high demand as time goes by.

Yeah, but it takes time to build factories and to build the machines that go into those factories.

Also, I suspect that some or all RAM manufacturers will still be careful with building new factories because they don't want to be bankrupt when/if the AI bubble bursts.

So, we are screwed for years to come. Unless the bubble bursts.

[kvotchin]

More or less when all this shit started, I added all the components for a new PC to my cart on a certain site. The total has certainly gone up, let’s just say. I’m curious where it’ll end up, in the same sense as watching a train or perhaps plane crash in slomo.

[legendCNCD]

It seems RAM is now at 2x :E

[tehlord]

Ram is generally easier and cheaper to manufacture than CPUs it's just that right now there's a shortage. I'm hoping production will pick up with the high demand as time goes by.

Yeah, but it takes time to build factories and to build the machines that go into those factories.

Also, I suspect that some or all RAM manufacturers will still be careful with building new factories because they don't want to be bankrupt when/if the AI bubble bursts.

So, we are screwed for years to come. Unless the bubble bursts.

The big guys have all stated they will not be ramping up production for that very reason. They're selling as much RAM as they can produce at inflated prices, no need to build what will be speculative new factories.

To the OP, this is the point to look at an immensely powerful and now very good value Mac Mini.

[vstdls]

32gb of DDR4 will get you through 99% of life with no issues.

32gb of DDR3 will probably get you through 97% of life with no issues.

[PAK]

Since most ram production is in the hands of just 3 companies (Samsung, Micron and SK Hynix), and all of their production capacity has been pre-purchased, nothing short of an AI bubble burst is going to change things. Any larger PC makers, who locked in supplier prices, can continue with less impact for now. But it’s likely pricing will get even worse when their supply agreements start to renew.

The only other possibility, for better pricing, is China. Their companies will want to use the present situation to gain market share against the dominant 3. The only reason they haven’t already is because of export restrictions, on the manufacturing equipment, which has slowed their ability to ramp production. If / when that happens you might see price improvements. But that will be 2027 and forward.

In the meantime, if someone really needs a new machine for DAW use, the best option (short of buying 2nd hand and DDR4) might be something like a Mac Mini and otherwise waiting it out. But it's only a matter of time before the likes of Apple start passing-on the higher pricing too.

[vstdls]

If you refuse to go Apple, which is entirely understandable, Ryzen mini-pcs are still probably a better long term value, since they won't be locked from future OS updates like Apple does. Once (if) prices come back to sanity levels for home consumers, they can easily be relegated to a multitude of other computing tasks free from the Apple ecosystem.

[uOpt]

What happened to Infineon, anyway?

[agharta]

What happened to Infineon, anyway?

They created a separate company which handled RAM production which went bankrupt over a decade ago.