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Global RAM Shortage Is Reportedly Causing GPU, Storage Drive Prices to Skyrocket

Global RAM Shortage Is Reportedly Causing GPU, Storage Drive Prices to Skyrocket

AMD and Nvidia’s mid-range GPU prices have reportedly witnessed a spike in recent days.

Written by Akash Dutta, Edited by Ketan Pratap | Updated: 19 January 2026 18:44 IST

Global RAM Shortage Is Reportedly Causing GPU, Storage Drive Prices to Skyrocket

Photo Credit: Unsplash/Liam Briese

The global RAM shortage is said to be caused by increased demand by AI companies for data centres

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Highlights

SSD prices have seen a bigger uptick in recent months
A 2TB Samsung 990 Evo Plus is now priced at $440
Component prices are said to increase indefinitely

The ongoing global RAM shortage has reportedly started impacting the prices of GPUs, Solid State Drives and other storage drives. As per the report, the products listed in online and offline stores have witnessed a sharp uptick in the last couple of months. The price hike is being attributed to the RAM shortage due to the usage of memory components and NAND chips in them. Notably, the scarcity has mainly affected the consumer market, with recently launched devices seeing a higher starting price compared to their predecessor.

After RAM, GPUs and SSDs Are Also Getting Expensive

According to an Ars Technica report, the GPU and storage drive prices have already started creeping up, and further increase is possible. The concerns developed last week after Asus, which is Nvidia's largest Add-in Board (AIB) manufacturer, told TechSpot that the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti was placed in the “end-of-life” status due to supply shortage.

As Ars Technica explained, the move made sense for the company, given that the RTX 5070 Ti uses the same 16GB GDDR7 RAM and a custom (partially disabled) version of the Nvidia GB203 GPU chip, which is used in the pricier RTX 5080. At a time when the global RAM shortage has already crippled the supply chain, this prioritisation likely comes out of necessity rather than consumer demand.

Here’s Why Asus PCs Could Become Costlier in 2026

The publication also claimed that, currently in the US, the RTX 5070 can be purchased for $570 (roughly Rs. 51,800) on its typical retail price of $549 (roughly Rs. 49,900). Similarly, AMD's Radeon RX 9070 XT, which originally sold for $599 (roughly Rs. 54,430), is currently available for approximately $750 (roughly Rs. 68,150). While the price hike is not as severe as RAM prices, the increase was reportedly noted within the last 30 days.

The trend for SSD is said to be worse. It is said that a standard 1TB M.2 SSD from any major company is currently available at around $150 (roughly Rs. 13,600). In comparison, the publication said a 1TB WD Blue drive was priced at $135 (roughly Rs. 12,270) earlier this month. Moving up, a 2TB Samsung 990 Evo Plus is currently selling for $440 (roughly Rs. 39,990), as opposed to its listed price of $177 (roughly Rs. 16,100). The report also added that finding a 4TB option from any recognisable company is a tough task due to absurd pricing or them being out of stock.

With component prices witnessing a steep uptick just one month into 2026, and experts predicting the hikes to persist throughout the year, this year's PC and laptop prices are likely to be significantly impacted. Consumers planning an upgrade this year, and not in any urgency, are recommended to exercise patience.

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Further reading: RAM Shortage, GPU, SSD, Storage, RAM price hike, GPU price hike, SSD price hike

Akash Dutta Email Akash Dutta

Akash Dutta is a Chief Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He is particularly interested in the social impact of technological developments and loves reading about emerging fields such as AI, metaverse, and fediverse. In his free time, he can be seen supporting his favourite football club - Chelsea, watching movies and anime, and sharing passionate opinions on food. More