Memory industry experts are warning that the brutal price increase in DRAM chips could force many manufacturers to relaunch laptops with 8 GB of RAM as the base, instead of the 16 GB that was already becoming the new reasonable minimum. This would represent a clear setback in user experience, and the hardest hit would, of course, be the gaming community.

Why RAM is getting more expensive

In recent quarters, the price of DRAM has jumped significantly, with double-digit increases in PCs, mobile devices, and servers, driven by production cuts and rising demand, especially from AI and data centers.

Some reports mention increases of up to 80–100% in certain DRAM and NAND contracts in December alone, illustrating that the “RAM crisis” is only just beginning. Furthermore, the global DRAM market approached $96 billion in 2024, with DDR4 still representing a huge portion of the market, meaning that any adjustment in supply and demand has a significant impact on price.

Analysis firms that follow the memory market warn that the price increase is already affecting laptops, with RAM costs for consumer computers rising by around 10–15%.

Manufacturers, who operate on tight margins in the mid-range market, are starting to reduce memory capacity instead of significantly raising the retail price to avoid scaring off buyers. Meanwhile, voices in the PC industry indicate that, if the situation doesn't improve, the final price of computers could continue to rise by 2026, reinforcing the temptation to "save" precisely on RAM.

The Uncomfortable Return to 8 GB

Several analysts are already anticipating that mid-range laptops could once again standardize on 8 GB of RAM, simply because it's the only way to balance the bill of materials without significantly increasing the final price.

Recent reports even suggest that brands like Dell or Lenovo are considering limiting many mid-range models to 8 GB of DDR5 to contain the impact of the memory increase.This is especially worrying in systems where the RAM is soldered in, because the user doesn't even have the option to upgrade later.The community has been criticizing 8GB base configurations for 2024 and 2025 for some time now, especially when we're talking about laptops that cost over $1,000 or €1,000. Users point out that a simple browser with several open tabs can eat up those 8GB, leaving the system with no headroom to work smoothly. If you add Windows 11, productivity apps, chat clients, and some creative tools open, the experience is more like using a five-year-old machine than a brand-new laptop. The problem is that the industry had finally begun to normalize 16GB of RAM as the base in many "serious" models: productivity ultrabooks, laptops for creators, and several entry-level gaming laptops already offered this configuration without requiring an obscene extra cost. Going back to 8GB isn't just about numbers on the spec sheet; it's sending the message that, in the midst of the era of generative AI, 4K video editing, and increasingly demanding games, the memory standard is moving backward.

Direct blow to the gaming community

If there's one group that will immediately notice this cut, it's gamers. Most guides and manufacturers agree that 16GB of RAM has become the minimum recommended for gaming in 2024–2025 because it offers the best balance between cost and performance in modern titles. Studies and performance analyzes show that, with 8GB, many AAA games suffer from lag, longer loading times, and stuttering, while with 16GB or more, the experience stabilizes and FPS remains more consistent. Even brands specializing in gaming components explain that 8 GB is already below the current standard, causing performance drops and crashes in many titles, especially if the system attempts to multitask with background apps. In contrast, most current games run well with 16 GB, and only those who want ultra textures, aggressive ray tracing, or simultaneous streaming and recording are starting to consider 32 GB. For someone buying an "all-rounder" laptop, but with the intention of spending hours gaming, being saddled with only 8 GB of base RAM in 2025 is practically a recipe for premature obsolescence. If you add to this the fact that many gaming and designer laptops are opting for slim designs with soldered memory, the user loses the traditional "I'll upgrade the RAM later when prices drop" mentality. This means that the manufacturer's decision today determines the current lifespan of the device in a context where games and applications continue to increase their memory requirements year after year. In practice, the risk is clear: A gaming laptop with 8GB of RAM that today "can handle almost anything" will end up being the bottleneck of your experience long before the GPU or CPU becomes outdated. The combination of skyrocketing RAM prices and manufacturers' obsession with keeping the average price low may push us towards a generation of laptops that, on paper, seem modern,but internally they are cut back in the very component that most affects everyday performance. And, as is almost always the case with hardware, the first to feel the impact will be gamers, who will be forced to pay more for 16GB versions or live with crashes, stuttering, and increasingly conservative graphics settings. If one thing is clear, it's that by 2025, 8GB of RAM will no longer be "enough" for anyone serious about gaming, no matter how much the specifications try to sell you otherwise.