AMD exec says DDR5 RAM pricing won't normalize until 2028 — and it's sad that given other predictions, I feel this is overly optimistic | Tech Radar
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AMD exec says DDR5 RAM pricing won't normalize until 2028 — and it's sad that given other predictions, I feel this is overly optimistic
On top of that, rumored Lenovo price hikes could add to the memory crisis misery
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AMD's David Mc Afee expects DDR5 RAM prices to 'recover slowly in the future'
However, the exec added that DDR5 won't return to 'normal' pricing levels for some two years
Meanwhile chatter from the rumor mill claims Lenovo is going to implement another sizeable round of price hikes with its PCs
An AMD exec has told us that DDR5 RAM pricing isn't likely to normalize until 2028, and in other news, fresh from the memory and wider component crisis, Lenovo seemingly has more price hikes in the works for its PCs.
Let's start with the AMD story. Video Cardz flagged up the interview that 4 Gamers conducted at Computex 2026, in which the Taiwanese site spoke with David Mc Afee, who is VP and general manager of Ryzen CPU and Radeon Graphics.
When questioned on the memory shortage (bearing in mind translation issues with the article), Mc Afee said he expects prices to 'recover slowly in the future' but that DDR5 RAM won't return to normal pricing levels for about another two years.
Video Cardz also highlighted a post on X from leaker Harukaze 5719, which in turn points to a report from Sina Finance in China that tells a separate tale of the Lenovo price hikes.
Obviously, this is just whispers from the rumor mill, but the theory is that Lenovo plans to jack up prices in China by the equivalent of
SK Group chairman's bleak warning on RAM crisis: it could last until 2030
MSI exec calls 2026 the 'most challenging year' ever due to RAM crisis
The RAM crisis will last 'quite a few years' says Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang
While this is a (rumored) move over in Asia, it would clearly make sense that mirroring cost increases in the same order (perhaps even a bit more) would be implemented in other regions.
The AMD exec has essentially thrown his lot in with the forecasters who see the RAM crisis ebbing away during 2028. While that still means it has a fair way to go, this is actually a relatively optimistic prediction compared to some more recent thoughts – notably from Nvidia's CEO. Jensen Huang said the memory crisis will last "quite a few years", suggesting that we may have to be patient until 2029 or 2030 to see the worst of this over. Others have guessed that we'll be sailing rough waters with RAM pricing until 2030, too.
The sad truth is that at this point, if I could have a guaranteed end-in-2028 outcome for these RAM woes (somehow), I'd take that prospect – and run. Of course, there's the question of what Mc Afee means exactly by returning to 'normal levels', complicated by the fact that this is a translated interview. Broadly speaking, I assume this means that prices will drop back down to more palatable levels relative to now – though I don't see them ever returning to pre-crisis levels, frankly.
It's a bleak old outlook, for sure, although there is some hope in Chinese memory chip makers tackling the RAM shortfall to some extent with increased production from these Asian giants. Mc Afee alludes to this when mentioning Changxin Memory in China increasing its DDR5 production capacity, but others – notably Huang – seem distinctly unswayed by such arguments.
A lot, of course, could rest on what happens with AI going forward. However, with predictions of increased memory demands one way or another in that sphere – and no remote indication of the AI 'bubble' bursting, or clever tech innovations helping out as much as some folks think they might – I'm not optimistic on the whole.
On top of this, the news from Lenovo is a further blow. If you recall, the computer giant already hiked PC prices earlier this year, and so this is another helping of RAM crisis-related cost rises for laptops and desktops (and other hardware besides, apparently).
As I've been discussing recently, after the Nvidia CEO's recent end-of-decade prediction for the extent of the memory crisis, now really does seem to be the right time to buy a laptop. The news that Lenovo may be about to pull the trigger on yet more substantial PC price rises only puts more urgency into that theory, because this surely won't happen in isolation among PC vendors.
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Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for Tech Radar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).
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