{"id":3221,"date":"2026-09-16T16:59:56","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:59:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/2026\/09\/16\/ram-module-crisis-how-the-ai-boom-is-hitting-hardware-manufacturers\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T16:59:56","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:59:56","slug":"ram-module-crisis-how-the-ai-boom-is-hitting-hardware-manufacturers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/en\/2026\/09\/16\/ram-module-crisis-how-the-ai-boom-is-hitting-hardware-manufacturers\/","title":{"rendered":"RAM Module Crisis: How the AI Boom Is Hitting Hardware Manufacturers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"netgu-698554998\" class=\"netgu-before-content netgu-entity-placement\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6258556257245998\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6258556257245998\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"3494115342\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><p>The global expansion of data centers for artificial intelligence is driving a severe shortage of memory chips. Because semiconductor manufacturers are prioritizing their production capacity for High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM)\u2014ultra-fast memory for AI accelerators\u2014standard DRAM and NAND flash are coming under intense pressure. The consequences are now having a tangible impact on smaller electronics manufacturers like Fairphone, Jolla, and Framework, as well as consumers in Germany.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Memory Costs Explode<\/h2>\n<p>Price trends across the memory market have deteriorated drastically over the past year. A standard 64 GB memory package that traded for around 200 US dollars twelve months ago now sits at roughly 1,100 US dollars\u2014an increase of around 450 percent. Contract prices for DDR5 64GB RDIMM server memory surged to 1,500 US dollars, with spot market rates briefly spiking as high as 3,100 US dollars.<\/p><div id=\"netgu-3760867193\" class=\"netgu-content netgu-entity-placement\"><aside class=\"deals-top deals-top--compact\">\n\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"deals-top__title\">Top-Deals<\/h3>\n\t\n\t\t\t<ul class=\"deals-top__list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/ugreen-aluminium-tabletstaender-360-drehbar-hoehenverstellbar\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/09\/2825012_1-150x150.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">UGREEN Aluminium Tabletst\u00e4nder | 360\u00b0 Drehbar &amp; H\u00f6henverstellbar<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__price\">16.91 \u20ac<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<s>20.37 \u20ac<\/s>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-discount\">-17%<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__temperature is-hot\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t109\u00b0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/train-sim-world-7-starter-pack-kostenlos-fuer-ps4-ps5-xbox-pc\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/09\/capsule_616x353-11-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">Train Sim World 7: Starter Pack kostenlos f\u00fcr PS4, PS5, Xbox, PC<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__price\">Gratis<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__temperature\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t55\u00b0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/gratis-forschungssuppe-im-clash-of-clans-store\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/09\/2839474_1-150x150.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">Gratis Forschungssuppe im Clash of Clans-Store<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__price\">Gratis<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__temperature\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t54\u00b0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/the-clockwork-scarab-stoker-and-holmes-book-1-kindle-edition\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/09\/4982769_1-150x150.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">The Clockwork Scarab (Stoker and Holmes Book 1) \u2013 Kindle Edition<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__price\">Gratis<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<s>0.01 \u20ac<\/s>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-discount\">-100%<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__temperature\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t54\u00b0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/samwatch-simple-e-2024-yamwatch-analog-fuer-wearos\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/09\/2839836_1-150x150.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">SamWatch Simple E 2024 + YamWatch Analog f\u00fcr WearOS<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__price\">Gratis<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<s>1.39 \u20ac<\/s>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-discount\">-100%<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__temperature\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t53\u00b0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"deals-top__more\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/\">Alle Deals ansehen \u2192<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>These price hikes hit budget and mid-range devices directly. Raymond van Eck, CEO of sustainable smartphone maker Fairphone, noted that memory components account for nearly 60 percent of raw bill of materials (BOM) costs for 400-dollar phones. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan remarked at the AI Infrastructure Summit in Santa Clara that RAM chips now make up 70 to 80 percent of the manufacturing costs of low-cost laptops and smartphones.<\/p>\n<div class=\"acp acp--light acp-t-product-horizontal\"><article class=\"acp-card acp-hz is-unavailable\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"acp-hz__grid\">\r\n\t\t<div class=\"acp-hz__media\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"acp-hz__img\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<img src=\"https:\/\/ac.api.valitype.io\/media\/proxy\/iznCa_oTFWBc6gvH-DrDMHIGr_N9W7kJ\/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLm1lZGlhLWFtYXpvbi5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL0kvNDF2OXV0TkdMWkwuX1NMNTAwXy5qcGc\" alt=\"Fairphone 5 5G (8GB, 256GB) Transparente Edition\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\">\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\t<div class=\"acp-hz__info\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"acp-kicker\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"acp-brand\">Fairphone<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"acp-title acp-title--sm\">Fairphone 5 5G (8GB, 256GB) Transparente Edition<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\t<div class=\"acp-hz__buy\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"acp-status\">\r\n\t<p class=\"acp-status__label\"><svg class=\"acp-i acp-i--info\" viewBox=\"0 0 20 20\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><circle cx=\"10\" cy=\"10\" r=\"8\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.8\"\/><path d=\"M10 9v5\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.8\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><circle cx=\"10\" cy=\"6.3\" r=\"1.1\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/><\/svg><span>Currently unavailable<\/span><\/p>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"acp-foot\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/article>\r\n<\/div>\n\n<h2>Manufacturers Respond with Redesigns and Counterfeit Testing<\/h2>\n<p>Beyond raw costs, allocation poses the biggest challenge: companies without guaranteed quotas from major memory manufacturers receive virtually no supply. Smaller brands are forced to get creative:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Jolla<\/strong> is currently deploying two distinct motherboard layouts in parallel to pivot flexibly between available memory batches. The company also scrutinizes every shipment to filter out counterfeit or substandard chips.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Framework<\/strong> is addressing the market turmoil with modular slots and relies on binding, non-cancelable preorders to secure components ahead of time.<\/li>\n<li>Experts at engineering service providers like Direct Insight are already advising hardware designers to trim capacities or temporarily fall back on legacy standards such as DDR3 for basic control tasks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2>Price Hikes Across PCs and Consoles<\/h2>\n<p>The PC and gaming industry is also feeling the squeeze. During the reveal of the Steam Frame mobile device, Valve cited the procurement costs of 16 GB of LPDDR5X memory as the primary reason the unit launched at 1,049 euros\u2014higher than originally budgeted. While high-end hardware targets the premium segment from the start, average prices for standard PCs are climbing across the board: in the second quarter of 2026, the average selling price in the US crossed the 1,000-dollar threshold for the first time.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Relief Unlikely for Years<\/h2>\n<p>Consumers will have to brace for higher hardware prices or scaled-back entry-level configurations for the foreseeable future. Industry leaders like Samsung and SK Hynix project the shortage will persist until at least 2027. SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung even estimates that demand could outstrip capacity well past 2030.<\/p>\n\n<p>While manufacturers such as Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix are pouring billions into new production fabs\u2014including facilities in the US\u2014it will take years before these plants achieve full-scale volume production. Consumers planning to purchase a new laptop or smartphone in the near term should consider whether their current device still suffices, or if modular hardware with upgradeable RAM makes for a smarter long-term investment.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sources: <a href=\"https:\/\/borncity.com\/news\/speicherchip-krise-64-gb-paket-kostet-450-mehr-als-vor-einem-jahr\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Borncity.com<\/a><\/em><\/p><div id=\"netgu-4234892100\" class=\"netgu-after-content netgu-entity-placement\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6258556257245998\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6258556257245998\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"4559785002\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The global AI boom is causing massive memory chip shortages. Price surges of over 450 percent are forcing manufacturers like Fairphone and Framework to rethink their strategies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1695],"tags":[1190,2067,2069,2070,1615,1662],"class_list":["post-3221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hardware-en","tag-artificial-intelligence-en","tag-dram-en","tag-fairphone-en","tag-framework-en","tag-hardware-en","tag-ram-en"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3221"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3222,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3221\/revisions\/3222"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}