Over the past year, you may have noticed something, PC Component prices are increasing considerably – leading to the increase in price of Desktops, laptops, Servers and even some less considered items (such as Routers/Firewalls and switches) are shooting up in price. These price increases are outstripping inflation and are not proportionally linked to performance gains. So why are the prices of PCs, Laptops and other electronics rising?
It actually comes back to the old supply / demand equation, but this is not from other consumers or businesses wanting to purchase hardware, it is linked to the huge demand that AI puts on computing resources.
AI may be transforming the way some businesses and individuals work, but it’s also reshaping the hardware market in several areas.
The impact of AI
One very visible area of competition over hardware is the GPU market (Graphics Processing Units)
While traditionally used for getting great graphics performance in games and improving 3d renders and video processing, GPUs also form the core of AI hardware requirements for their processing power.
While you may think that there may not be a direct correlation between GPU demand and the requirements for your organisation’s machines (PCs and Laptops), there is a knock-on effect :-
All these GPUs also require RAM (Memory Chips), leading to Direct competition for Memory, especially NAND and High bandwidth memory.
Because these components are produced on the same manufacturing lines as standard PC memory, every chip redirected to AI data centre hardware means less supply for business PCs. RAM prices in some cases surged by 100–500% in late 2025 due to AI data centre demand outbidding the consumer market. And it is thought that DRAM and NAND shortages driven by AI could push PC and smartphone prices up by as much as 20%.
Manufacturers like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron control over 95% of memory production, so when they shift towards AI first output, the shock hits everyone else, and that is exactly what is happening.
AI Datacentres are simply outbidding everyone else. Cloud giants like AWS, Microsoft, Google and OpenAI are buying vast quantities of memory and storage, often accepting huge price increases just to secure supply, so Manufacturers are prioritising HBM Over Consumer DRAM, leading to Less DDR4 / DDR5 available for PCs & Laptops and lower stock levels and rapidly increasing prices.
It’s not just GPUs and memory,
The AI boom is driving up costs for processors and fast storage (SSDs) for consumers and businesses alike, this means higher costs not just for PCs, but for every component that goes into them.
Analysts are now predicting broad PC price increases going into 2026 as supply chains remain under this pressure:
Manufacturers such as Dell and Lenovo have already announced price adjustments as high as 15% due to memory shortages,
And analysts are warning this isn’t a short-term spike.
• DRAM supply constraints may persist until 2028, because building new fabrication plants takes years and billions of dollars — and manufacturers are wary of an AI “bubble” before investing.
• PC price hikes of 4–20% are expected to continue through 2026, depending on component type and vendor strategy.
Unfortunately, this is not just limited to PCs and laptops, there is a ripple effect on everyday tech, like Smartphones, Tablets, Consoles and even TVs because they rely on the same types of DRAM and NAND storage.
Conclusions
If AI demand continues to accelerate, the consumer hardware market may permanently settle at these higher price levels.
For businesses and consumers planning upgrades in 2026/27 the unfortunate truth is that NOW is likely to be cheaper than later for upgrading aging hardware, and prices may not stabilise for several years.
If you want to get ahead of this problem and refresh your hardware at today’s prices, then get in touch with us on 03302020118 or sales@espprojects.co.uk
