TECH NEWS – With 16 GB modules costing a fortune, it’s best to wait on hardware upgrades.
Memory prices will continue to rise in the coming months as demand in the AI segment grows. Those who validate and package memory for AI customers are announcing price increases due to the high volume of orders. Meanwhile, the consumer memory market continues to collapse. The South Korean market is a good indicator of what consumers can expect in terms of memory prices. It was the first regional market to see price increases at the start of the crisis, and data continues to show even higher prices for DDR5 memory.
The latest lists from South Korean manufacturers show that memory prices will continue to rise. A 16 GB DDR5-5600 (CL46) memory module (not a kit) costs nearly 400,000 Korean won ($270-$300). 32 GB DDR5-5600 (CL46) kits cost 680,000–780,000 KRW ($450–500). Users looking for a decent entry-level memory kit can find current Intel XMP and AMD EXPO options priced between 730,000 and 926,000 KRW ($500 and $650). These kits are not high-end products. A few months ago, people paid much less for a 7,000–8,000 MT/s, 64 GB kit. Currently, many 16 GB memory modules are available on the US market for $165-$175, while 32 GB modules are priced at around $300-$400. Considering the prices in the Korean and Taiwanese markets, we expect US prices to skyrocket within a month.
When it comes XMP/EXPO kit, the 32GB D5-6000 Kit may soon reach 1M KRW (about 680 USD) pic.twitter.com/7Tr8wtaXd7
— 포시포시 (@harukaze5719) January 12, 2026
Based on US retailers’ timeline, the price of most memory rose by 30% in one month. This 30% average increase aligns with industry expectations but only applies to January. In the future, we will continue to see price adjustments that the industry refers to as “gradual steps.” We have already seen DDR5 memory kits used to purchase real estate in Shanghai, China.
Prices for higher-end ECC RDIMM and OC RDIMM kits for workstations and servers are even higher, ranging from $5,000 to $8,000. The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that prices are not stabilizing, and the worst is yet to come. Assuming that the prices of other components do not rise, memory will be the most expensive PC component that consumers will have to buy in the near future, as they are also affected by the supply shortage.
Source: WCCFTech
![However, an anonymous GOG employee paints an even darker tone of the internal situation: „We were told it’s a financial decision. GOG’s revenue couldn’t keep up with growth, the fact that we’re dangerously close to being in the red has come up in the past few months, and the market’s move towards higher [developer] revenue shares have, or will, affect the bottom line as well.](https://thegeek.games/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/the-gog-1-302x180.jpg)
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