[2026 Hardware Market Analysis] Part 1. The RAM Price Explosion and the Butterfly Effect from Data Centers
This article is the first installment of a five-part series titled “2026 In‑Depth Analysis of the Hardware Market.” As AI infrastructure competition intensified in 2025–2026, the global semiconductor supply chain shifted in ways no one predicted. The memory market in particular was upended within months, leaving everyone from PC users to enterprises reeling. DDR5 prices, which had remained stable throughout 2025, surged starting in October, and a sudden spike in server memory demand drained supply for consumer lines. The ripple effects spread into the used market and even back to older standards like DDR4, producing an unprecedented “memory depression.” In Part 1 i would analyze the tipping point of the RAM price surge, how expanded data center investment triggered the supply collapse, the cascading reactions between DDR4 and DDR5 markets, and the rapid rise of China’s CXMT—examining the key variables that shook the memory market in 2026. Now, open the first chapter of this ...