"Currently, regardless of the brand, the price of memory modules has increased across the board, with some popular models seeing increases of over 200%." Several computer assembly vendors in Jinan stated that in the past two weeks, the price of DDR series memory modules sold in their stores has doubled or tripled. Sometimes, the price is quoted in the morning and then rises again in the afternoon, causing some stores to see a one-third drop in computer assembly volume as a result.
On online e-commerce platforms, memory module prices have also skyrocketed. For example, a popular Kingboard DDR4 3200MHz 16G (2 modules) kit cost less than 300 yuan in June, but jumped to 660 yuan in October. Even after the Tmall "Double 11" event, it still costs more than 800 yuan to get it, representing an increase of over 160% in just four months.
According to data from Danawa, a South Korean e-commerce price tracking website, the price of a 16GB DDR5-5600 memory module from Samsung Electronics has more than tripled in the past three months.
Amid soaring memory prices, many netizens on social media are showing off their stockpiled memory sticks, expressing their relief at having assembled their computers in advance. "I never imagined that memory sticks would become 'electronic Moutai' (a high-end Chinese liquor), appreciating even faster than gold."
Not only in the end-user market, but also according to statistics from DigiTimes, a global technology industry supply chain analysis platform, from the end of September to November, the spot price of memory saw a significant increase. The monthly increase of DDR4 16G (8Gx2) was over 90%, while the monthly increase of DDR5 16G was as high as 102%, far exceeding the increase of gold during the same period.
The price surged faster than gold, prompting some to capitalize on the opportunity to turn memory into an investment product. One AI entrepreneur stated that in October, they attempted to assemble their own server to test the output efficiency of tokens, spending over 30,000 yuan and purchasing more than 20 graphics memory cards. However, by November, "just selling the graphics memory is enough to build another server." 
Not only on PCs, but also affected by this wave of memory price increases, netizens have noticed that new mobile phones from brands such as Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo have recently started to increase in price. For example, the Redmi K90 series, the 12+512GB version is a full 600 yuan more expensive than the 256GB version with the same configuration.
On October 24th, Lei Jun posted on Weibo : "The K90 series 12GB+512GB version will be discounted by 300 yuan during its first month of sale, now only 2899 yuan. Memory prices have risen too much, and we hope everyone can understand our sincerity."
Industry analysts believe that the tight supply and demand situation in the memory market is not limited to high-end products. As major suppliers have allocated most of their DRAM production capacity to HBM and significantly reduced the supply of products such as DDR4, general-purpose DRAM used in PCs and mobile phones is also facing a supply shortage, and prices have soared accordingly.
According to the latest industry survey data released by UBS in early November, the memory chip industry is entering a period of "severe shortage". Strong demand and limited capacity expansion are driving DRAM prices into a strong upward cycle. The contract price of DDR (double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory) memory in the fourth quarter of 2025 is also expected to increase by more than 21% quarter-on-quarter.
According to the latest news, storage giants such as Samsung and SK Hynix have confirmed that DRAM and NAND flash memory prices will increase by up to 30% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Why have memory prices suddenly surged? Industry observers believe that the explosive growth of the AI industry is the core driver behind the soaring memory prices. AI servers require eight times the memory of ordinary servers, and companies like OpenAI, with monthly orders for 900,000 wafers, consume 53% of the current global monthly DRAM production capacity.
The world's three largest memory giants, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, have shifted a significant portion of their wafer production capacity to HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) and DDR5 production, directly squeezing the production capacity of DDR4. HBM production has a low yield rate, requiring three times the number of wafers to produce a single DDR4 chip, further reducing the production space for conventional memory.
The global rush of chipmakers to invest in artificial intelligence chips has led to a tightening of the supply of common memory chips widely used in smartphones, computers, and servers.
Reports indicate that amid the frenzied AI infrastructure development, customer demand has far exceeded memory manufacturers' production capacity. Many manufacturers have stated that orders for next year, and even 2027, have already been locked in, leading to traders holding back sales and adopting a wait-and-see approach, further amplifying the sense of shortage.
Currently, facing this wave of price increases, gamers may need to significantly reassess their budgets when upgrading or assembling new PCs. In interviews, several computer component wholesalers in Jinan bluntly advised consumers to avoid building PCs unless absolutely necessary.
