Data Centers Will Consume 70 Percent Of Memory Chips made in 2026, RAM Shortage Will Last Until Until Atleast 2029 As Manafacturing Capacity For RAM In 2028 That Hasnt Even Been Made Yet Is Already being Sold
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ram/data-centers-will-consume-70-percent-of-memory-chips-made-in-2026-supply-shortfall-will-cause-the-chip-shortage-to-spread-to-other-segments
28 Comments
Highly doubt the AI bubble is going to last until 2029. We’re already seeing big corporation backlash.
The time keeps moving further and further away. Last time I saw an article it said that it would last until at least 2028. Now its 2029. I hope some company in china starts making dram and we can get reasonably priced stuff again.
Data centers that never fill up let alone open
Forgive me for coming off as ignorant here but why don’t more companies who want AI so badly invest in AI specific resource manufacturing instead of wreaking havoc on the consumer PC hardware market? I feel like much of these types of shortages and price hikes can be avoided if they just made more AI related resource laws that better regulate where & how they get their AI hardware.
Most of those data centers ain’t happening.
I saw a meme the other day, four sticks of RAM, “This is the RAM I want.” and then a picture of a full-sized pick-up truck “This is the RAM I can afford.”
From the article:
>The tech press has been lit up like Chernobyl reactor #4 for months about shortages in memory, solid-state drives, and hard drives. The shortages are driven by explosive AI demand, and the latest report says that up to 70 percent of the memory produced worldwide in 2026 will be consumed by data centers. However, those specific topics have yet to be part of the global zeitgeist. That’s quickly changing, as evidenced by a Wall Street Journal article (WSJ) describing just how dire the situation is, and how the fallout from the RAM shortage is set to irradiate several markets not directly linked to computing.
>The WSJ details how the exponential rise in memory is all but guaranteed to hit the automotive sector, TVs, and consumer electronics, among many others. The publication goes as far as comparing the automobile situation to the production delays experienced during Covid, an event nobody has fond memories of.
>Even though cars and most consumer gear use older types of memory, RAM makers have downsized or discontinued production of legacy chips altogether. To bluntly illustrate the point, the article cites Counterpoint Research’s MS Hwang: “you gotta buy a plane ticket and get that allocation from manufacturers right now,” going on to say that manufacturing capacity for 2028 is already being sold, never mind this year.
>To state that most everything these days uses RAM is obvious, but even common household items like televisions, Bluetooth speakers, set-top boxes, and even “smart” appliances like fridges could become extremely pricey. The margins on these items are razor-thin, and one key component, like memory multiplying in price, implies a cost that manufacturers will be willing or unable to afford, thus passing it to the customer, assuming there is even any memory available to make the devices.
>While component prices across all areas of industry float all the time, the waves are generally temporary enough to keep prices level, but that’s not the case this time around. For his part, Huang thinks that RAM might become as much as 10% of the price of most electronics and 30% of the bill on items like smartphones.
>IDC already updated its 2026 forecast with a 5% dip in smartphone sales and 9% on PCs — deals that may be altered further in just a few months’ time. The firm also calls the current situation a “permanent reallocation” of supplier capacity towards AI datacenters. TrendForce’s Avril Wu concurs, as “[she has] tracked the memory sector for almost 20 years, and this time really is different […] It really is the craziest time ever.”
It’s time to boycott AI companies. All of them.
Who’s even going to use these services if consumers can’t get their hands on client hardware?
Fuck Scam Altman & F.elon Musk
Hold onto your laptops.
Please just pop.
AI is no longer the goal and has subtly burst in my opinion, the sleight of hand here is repurposing all the AI investment and hardware into ending the personal computer. Which is a much simpler path to profit.
This shit’s absurd. All to pursue something only a few CEOs are looking to push upon the rest of the planet.
Reject this shit. Reject AI. Help thier investment in this shit trigger them into bankruptcy.
I bought 96GB for a gaming rig upgrade last year as intentional overkill. Can’t believe I’m now regretting not going 128GB.
Absolutely no bubble at all. Keep scrolling, nothing to see here.
It’s over for PCs. They will make everyone rent their computers in 10 years.
This is just silly at this point.
People need to hate AI even more than they do now
AI is not profitable. AI generated content gives nearly everyone the ick; it gives off a distinct aura of cheapness. It consumes far too many resources for far too little benefit. Disgustingly immoral and dangerous companies/organizations such as Palantir need it for their immoral and dangerous activities. And ultimately, at the end of the day, “AI” isn’t even AI, it’s just marketing.
If the RAM shortage doesn’t end far sooner, that means things have gone terribly wrong. I personally do not want to be a part of that capitalism ouroboros.
Not if the AI bubble bursts and all I’ve got to say ‘[burst baby burst, Disco inferno](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5lSeYd_riw)’ is the sort of energy and boogie I will be doing when it happens…
AI is 30 years too soon. The technology and hardware to make AI happen just isn’t there. If you have to consume over 90% of the world’s major resources and components in the computer industry to make baby steps advancements, you are clearly in a panic, rushing to a goal you can not achieve without major repercussions.
They want to shove this AI shit down our throats but make the machines that we use to access AI unaffordable?
some 5D chess right there…
lol for something that can’t even add 1 and 1
Fuck the billionaires. They’re ruining the planet and our wallets. They want to own us all.
Unless the AI market crashes and then we all laugh our asses off at that egg basket spill.
Reading the comments here makes me wonder which one of you Peter Thiel will accuse of being the antichrist.
It doesn’t matter when the shortage ends, RAM prices are never coming back down to where they used to be.