Rising RAM Prices Lead to Record Drop in Motherboard Sales and Threaten to Slow Market — Media

With memory prices running high, people are increasingly reluctant to build new PCs or upgrade their existing systems.

The steep rise in RAM costs has begun to ripple across the entire PC market — and motherboard sales have been hit the hardest. Gaz Log, citing Board Channels, reports that in October and November major manufacturers such as MSI, ASUS and Gigabyte recorded declines in sales of 40–50% compared with the same period a year earlier.

Demand would normally climb at this time thanks to seasonal promotions, but the surge in DDR5 prices produced the opposite effect. Memory modules have become two to four times more expensive, sharply cooling interest in builds based on contemporary platforms.

The drop in motherboard purchases is dragging other segments down with it. Analysts warn that demand for CPUs and cooling solutions is likely to fall in tandem.

Vendors are preparing for one of the most challenging quarters in recent memory and are weighing promotions such as bundled “motherboard + DDR5” offers and temporary discounts. Still, analysts are skeptical these steps will provide long-term relief — without stabilization in memory prices, the market is unlikely to return to previous volumes.

Some specialists believe the memory shortage could persist through the middle of next year. If the trend continues, the downturn risks becoming the most significant for the PC market since the 2017–2018 crypto boom, when component prices rose almost month after month.

Source: iXBT.games