RAM and SSD in 2026: Understanding Price Hikes and Buying at the Right Time

If you've checked the price of a RAM stick or an SSD in recent months, the conclusion is clear: prices have risen sharply. Memory and storage, long considered the most affordable components in a build, are now among the most significant expenses in a budget. At DSGate, we closely monitor these changes to adjust our configurations. Here's how to read this market and make smart purchases rather than at the worst possible time.

Why Prices Are Rising So Much

The increase is primarily due to tension in the NAND flash memory and DRAM markets. Demand from data centers and AI applications is capturing an increasing share of production, which reduces the volumes available for the general public. As a result, in the first half of 2026, storage prices continued to climb, with increases estimated around 70% for some products compared to last year.

Here are some concrete examples to gauge the extent of the movement:

• A 1TB Gen5 NVMe SSD now often sells for between €200 and €270, compared to around €100 to €130 a year earlier.
• Entry-level models like some 1TB Kingston drives have gone from approximately €80 to €150-€160.
• RAM kits have followed the same trend, with good deals on 32GB becoming rarer and disappearing quickly.

How to Buy Smart in This Context

The first rule is not to over-spec unnecessarily. For gaming and office use, 16GB of RAM remains a solid balance point, and 32GB is more than enough for demanding configurations. There's no need to aim for 64GB if your usage doesn't justify it: that's money tied up in a component whose price could go down.

As for storage, Gen5 remains reserved for those who genuinely need it. For the vast majority of gamers, a Gen4 NVMe SSD currently offers the best performance-to-price ratio: speeds are more than sufficient for Windows, games, and common applications, without the added cost of the latest models.

Finally, keep an eye out for flash sales. Retailers like LDLC, Materiel.net, TopAchat, or Amazon regularly offer limited-time deals, and community sites like Dealabs help spot a good deal as soon as it appears. In a tight market, a 32GB kit under €170 or a reasonably priced 1TB Gen4 SSD deserves quick action.

Should You Wait for a Price Drop?

That's the question everyone is asking. Industry analyses predict a gradual easing rather than a sharp drop, as structural demand remains strong. Postponing a purchase for several months in the hope of a price collapse is therefore an uncertain gamble. If you need a machine now, it's better to buy at the current best value for money than to wait indefinitely.

This is precisely the logic we apply to our configurations assembled in France: selecting components with the best balance between performance and budget, without inflating the bill with oversized components. To discover our ready-to-play gaming PCs, visit the DSGate shop and find the configuration that suits your needs and budget.