Core Insights - The demand for DRAM is surging due to the booming AI industry, with contract prices expected to rise by 171.8% year-on-year by Q3 2025, surpassing recent gold price increases [2][5] - The memory market is experiencing a significant shift, with manufacturers prioritizing data center memory types over consumer-oriented DDR5, leading to a drastic reduction in DDR5 supply [3][5] - The price of consumer-grade DDR5 memory has doubled in recent months, with specific examples showing increases from $91 to $183 for a 32GB kit [3][6][12] Price Trends - The overall memory market is facing severe shortages, with DRAM prices increasing by 171.8% year-on-year, affecting both industry clients and consumers [5][8] - Reports indicate that prices for popular memory kits have surged by 100% or more, with specific instances of 64GB DDR5 kits rising from $280 to $547 [6][8] - The price of DDR5 memory is following a "hockey stick" trend, with DDR4 also experiencing upward pressure, although less pronounced [11][12] Market Impact - The price increases are not limited to DRAM; NAND flash and hard drive prices are also rising to meet the demands of AI server manufacturers, with predictions of sustained price increases for at least four years [3][5] - Mini PC manufacturers are raising prices across all models equipped with SSDs and memory due to significant cost increases [11] - Retailers like Amazon are showing severe shortages in memory stock, with prices for certain kits skyrocketing, reflecting both supply issues and inflationary pressures [12]