Paul’s Hardware

How to Get Around the Memory Shortage

In this episode of Build Fix, Paul addresses the ongoing global DRAM shortage and its ripple effect on PC component pricing, showing why building a new system has become significantly more expensive. He compares a mid‑tier AM5 build from August 2025—originally $1,300—to today’s market, where the same configuration climbs to roughly $1,660. Memory is the biggest driver, with a 32 GB DDR5‑6000 kit jumping from $100 to nearly $400, while the RTX 560 Ti 16 GB GPU has more than doubled to $2,300. Paul highlights specific examples: the 9600X CPU is slightly cheaper, the motherboard and PSU have modest drops, but the memory and GPU price spikes dominate the total. He also points out that a 1 TB Gen 4 NVMe SSD now costs about $130, offering better performance per dollar than older 2 TB Gen 3 drives. To navigate the shortage, he recommends three tactics—switching to DDR4 builds or upgrading existing systems, hunting combo bundles that pair RAM with CPUs, and scouring the used market for undervalued parts. These approaches can keep a mid‑range gaming PC within reach despite inflated component costs.