The RAM market is still rough. The best way to cope is dark humor. Here's this week's hardware meme check.
Budget: $1,500
GPU: $600 ✅
CPU: $350 ✅
Motherboard: $200 ✅
RAM (32GB DDR5): $155
Remaining for storage, PSU, case: $195
*Proceeds to buy 16GB instead and regrets it immediately*
9:00 AM
• Chrome (7 tabs): 4.2GB
• VS Code: 2.1GB
• Docker (3 containers): 3.8GB
• Slack: 1.2GB
Total: 11.3GB / 16GB
9:01 AM
• Opens Figma
• System: "Low Memory" warning
• Closes Slack
• Slack process: still running
*frustrated developer sound*
To: Manager
Subject: RAM upgrade request
As you can see in the attached performance report,
my current 16GB system is frequently hitting memory
pressure, causing build times to increase by 40% and
forcing constant application switching.
A 32GB upgrade at $155 would pay for itself in
developer productivity within 3 weeks.
Best,
[Developer who has been staring at swap file activity for two months]
*Sets price alert for 32GB DDR5 at $120*
*Checks email daily*
*Checks email daily*
*Checks email daily*
*Prices go up*
*Adjusts alert to $140*
*Still waiting*
DDR4 32GB: 155 (new)
The platform that accepts DDR4: compatible with my CPU The platform that accepts DDR5: also compatible with my CPU
Slowly opens Amazon and searches "AM4 motherboard"
It's cyclical. RAM always goes up, then crashes. The DDR6 transition will eventually crater DDR5 prices. Patience is the play.
Or just close some Chrome tabs. That's free.
Prices as of Feb 2026:
The DDR4 deal is remarkable right now. If your platform accepts it, strongly consider.