60% of PC Gamers Delay New Builds 2 Years as AI Drives DRAM Prices Higher
Updated
Updated · Tom's Hardware · May 16
60% of PC Gamers Delay New Builds 2 Years as AI Drives DRAM Prices Higher
2 articles · Updated · Tom's Hardware · May 16
1,500-plus Tom's Hardware readers surveyed in May showed 60% do not plan to build a new PC for at least two years, underscoring how sharply upgrade demand has cooled.
AI data-center buildouts are soaking up global DRAM supply, pushing up prices for memory, SSDs and graphics cards; 32GB of RAM now costs about $360.
Only 25% of respondents said they might build within the next 12 months, while just 15% expect to do so in the next six months and 10% within three months.
New chips such as AMD's Ryzen 7 9850X3D and Intel's Arrow Lake Refresh have not revived the market, and retail sales events are seen as unlikely to restore pre-AI-crunch pricing.
As AI's hunger for chips makes PC building unaffordable, is the golden age of DIY gaming officially over?
The AI boom is creating a new normal of expensive PCs. What happens to the software and gaming industries that depend on them?
With AI data centers straining power grids and facing public revolt, can this tech revolution continue on its current path?