They say that there is never a bad time to do something you really want and that, many times, the only thing that stops us is finding the right excuse not to start. That idea can work in many areas, but today it doesn’t fit very well if what you have in mind is build your own PC. At least not without assuming that the current context clearly works against it.
We are witnessing firsthand how the so-called “memory crisis” is pushing upand notably, the prices of NAND memories, key in SSD units, and of the DRAM used in computers and laptops. We have more and more reasons to be patient, because an actor as relevant as Micron already warns that the challenges for the sector will persist for quite some time.
The memory crisis is still far from resolved
The company has put a date on the table and it is not what many expected. In its communication of resultsSanjay Mehrotra, CEO of Micron, spoke of “tight conditions” in DRAM and NAND and said that they are expected to “persist through and beyond 2026“In other words, if today we are already seeing how memory is becoming more expensive, Micron is warning that it does not point to a clear return to normality in 2026. That nuance matters, because it changes the horizon of anyone who is thinking about building or upgrading a PC in the short term.
There are numbers that help to understand why this phenomenon does not remain a simple market swing. The firm once again reported record revenues of $13.64 billion in the last quarter, compared to $8.71 billion in the same period of the previous year, driven by the push for AI. That does not mean that there is excess product in all segments, because capacity and industrial priorities do not adjust to the pace of demand. Micron says it expects to increase its DRAM and NAND shipments by 20% next year, but acknowledges that boost isn’t enough to catch up.
To understand why the domestic market is more exposed, it is worth looking at the photo of the factory. Micron is pushing its business toward HBMa memory designed for high-performance systems in data centers, and that has an opportunity cost. It is a technology that uses three times more silicon wafers than conventional DRAM, which means that, with the same capacity base, fewer units can be produced for the rest of the segments. It is not that consumption memory disappears, it is that it has less priority.
Micron is pushing its business toward HBM.
The first consequence is already being noticed by those of us who look at prices to build or expand a PC. Memory is what is becoming more expensive and the effect is seen, for example, in DDR5 kits. From there, the tension begins to filter through the rest of the chain, not only due to price, but also due to availability. The decision with Crucial also fits into this shift in priorities. Micron will stop selling consumer products under that brandwhich means one less player in this market, and greater pressure for those who are still in the race in the domestic sector.
If Micron makes one thing clear with its roadmap, it is that standardization is not around the corner. The company is accelerating investment and capacity, but with a calendar that moves in yearsnot in weeks, and that forces us to look at 2026 with another face. For those who are thinking about buying or building a PC, the prudent reading is simple: it is advisable to assume that memory will continue to be a sensitive component, both in terms of price and availability, for a good period of time.
Images | Micron | Samsung
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