DDR5 RAM retail prices have reached another record in August 2026, extending the memory market’s steep run-up over the past year. The latest increase adds to an ongoing PC hardware squeeze being driven in large part by booming demand for DRAM and high-bandwidth memory.

The newest evidence comes from 3DCenter’s August 2026 retail survey, which put its DDR5 price index at 486% of its July 2025 baseline, up from 445% in July 2026. That works out to another 9.2% month-over-month increase, leaving the tracked DDR5 products at roughly 4.9 times their prices from just over a year ago. The new record is the latest development in the RAM crisis that has been reshaping the PC hardware market throughout 2026.

3DCenter’s figures are based on German retail pricing, so the index should not be treated as a measurement of worldwide RAM prices. Even so, its consistent methodology offers a useful look at just how far consumer memory costs have moved in recent years. One particularly stark example is a tracked 2x32GB DDR5-6400 CL32 kit configuration that cost €181 at the July 2025 baseline and was listed at €1,093 in August 2026, a 503% increase. The broader index has also continued moving higher after reaching 419% in June and 445% in July 2026, meaning the latest record was not caused by a single unusually expensive kit.

Fresh South Korean trade data paints a similarly extreme picture further up the supply chain. Citing Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute figures, ChosunBiz reports that the export unit value of South Korean DRAM chips, excluding DRAM modules, averaged $92,183 per kilogram between August 1 and August 20.

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