By BRITECITY | 17+ years experience
Published February 16, 2026
Expertise: IT Procurement, Hardware Lifecycle Management, Managed IT Services
Comprehensive analysis of why computer and server prices are rising 15-30% in 2026 due to the AI-driven memory shortage. Covers root causes, timeline, and what businesses should do.
Computer and server prices are rising 15–30% in 2026 because AI data center construction is consuming the world's memory chip supply. Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron — the three companies that produce 95% of global memory — are reallocating manufacturing capacity from standard DDR5 RAM to high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI accelerators. The result is a structural shortage that industry analysts project will persist through 2027 and possibly into 2028.
If your business is planning hardware purchases in 2026 or 2027, this article explains exactly what is happening, why prices are climbing, how long it will last, and what Orange County businesses can do to protect their IT budgets.
If you've recently priced out new workstations, servers, or laptops for your business, you've likely noticed something alarming: prices are significantly higher than they were even six months ago.
This is not a temporary blip. Major PC manufacturers including Lenovo, Dell, HP, Acer, and ASUS have all signaled price increases of 15–20%, with some industry reports indicating climbs up to 30% as shortages deepen. Lenovo CFO Winston Cheng called the situation “unprecedented” in a recent earnings call, warning that the company cannot absorb the full cost of component increases.
Server hardware is being hit even harder. Morgan Stanley analysts recently downgraded Dell Technologies in part due to margin compression from rising memory costs. Enterprise-grade servers that rely on large amounts of high-speed RAM are seeing the steepest increases — a direct problem for any business running on-premises infrastructure.
The AI revolution is not just changing software — it is fundamentally reshaping the global semiconductor supply chain.
In 2026, the four largest technology companies are spending a combined $650 billion on AI infrastructure, according to Bloomberg. That represents a 60–70% increase from 2025 spending of roughly $381–410 billion. To put individual numbers on it:
These companies are building massive AI data centers to power services like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Meta AI. Each facility requires enormous amounts of specialized memory, and every chip they consume is one fewer chip available for the computers and servers your business needs.
To understand why AI spending translates directly into higher prices for ordinary computers, you need to understand the memory supply chain.
Three companies — Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology — produce approximately 95% of the world's memory chips. There is no meaningful alternative supply. When these three manufacturers make strategic decisions about what to produce, the entire technology industry feels the impact.
And right now, all three are making the same decision: shift production capacity from standard consumer and enterprise memory (DDR5 DRAM) to high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI accelerators like NVIDIA's H100 and B200 GPUs.
Why this is a zero-sum game:
HBM requires roughly 3× the manufacturing capacity of standard DDR5 memory per unit of output. According to TrendForce, HBM now accounts for 23% of total DRAM production capacity in 2026, up from 19% in 2025, and is expected to grow 70% year-over-year. Every silicon wafer allocated to AI memory is one fewer wafer for the memory that goes into business PCs and servers. As the IDC put it in their Global Memory Shortage Crisis report, this represents a “permanent strategic reallocation of the world's silicon wafer capacity.”
The OpenAI Stargate project alone has reportedly secured a deal with Samsung and SK Hynix for 900,000 DRAM wafers per month — a staggering volume that further tightens supply for everyone else.
The effects of the memory shortage are already visible across the technology market:
DRAM prices rose 172% throughout 2025 and are projected to climb another 20–30% in early 2026. Contract prices between manufacturers and PC makers jumped 55–60% quarter-over-quarter in late 2025, according to TrendForce — costs that are now being passed directly to buyers.
Micron has confirmed that its HBM capacity is sold out through calendar year 2026. Apple reportedly secured supply only through Q1 2026. Some enterprise customers are only able to meet 50–67% of their memory needs. This is not just a pricing problem — it is an availability problem.
New devices may ship with less RAM than previous generations. AI PCs — which Microsoft and Intel are positioning as the future of computing and which require 16GB or more — are becoming more expensive at precisely the worst time. Micron exited the consumer memory market entirely, killing its Crucial brand of retail RAM.
The companies driving the shortage are the largest and most well-funded in the world. The “Big Four” hyperscalers — Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Meta — account for the majority of AI memory demand. But they are not alone. OpenAI (through the Stargate project), Anthropic, Tesla, and Oracle are all building or expanding massive AI infrastructure.
DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria described it as a “winner-take-all or winner-takes-most market,” noting that none of the major players are “willing to lose.” The result is an AI arms race where each company feels compelled to outspend the others, regardless of the downstream effects on the broader technology supply chain.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has even announced plans to build Tesla's own memory fabrication facility — a move that underscores just how severe the supply crunch has become. When companies start building their own chip fabs rather than waiting for supply to materialize, the market is telling you something important.
This is the question every business leader is asking, and the honest answer is: longer than most people expect.
Synopsys CEO Sassine Ghazi told CNBC the chip crunch will continue through 2026 and 2027. An ASUS representative said pricing should “start to normalize” by 2027. IDC projects the effects could persist “well into 2027 and beyond.”
Executives at Micron and SK Hynix have indicated that meaningful new manufacturing capacity will not come online until 2028. The Korean Economic Daily reported the shortage could continue for 3–4 years. Micron's Idaho facility broke ground in 2024 but will not have meaningful output until 2028. SK Hynix's M15X facility is not ready until mid-2027, and Samsung's P5 facility is not operational until 2028.
The core challenge is physics and economics: building a new semiconductor fabrication facility takes 3+ years and costs billions of dollars. No amount of demand can accelerate that timeline. The facilities that will ease the 2026 shortage are the ones that broke ground in 2024 — and they are still years from full production.
BRITECITY helps Orange County businesses navigate supply chain disruptions and optimize IT procurement timing.
Schedule a Hardware AssessmentThe situation is serious, but it is manageable with the right strategy. Here is what we recommend to our clients:
Prices are expected to keep rising through 2026 and into 2027. Early 2026 purchases may represent the last opportunity to buy before the next wave of increases. Supply constraints may make some configurations unavailable entirely — not just expensive.
Review your 2026–2027 technology refresh cycles now. Consider accelerating planned purchases to lock in current pricing. Build 20–30% budget increases for hardware into your IT planning. Prioritize mission-critical upgrades and defer nice-to-haves.
Professional maintenance and optimization can extend the useful life of current equipment. Not every aging system needs to be replaced — some can be optimized with additional RAM (while available), SSD upgrades, or OS tuning. Evaluate which systems truly need replacement versus which can be stretched another 12–18 months.
Cloud services may offer better economics during the shortage, since hyperscalers locked in memory supply years in advance. Leasing provides flexibility if you are uncertain about timing. Refurbished enterprise equipment from reputable sources can bridge gaps at lower cost.
An experienced managed IT provider can leverage vendor relationships for better allocation and pricing. BRITECITY works with Lenovo, Dell, HP, and other manufacturers daily and can help you navigate supply chain disruptions — the same way we helped clients through the 2020–2021 chip shortage.
The AI-driven memory shortage is not a temporary supply chain hiccup — it is a structural shift in how the world's semiconductor capacity is allocated. AI has made memory as strategically critical as processing power, and the economics of technology procurement have changed accordingly.
Businesses that recognize this early and plan proactively will weather the storm far better than those that wait and hope for prices to come back down. They likely will not return to 2024 levels. The companies that adapt — by budgeting realistically, purchasing strategically, and partnering with IT providers who understand the supply chain — will maintain their competitive edge even as costs rise across the industry.
Technology markets are volatile, and the figures cited in this article reflect conditions as of early 2026. We recommend consulting with your IT provider for the most current pricing and availability.
Contact BRITECITY today for a complimentary technology procurement consultation. Our 35-person team serves 120+ Orange County businesses and can help you navigate supply chain challenges and optimize your IT investment timing.
Answers
Buy now if you have immediate needs. Industry analysts project prices will continue rising through 2026 and into 2027. Early 2026 purchases may be the last opportunity before the next wave of increases, and supply constraints may make some configurations unavailable entirely.
Unlikely. The shift of manufacturing capacity to AI memory represents a permanent structural change in the semiconductor industry. Prices may stabilize once new fabrication facilities come online in 2028-2029, but analysts do not expect a return to pre-shortage pricing.
All computers are affected because every device uses DRAM memory. However, servers and high-end workstations that require large amounts of RAM are seeing the steepest increases. Budget laptops and desktops are experiencing smaller but still significant price hikes of 15-20%.
Yes, refurbished enterprise equipment from reputable sources can be a cost-effective bridge during the shortage. BRITECITY can help source quality refurbished hardware that meets your business requirements at a fraction of new equipment costs.
An experienced managed IT provider like BRITECITY can leverage vendor relationships for better allocation and pricing, help you plan strategic purchases, extend the life of existing hardware through optimization, and advise on cloud alternatives that may offer better economics during the shortage.
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