PC Building NOW is Unaffordable.

Marie SWE · Aug 22, 2026

MisterEd said:
and Micron Technology

~~Don't forget they have stepped down from the customer market.. so they are only two for us common people~~

Edit:
Sorry i missed your (((Note Crucial is owned by Micron. Micron early this year said they were shutting down the Crucial consumer RAM supplier. That means that no more RAM is being manufacturer by Crucial. )))

PhilB · Aug 22, 2026

MisterEd said:
You are right. The semiconductor companies are making record amounts of profit for RAM, SSDs , and GPUs for AI customers. Only a small amount of profit comes from consumers.

Today there are just three major manufacturers of RAM: Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Micron Technology. I something online recently. It seems there is a Chinese company that is increasing production of DDR5 RAM. Maybe we will soon be buying RAM from them instead.

I saw a YouTube video where someone who had 1 of 4 sticks of Crucial 128GB RAM fail. Even though the RAM was under warranty Crucial told them they had no replacement RAM so could only reimburse them what they paid for the RAM which was about $240. That was crazy since they would have to pay about $1200 for the RAM now.

Note Crucial is owned by Micron. Micron early this year said they were shutting down the Crucial consumer RAM supplier. That means that no more RAM is being manufacturer by Crucial.

Here are a few of the items items I bought in 2024 and 2025 and what they cost today:

Crucial 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 4800 Laptop RAM = 4/24 $85.59 | 8/26 $419.00
Samsung 990 EVO Plus 2TB NVME SSD = 4/25 $129.99 | 10/25 $139.99 | 8/26 $369.99
Samsung 990 EVO Plus 4TB NVME SSD = 10/25 $249.99 | 8/26 $589.99
Samsung T7 Shield 4TB Portable SSD = 10/24 $237.49 | 8/26 $849.95

I will never again buy from Crucial (ha) or Micron.

SlicEnDicE · Aug 23, 2026

RAM and other unknown chip purchases and usage for major computer manufacturers has already begun. There has already been many reports of them using unknown brand chips mainly coming from China and other smaller fabs.

PhilB · Aug 23, 2026

SlicEnDicE said:
RAM and other unknown chip purchases and usage for major computer manufacturers has already begun. There has already been many reports of them using unknown brand chips mainly coming from China and other smaller fabs.

Probably leading to higher failure rates. Just saying.

SlicEnDicE · Aug 23, 2026

PhilB said:
Probably leading to higher failure rates. Just saying.

I doubt that. They're good quality, just not known outside China.

PhilB · Aug 24, 2026

SlicEnDicE said:
I doubt that. They're good quality, just not known outside China.

How do you know about their quality? Lots of crappy products are built there? Not trolling, just curious

SlicEnDicE · Aug 24, 2026

PhilB said:
How do you know about their quality? Lots of crappy products are built there? Not trolling, just curious

Because I've bought some unknown brand RAM, which name I don't recall anymore, and it was very cheap but it's good.

EDIT: I've used in one of my laptops for a while and then I moved the sticks to my NAS. DDR3L 2 x 8GB. They've been in use over a year now without any issues.

Catnip · Aug 24, 2026

PhilB said:
How do you know about their quality? Lots of crappy products are built there? Not trolling, just curious

Actually, when it comes to electronic components, China builds a lot of good products. Sure there are some fly by night operators making garbage, but you get that anywhere. I've been ripped off in other countries, including the USA. You can get garbage anywhere if you look hard enough.

TraderGary · Aug 24, 2026

I make my daily Macrium Reflect X backup images alternating on two 4TB Samsung T9 portable SSD drives. I like to always have a minimum of 30 days of complete drive images.

I originally paid $329 each for these two 4TB SSD drives on Amazon.

I was curious about today's price on Amazon for the same SSD. I looked. $904 That's almost 3 times what I originally paid! :scream:

PhilB · Aug 24, 2026

TraderGary said:
That's almost 3 times what I originally paid!
indeed

SlicEnDicE · Aug 24, 2026

Speaking of RAM prices. I upgraded my AMD Laptop with a second identical stick of 16GB RAM. Lenovo wanted 330€ for it. I found the same stick elsewhere for about 90€ incl. shipping. Was still quite salty price at the time. I don't even dare to imagine what that same purchase would be now from Lenovo. Probably in the 1000€ range and beyond.

MisterEd · Aug 25, 2026

SlicEnDicE said:
Speaking of RAM prices. I upgraded my AMD Laptop with a second identical stick of 16GB RAM. Lenovo wanted 330€ for it. I found the same stick elsewhere for about 90€ incl. shipping. Was still quite salty price at the time. I don't even dare to imagine what that same purchase would be now from Lenovo. Probably in the 1000€ range and beyond.

I don't understand why you started with only 1 stick of RAM. AMD CPUs are designed to work better with 2 sticks of RAM. I some computers only come with one stick of RAM.

If you start with one stick and buy a 2nd then you risk whether they are compatible or not. If not you might have to run them at a slower speed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Until the end of last year I guess we got spoiled by the low prices as compared to today.

AMD has supported dual-channel memory for over 20 years now. In fact I built a desktop in 2002 whose motherboard was among the first to support dual-channel RAM. Back then the memory controller was a chip in the motherboard. It wasn't until 2006 that the memory controller was integrated into the CPU.

Back in November 2002, I paid $378 for 1GB RAM. (July 2026 $696). RAM was Corsair XMS CMX512-2700C2 512MB DRR 333 @$189.00 each.

Note dual-channel was so new that nobody sold 2 or 4 stick memory kits. You had to depend upon what other people found to work. Within a few months people were buying single sticks and testing them with others to find compatible RAM. They then sold them as dual-channel kits. Within a year companies started selling 2 or 4 stick memory kits.

In December 2011, I paid $54.99 for a 2GB RAM kit. RAM was Corsair XMS CMC2GX1M2A400C3 2GB (2x1GB) DDR 400.

XxXxX · Aug 25, 2026

PhilB said:
How do you know about their quality? Lots of crappy products are built there? Not trolling, just curious

when ordering from China its best to do your home work.

example.
i was refurbishing my old second-hand Dell 13" laptop and it required a new battery
the manufacturer of Dell batteries is written on the old battery.

i found the web address of that manufacturer/supplier and ordered a battery for the Dell laptop direct from them
Dell wanted over £100 for a replacement battery, from the manufacturer/supplier in China that makes Dell's batteries £45
which included postage and packaging.

the only difference was no Dell logo on the battery. they battery is still working just fine.
with RAM and Drives i would look at the manufacturers/suppliers of the components within that system and then order direct
if the components are good enough for the main players to put into their systems then you improve your chances of buying reliable replacement components at a better price/cost. its just a matter of are you willing to do the foot work or not.

the main players have deserted the home computer upgrade market totally and it looks like China will be stepping into the worldwide gap the main players have vacated and doesn't look like the main players are coming back any time soon.

just my thoughts
best of luck Steve ..

SlicEnDicE · Aug 25, 2026

MisterEd said:
I don't understand why you started with only 1 stick of RAM. AMD CPUs are designed to work better with 2 sticks of RAM. I some computers only come with one stick of RAM.

If you start with one stick and buy a 2nd then you risk whether they are compatible or not. If not you might have to run them at a slower speed.

lol, you'd have to ask Lenovo that question. And yeah, I know about AMD working better in Dual Channel mode (the iGPU part in particular) and was the reason for my additional purchase in the first place.

For me there is no risk finding wrong modules, I know exactly what I'm looking for. Some random stick would have cost me less than 30€, but I wanted the exact same stick model and brand from same batch if possible, I already had.

SlicEnDicE · Aug 25, 2026

No, we have not been spoiled with low computer hardware prices. Only difference now is that greed (applies to everything that has a monetary value, including electricity etc...) and demand has changed drastically. Prices go extra much up because demand has gone up for certain products no matter the price, while the manufacturers greed has kicked in and they keep upping prices even after record profits and without considering the long term consequences of leaving us mortals behind. Also some price hikes are 100% artificial that has no real connection with supply/demand.

Soon enough, it will be a shot in their own foot, leaving a big hole as a result.

PhilB · Aug 25, 2026

XxXxX said:
if the components are good enough for the main players to put into their systems then you improve your chances of buying reliable replacement components at a better price/cost. its just a matter of are you willing to do the foot work or not.

False premise.

gunrunnerjohn · Aug 25, 2026

TraderGary said:
I make my daily Macrium Reflect X backup images alternating on two 4TB Samsung T9 portable SSD drives. I like to always have a minimum of 30 days of complete drive images.

I originally paid $329 each for these two 4TB SSD drives on Amazon.

I was curious about today's price on Amazon for the same SSD. I looked. $904 That's almost 3 times what I originally paid!

I paid $259/ea for my Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 4TB drives that I have in external enclosures for my air-gap backup, they only went up to A$575, I expected them to be more.

steveg · Aug 25, 2026

Really is sad state for DIY'ers. I started piecing together my first x86 in the late 80's from hardware I bought using the phone book size Computer Shopper magazine. Wondering if the ability for the average joe to build their own PC is going to survive much longer.

MisterEd · Aug 25, 2026

steveg said:
Really is sad state for DIY'ers. I started piecing together my first x86 in the late 80's from hardware I bought using the phone book size Computer Shopper magazine. Wondering if the ability for the average joe to build their own PC is going to survive much longer.

But back then computer parts were so expensive that a person could only afford to build one.

I miss the days when a person could afford to build more than computer.

Today I have 3 desktop and 3 laptop computers. The newest is 4 years old. I hope these computers will get me by until I can afford to get a new one.

PhilB · Aug 25, 2026

MisterEd said:
But back then computer parts were so expensive that a person could only afford to build one.

I miss the days when a person could afford to build more than computer.

Today I have 3 desktop and 3 laptop computers. The newest is 4 years old. I hope these computers will get me by until I can afford to get a new one.

I just hope that I don't outlive my current desktop build. Or that some part fails out of warranty. Laptops are only for out-of-house use.

PC Building NOW is Unaffordable.

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