Global AI expansion is beginning to seriously disrupt the PC desktop and gaming hardware market, and the latest research shows just how serious the situation has become for enthusiasts and PC gamers.
According to data collected by Tom’s Hardware, as many as 60% of PC gamers currently have no plans to build a new computer in the next two years precisely because of the enormous increase in component prices.
The main reason for this situation is the huge consumption of DRAM memory for AI servers and data centers. Companies developing artificial intelligence are currently practically sucking up the global supply of memory chips, while the desktop computer market remains in the background.
AI servers are gobbling up RAM and destroying the PC market
The consequences are obvious. The price of 32 GB of DDR5 memory now reaches around $360, while SSD devices and graphics cards also remained at high price levels.
The situation is starting to resemble the worst period of the crypto mining fever when it was almost impossible to buy a graphics card at even a normal price.
The survey shows that only 15% of users plan to assemble a new computer during the next two years, while only 10% of respondents intend to make a new configuration in the next three months. Even new processors like the Ryzen 7 9850X3D and Arrow Lake Refresh haven’t been able to jump-start the market, which is currently pretty stagnant.
Many consumers are now waiting for big sales like Black Friday and Prime Day events, but analysts warn that even those discounts are unlikely to bring prices back anywhere close to pre-AI explosion levels.
The PC desktop computer industry thus enters a very awkward period in which AI infrastructure becomes a priority for memory manufacturers, while the classic PC segment is slowly left without affordable components, writes Toms Hardware.