- Sapphire’s PR manager, Edward Crisler, urges consumers to avoid panic buying during the RAM crisis
- RAM prices reach unprecedented levels due to AI demand
- Crisler predicts price stability for RAM for the next six to eight months
Concerns about RAM prices spiraling out of control due to the AI boom are running rampant among PC consumers, especially with estimates of more 8GB configurations than usual by 2026. Fortunately, one major manufacturer has brought some calm to the raging storm.
As reported by TweakTown, Sapphire’s head of PR, Edward Crisler, predicted price stability for RAM in 2026 and urged consumers to avoid panic buying in an interview with Hardware Unboxed.
This comes after estimates and predictions suggest that the RAM crisis could last beyond 2026, and speculation that AMD Radeon GPU prices will increase next year. Crisler took the opportunity to reassure consumers in the PC market, despite acknowledging the uncertainty.
“I really believe that within six to eight months we will see the market start to stabilize,” Crisler said. “We need to stop panicking. There is a lot of good news for PC gamers who don’t realize it exists right now.”
Reiterating that gamers shouldn’t be forced to jump to upgrades on new hardware because of sudden price increases, Crisler says, “Don’t buy because you have to. Put your money away. Relax. Play some games. Enjoy the system you have right now, and then when this [RAM crisis] calms down, now you can make educated guesses as to where [upgrade] you go next.”
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It’s a very reasonable request from Sapphire; unless consumers urgently need an upgrade, or there are a few looking to enter the PC gaming ecosystem, this RAM crisis shouldn’t be too impactful – especially if Crisler’s prediction of stability six months from now comes true.
With the AI boom still going strong, it’s no surprise to see demand for RAM skyrocket, but Sapphire’s positive attitude of patience on the matter seems to be the most sane and reasonable among all the chaos.
Analysis: Patience is a virtue, and that applies to this RAM crisis
Fortunately, GPUs have yet to see a massive impact from the RAM crisis. Prices for Radeon and Nvidia’s RTX GPUs are higher than MSRP (and RRP), but this has been the case since launch in 2025.
However, price increases for GPUs are likely to occur in 2026 as this situation directly affects VRAM. We’ve already heard rumors that both AMD and Nvidia are potentially discontinuing some of their budget GPUs to save costs on RAM, so it wouldn’t be far-fetched to suggest that the GPU market won’t remain unaffected.
If you’re in dire need of a PC hardware upgrade, specifically a new GPU, I’d still advise you to keep an eye out for reasonable winter discounts, but it’s only a matter of time before the AI boom starts to slow down, ultimately reducing the high demand for RAM that Sapphire’s PR manager highlighted.
Panic buying can only make matters worse as it will encourage scalpers to take advantage of consumers, so it is best to spend wisely at this stage.
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