Why Gaming PC Prices Are Rising: AI Demand, RAM Shortages, and What It Means For You
AI data centres are buying up memory chip capacity, and gamers are feeling it in RAM and GPU prices. Here is what is actually driving the rise in 2026 and how 1K PC protects you from it.
Anyone shopping for a new gaming PC in 2026 has likely noticed the same thing we have: prices are creeping up across memory, storage, and even finished systems, and it is not just inflation.
Large language model training and inference at scale requires enormous amounts of high bandwidth memory and standard DRAM for supporting server infrastructure. As cloud providers and AI labs order chip capacity years in advance, memory manufacturers are prioritising these high margin orders over consumer grade RAM and SSD production lines.
With less fabrication capacity dedicated to consumer DDR4 and DDR5 modules, and with NAND flash facing similar pressure, module and drive prices have moved upward through 2025 and into 2026, and those increases flow directly into the price of every prebuilt gaming PC on the market.
Graphics card pricing has faced its own pressure from datacentre GPU demand competing for the same manufacturing capacity and, in some cases, the same silicon designs adapted for gaming, which keeps supply tighter than it would otherwise be.
This is exactly why 1K PC builds in small, fixed batches of 15 units instead of holding a large catalogue of configurations. By buying components close to when we build, and by refusing to lock ourselves into upgrade tiers and marketing options, we can chase whatever combination of parts gives the best real value at that moment rather than being stuck selling an ageing spec at an inflated price.
The wider trend of rising RAM and component prices caused by AI demand is likely to continue through 2026. Our approach will not make that pressure disappear, but batch by batch we aim to keep offering the strongest specification we can find for one straightforward price.