PS5 now costs less than 64GB of DDR5 memory. RAM jumps to $600 due to shortage

Summary

Thanks to the AI boom devouring the majority of the world's memory and storage supply, end-consumers are now facing increasingly inflated prices for common components. DDR5 RAM, a necessity for building current-gen Intel or AMD systems, has now reached record highs in terms of pricing; a 64 GB kit of G.Skill's Trident Z5 Neo 6000 MT/s RAM is listed at $599.99 on Newegg right now — that's $200 more than a PS5 Slim or a Microsoft Xbox Series S, and just $50 shy off an entire PS5 Pro at the moment.Swipe to scroll horizontallyThat $600 price tag has a 6% discount already applied to its original $640 ask, as part of a Black Friday deal. For context, a more exclusive 64 GB limited edition Corsair Dominator Titanium kit cost only $349 when we reviewed it a few months ago. Earlier this year, we posted about DDR5 deals on Prime Day where the standard edition of the same kit was just $299, and you could get other comparable 64 GB kits for as low as $140.A quick glance at price tracking data, and G.Skill's Trident Z5 Neo kit has regularly sat at $205-$220 for the past few months, and it was only in late October that it started to pick up steam. From September 20th when it was listed at $220, to $640 now. In just 2 months we've witnessed an astounding ~190% surge.Right as this particular Trident Z5 Neo kit began to skyrocket in price was when the industry first started to pick up on the affects of the AI crunch. A few days later we published our initial coverage on DDR5 RAM price hikes; from there, the situation has only worsened to reach worrying levels.(Image credit: Micron)Insane mark-up aside, the kit itself is one of the best on the market, recommend as the top pick for DDR5 memory in our roundup. Unfortunately, it seems like high prices are going to be the story going forward. The surge in demand for AI projects will see production lines will prioritizing serving AI clients, leaving consumers to pay through the nose or make the best of what they have. Experts speculate th...