ASUS Prepares for Historic Price Hikes as DRAM Shortages Intensify

ASUS is reportedly preparing for its most significant and aggressive PC price increases to date. This substantial hike is primarily attributed to the depletion of existing stocks of inexpensive memory. Manufacturers are finding it increasingly difficult to absorb the escalating costs of DRAM/RAM and NAND/SSD, further complicated by ongoing CPU supply challenges. In Taiwan, price increases of up to 30% are anticipated, with suggestions that these pressures could inevitably extend to other global markets if they persist.

ASUS had previously signaled upcoming price surges since December 2025, identifying them as a major market trend. In early January, the company communicated to its customers and partners that strategic price adjustments would be applied to a portion of its product catalog starting January 5th. These initial price increases were linked to cost pressures on DRAM and NAND/SSD, driven by shifts in supply chain production capacity, rising manufacturing costs, and strong demand fueled by artificial intelligence (AI).

New ASUS Price Hikes in Taiwan Expected Immediately

An ASUS executive informed the Taiwanese agency UDN that, beginning in April, the PC market in Taiwan is expected to see price increases ranging from 25% to 30%, potentially even higher for specific products. This escalation is directly connected to an extreme scarcity of DRAM and SSDs, alongside a shortage of Intel and AMD processors in certain segments. It's important to note that production capacity for consumer components has been redirected towards more profitable server hardware for AI applications, both for memory and processors/graphics cards.

ASUS is not an isolated case. Market analyst TrendForce has revised its forecast upwards for the second quarter of 2026, predicting a new price increase of 90-95% for conventional DRAM. Concurrently, NAND Flash is projected to rise by 55-60%. For consumers, this could translate to RAM module price increases exceeding 100% as major manufacturers exhaust their remaining "cheap" memory inventory.

As indicated, these price challenges are not exclusive to ASUS. TrendForce and CNA have reported similar actions or warnings from other manufacturers such as Lenovo and Acer, reinforcing the notion of an industry-wide pressure rather than an isolated commercial decision. When RAM becomes scarce and more expensive, it affects the entire industry.

What Now Seems Expensive May Soon Be a Bargain

The DRAM market is currently facing a complete collapse, with NAND memory now also beginning to experience similar issues, indicating an impending surge in SSD prices. Data centers focused on AI are intensely straining the available supply of all types of memory, processors, and graphics chips. This demand is expected to lead to a double-digit decline in sales for the consumer PC and smartphone markets in 2026.

Specifically, IDC analysts predict an 11.3% drop in the global PC market. Despite this sales volume decrease, revenues are projected to grow due to a significant rise in average prices. The market for entry-level and low-end computers is expected to be the most severely impacted, primarily because AMD and Intel find it less profitable to manufacture these types of processors, opting instead to increase production of higher-margin server-grade CPUs.

Consequently, Taiwan will be the first to experience the impact of these global cost pressures. Following this, the mechanism of price increases, potentially exceeding 30%, could gradually extend to other markets. ASUS will likely adjust price hikes regionally based on market competitiveness and as existing "cheap" hardware inventory is depleted.