Acer and ASUS are bracing for a new wave of PC price increases as the global memory crunch tightens, leaving manufacturers with fewer ways to protect margins without passing costs on to buyers. With DRAM supply under pressure and demand surging, especially from AI-related deployments, the PC industry is entering a period where laptop and desktop pricing could become more volatile than consumers have seen in recent quarters.
The bigger issue comes from where the world’s DRAM output is going. A growing share of memory production is being pulled toward AI infrastructure, and that shift is creating constraints across the broader supply chain. As availability tightens, DRAM pricing has moved rapidly upward, and those increases quickly show up in the bill of materials for everything from mainstream laptops to business-focused systems.
Acer Chairman Jason Chen has signaled that heading into Q1 2026, PC pricing will be harder to manage than it has been lately. He pointed to an especially sharp jump in DRAM costs, saying memory prices have climbed around 50% in just a few weeks. That kind of swing makes it difficult for PC brands to keep pricing stable, because DRAM is a core component that affects the cost structure of a wide range of configurations.
Chen also noted that pricing decisions aren’t instantaneous. Finished PCs take time to move through manufacturing, distribution, and shipping, which can stretch into months. Meanwhile, memory prices aren’t simply changing week to week; they’re shifting day to day. That mismatch makes it challenging to predict exactly how, and when, retail price hikes will land.
Even so, Acer’s stance suggests manufacturers shouldn’t rush into aggressive price increases on consumer PCs if they can avoid it. Chen emphasized the importance of maintaining a broad product mix so companies can absorb disruptions more effectively. Acer’s business is split in a way that offers some flexibility: roughly half of its sales come from consumer products, while the rest is supported by industrial systems and AI-focused machines. But despite that diversified portfolio, Acer still expects higher component costs to push overall product prices upward as the supply situation worsens.
To reduce the impact without making laptops dramatically more expensive, one strategy gaining traction is adjusting RAM configurations. The industry is increasingly looking at 8GB as a baseline for mid-range laptops, rather than higher starting memory amounts that quickly become costly during a DRAM shortage. Acer’s leadership has essentially backed this direction, suggesting that lowering default memory in certain models could help keep entry prices from climbing too far, even if it means buyers may face higher costs later when upgrading to 16GB or more.
For shoppers, this could translate into a frustrating mix of higher prices, fewer high-RAM options at mainstream price points, and steeper upgrade costs. For businesses planning refresh cycles, it may mean reevaluating budgets and timelines as the PC market adapts to unpredictable DRAM pricing and ongoing supply constraints.
As the memory market situation continues to evolve, the near-term outlook for PC buyers is uncertainty. Between AI-driven demand for DRAM and supply chain limitations, Acer and ASUS appear poised to follow the industry trend toward price hikes and configuration changes, marking a potentially difficult stretch for anyone planning to buy a new laptop or desktop in the coming months.
