AI data centres are buying memory faster than the industry can make it, and the chips in your office laptop come from the same factories. The three big DRAM makers, Samsung, SK hynix and Micron, have moved production towards high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and high-capacity server memory for AI systems. HBM takes about three times the wafer area of ordinary DDR5 for the same capacity. Much of what remains is locked into long-term contracts with the largest buyers. PC makers compete for what is left, and that cost reaches business laptops: at SourceIT the ThinkPad E14 Gen 8 with Core Ultra 5 325, 16GB and 512GB is S$2,776.54 and the ThinkPad T14 Gen 7 with Core Ultra 7 355, 32GB and 1TB is S$4,301.10 (listed 3 Nov 2026). What happens next depends on how fast new factories come online, and the memory makers themselves describe supply as tight into 2027 and beyond.
Why does AI need so much memory?
AI accelerators need memory that sits right next to the processor and moves data very quickly. That is HBM: stacks of DRAM chips bonded together and packaged with the accelerator. Each server also carries large amounts of conventional server memory alongside it. Both come from the same pool of wafers as the DDR5 and LPDDR5X used in laptops.
The trade-off is in the silicon. At the Hot Chips conference in August 2026, Micron said HBM's silicon overhead compared with DDR5 is "definitely not getting better". Tom's Hardware put that overhead at roughly three times the DDR5 wafer area for the same capacity (25 Aug 2026). Every wafer a maker moves to HBM therefore produces much less memory capacity than it would as laptop memory.
TrendForce reported on 1 June 2026 that supplier inventories were "very low". It said new supply was being prioritised for high-capacity server memory for AI, which constrained availability for PC makers and smartphone makers. In a 30 September release it added that long-term agreements are shrinking the share of supply still open to negotiation.
What are the memory makers saying?
| Source | Date | What was said |
|---|---|---|
| Micron | 3 Dec 2025 | Exited its Crucial consumer memory business. Sumit Sadana: "The AI-driven growth in the data center has led to a surge in demand for memory and storage." |
| Micron | 30 Sep 2026 | CEO Sanjay Mehrotra expects supply and demand in fiscal 2027–28 to be "much tighter" than fiscal 2026; 26 strategic customer agreements cover more than 35% of revenue through 2030 |
| SK hynix | 28 Oct 2026 | DRAM average selling price up in the high-20s % in Q3; long-term agreements cover more than half of planned 2027 and 2028 capacity; Chosun Biz reported DRAM "effectively sold out through 2029" |
| Samsung | 29 Oct 2026 | DRAM average selling price up about 20% in Q3; expects supply to tighten further in 2027; 2027 HBM supply "effectively sold out" |
Sources: Micron press release (3 Dec 2025); Micron earnings call transcript via MarketBeat and TrendForce (30 Sep–1 Oct 2026); TrendForce News reports on SK hynix (28 Oct 2026) and Samsung (29 Oct 2026) results, citing Korean media. The figures are each company's own or as reported.
When one buyer signs multi-year contracts for most of a factory's output, everyone else is bidding for what is left.
How does that reach an office laptop?
Memory used to be a modest share of what a laptop costs to build. In February 2026 HP said it had gone from 15–18% of a PC's build cost to about 35% in one quarter (Tom's Hardware, 26 Feb 2026). TrendForce reports conventional DRAM contract prices rose 45–50% in Q4 2025 and about 93–98% in Q1 2026, quarter on quarter.
PC makers passed on part of that cost. Lenovo's chief executive, Yang Yuanqing, said in February that "this structural imbalance between supply and demand is not simply a short-term fluctuation". By August, Reuters reported that Lenovo "has raised PC prices twice this year", and that Dell, HP and Super Micro had raised prices by 10–30%. In Singapore, The Straits Times reported on 13 September 2026 that, according to IDC, the average regular laptop cost S$1,650 in Q2 2026, up 26% year on year. A 32GB DDR5 kit at Sim Lim Square went from S$195 in August 2025 to S$763 in August 2026.
Is every laptop affected the same way?
No. PC makers have three levers, and you may see any of them. They can raise prices. They can cut memory or storage in the base configuration: TrendForce forecast in December 2025 that mid-range laptops could lean back towards 8GB, and said on 30 September 2026 that PC makers were cutting SSD capacities in mainstream models. Or they can shift towards premium models, which Lenovo said in May that it had done "to improve average unit revenue". We look at the second lever in could your next Lenovo laptop cost more but offer less RAM. For now, every ThinkPad SourceIT has in stock starts at 16GB.
Memory type matters too. Models with soldered memory, such as the X1 Carbon and X13, lock in the amount you buy. Models with memory slots let you add more later, at whatever modules cost at the time. Our guide to DDR5 vs LPDDR5X in ThinkPads explains the difference.
Will new factories fix it?
Eventually, but not quickly. New memory fabs take years. Micron is investing more than S$30 billion in a Singapore wafer fab, with production expected from the second half of 2028 (EDB, 22 Feb 2026). Micron has described its new Singapore facility as a NAND flash plant, not DRAM. Micron expects industry DRAM bit shipments to grow in the low 20s per cent in 2027 and 2028, constrained by supply. TrendForce expects price rises to moderate, forecasting +13–18% for Q3 2026 and +10–15% for Q4 2026. Those are smaller increases, not falls. We will not guess where laptop prices go from here. For what that means for timing, read should you buy your next ThinkPad now, and for the wider story, our earlier piece on who gets hardware first when chips are short.
Buying in Singapore
Every ThinkPad SourceIT has in stock is Intel-based. AMD models are not in stock at the moment, so ask us about availability. In stock now at prices listed on 3 Nov 2026:
- ThinkPad E14 Gen 8 Core Ultra 5 325, 16GB, 512GB (S$2,776.54)
- ThinkPad E14 Gen 8 Core Ultra 7 355, 32GB, 512GB (S$3,462.12)
- ThinkPad T14 Gen 7 Core Ultra 7 355, 32GB, 1TB (S$4,301.10)
- ThinkPad X13 Gen 6 Core Ultra 7 255U, 32GB, 1TB (S$2,990.00)
- For machines with memory slots, G.SKILL Ripjaws 16GB DDR5-5600 SO-DIMM (S$411.25)
Browse the ThinkPad E Series and ThinkPad X13 collections. For a quotation, use Request for Quotation on the product page, call (65) 6978 3502, email Sales@sourceit.com.sg or use our contact page.
Frequently asked questions
Why is AI making laptop memory more expensive? AI servers use high-bandwidth memory and large amounts of server DRAM, made in the same factories as laptop memory. Makers have prioritised that demand, so less capacity is left for PCs.
What is HBM? High-bandwidth memory: stacks of DRAM chips packaged next to an AI accelerator. Tom's Hardware, reporting Micron's figures, says it uses about three times the wafer area of DDR5 for the same capacity.
How long will the memory shortage last? Micron, Samsung and SK hynix all describe supply as tight into 2027 or later. IDC told The Straits Times it expects PC prices to stay elevated through 2027. These are forecasts.
Are memory prices still rising? TrendForce forecasts conventional DRAM contract prices up 13–18% in Q3 2026 and 10–15% in Q4 2026, slower than the record rises of Q4 2025 and Q1 2026.
Does this affect ThinkPads more than other brands? No. Every PC maker buys from the same memory suppliers. Reuters reported price rises at Lenovo, Dell, HP and Super Micro.
