60% of PC gamers have no plans to build a new PC in the next two years — AI pricing crunch on RAM and other components paralyze enthusiast market
60% of PC gamers do not plan to build a new PC within the next two years due to high component prices driven by AI industry demand. Surging costs for RAM, SSDs, and graphics cards have made building new systems unaffordable for most enthusiasts. Market stagnation persists despite new CPU releases, as only a small fraction of gamers intend to build in the near term.
- ▪60% of surveyed PC gamers said they will wait at least two years before building a new PC.
- ▪AI data center expansion is consuming global DRAM supply, driving up prices for memory, SSDs, and graphics cards.
- ▪Only 25% of respondents plan to attempt a new PC build within the next 12 months.
- ▪A shortage of components and inflated pricing has led to collapsing motherboard sales and potential disappearance of the entry-level PC market.
- ▪New CPUs from AMD and Intel have not been enough to stimulate significant demand in the current market conditions.
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Tech Industry 60% of PC gamers have no plans to build a new PC in the next two years — AI pricing crunch on RAM and other components paralyze enthusiast market News By Stephen Warwick published 16 May 2026 Only 25% of you will even try in the next year When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter As AI buildouts continue to consume the global DRAM supply, and prices of SSDs, graphics cards, and memory continue to hover at vastly inflated prices, 60% of PC gamers have no plans to build a new PC in the next two…
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