- Sapphire PR Manager Edward Crisler Urges Consumers to Avoid Panic Buying During RAM Crisis
- RAM prices are reaching unprecedented levels due to demand for AI
- Crisler predicts price stability for RAM in the next six to eight months
Concern about RAM prices getting out of control due to the rise of AI is growing among PC consumers, especially with estimates of more 8GB configurations than usual in 2026. Fortunately, one major manufacturer has brought some calm to the storm.
As TweakTown reported, Sapphire PR manager Edward Crisler predicted RAM price stability in 2026 and urged consumers to avoid panic buying in an interview with Hardware Unboxed.
This comes after estimates and predictions suggested the RAM crisis could last beyond 2026 and speculation that AMD Radeon GPU prices will rise next year. Crisler took the opportunity to reassure consumers in the PC market, despite acknowledging the uncertainty.
“I really think within six to eight months we’ll see the market start to stabilize,” Crisler said. “We have to stop the panic. There is a lot of good news for PC gamers who don’t realize it exists right now.”
Crisler reiterates that gamers should not be forced to upgrade their new hardware due to sudden price increases, stating: “Don’t buy because you have to buy. Save your money. Relax. Play some games. Enjoy the system you have right now and then when this happens.” [RAM crisis] calms down, now you can make educated guesses about where [upgrade] you continue.”
Look
It is a very fair request on Sapphire’s part; Unless consumers are in dire need of an upgrade or there are some who are looking to enter the PC gaming ecosystem, this RAM crisis shouldn’t be too shocking, especially if Crisler’s stability prediction after six months becomes a reality.
With the rise of AI still going strong, it’s no surprise to see demand for RAM skyrocketing, but Sapphire’s positive stance of patience on the matter seems to be the most sensible and reasonable among all the chaos.
Analysis: Patience is a virtue, and that applies to this RAM crisis
Fortunately, GPUs have not yet seen a massive impact from the RAM crisis. Radeon and Nvidia’s RTX GPU prices are higher than the MSRP (and RRP), but this has been the case since their launch in 2025.
However, GPU price increases are likely to occur in 2026 as this situation directly affects VRAM. We’ve already heard rumors that AMD and Nvidia might discontinue some of their budget GPUs to save on RAM costs, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to suggest that the GPU market won’t go unaffected.
If you’re in dire need of an upgrade to your PC hardware, specifically a new GPU, I’d recommend keeping an eye out for reasonable winter discounts, but it’s only a matter of time until the AI boom starts to slow down and ultimately subsides in high demand for RAM, as highlighted by Sapphire’s PR manager.
Panic buying can only make matters worse as it will encourage resellers to take advantage of consumers, so it’s best to spend wisely at this stage.
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