More bad news for the prospective PC builder comes out of Taiwanese research institute TrendForce, which is predicting a rise in DRAM prices of between 18 and 23% for the second quarter of 2021.

While negotiations between OEMs and resellers are still ongoing, TrendForce is predicting a quarter-on-quarter price increase of 25% on 8GB DDR4 2666MHz modules, higher than expected. DRAM modules continue to be in short supply, partly due to the global chip shortage, and partly thanks to many people buying new machines to work from home during the pandemic. All kinds of RAM are affected, from mobile DRAM, GDDR modules for graphics cards, and server DRAM, which is closely related to home PC RAM and therefore more easily affected by price rises.

The second quarter of the financial year is often the peak season for laptop production, and TrendForce’s figures predict a 7.9% increase in the manufacture of laptops by major manufacturers this year, which will put more pressure on supplies of RAM and increase the price by 23 – 28% in 2Q21.

And the worst thing is it’s all likely to carry on this way for some time. Server RAM, under pressure thanks to a boom in cloud computing linked to the pandemic, will see another rise in demand, putting manufacturers in an advantageous position as they negotiate with the AIB makers. The price of server RAM could rise by 25% next quarter, TrendForce forecasts.