DIY PC maker Framework has needed monthly price hikes to navigate the RAM shortage

Source: Ars Technica

Industry context

AI-driven memory and storage price hikes have been the defining feature of the PC industry in 2026, and hobbyists have been hit the hardest—companies like Apple with lots of buying power have been able to limit the price increases for their PCs, phones, and other gadgets so far, but smaller outfits like Valve and Raspberry Pi haven’t been so lucky.

Impact on Framework

Framework, the company behind repairable and upgradeable computer designs like the Laptop 13, Laptop 16, and Laptop 12, is also taking a hard hit by price increases. The company stopped selling standalone RAM sticks in November 2025 and has increased prices on one or more of its systems every month since then (source); this week’s increases are hitting the Framework Desktop and the DIY Editions of its various laptops particularly hard.

The price increases are affecting both standalone SODIMM memory modules and the soldered‑down LPDDR5X memory used in the Framework Desktop. Patel says that standalone RAM sticks are being priced “as close as we can to the weighted average cost of our purchases from suppliers.” In September, buying an 8 GB stick of RAM with a Framework Laptop 13 cost $40; it currently costs $130. A 96 GB DDR5 kit of two 48 GB sticks costs $1,340, up from $480 in September.

Current pricing

Framework Desktop systems and boards with built‑in RAM are seeing price increases between 6 % and 16 %—in general, the more RAM you’re buying, the higher the increase. The base Framework Desktop system with 32 GB of LPDDR5X now starts at $1,209, a $110 increase since launch. The maxed‑out 128 GB desktop starts at $2,599, a whopping $600 more than the system cost at launch.