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The tail end of 2025 has brought the tech world a new crisis with which it must contend. Due to the frantic buildout of AI datacenters around the world, Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM) and Non-Volatile Flash Memory (NAND) are in short supply.
The squeeze on DRAM has already forced the price of consumer RAM for desktop PCs and laptops to skyrocket, and SSD storage (which uses NAND) is next in line to see a spike.
Now, an internal memo sent to Dell employees on December 9 shows that prices for its commercial tech will rise starting on December 17 due to the rising costs of RAM and storage (via Business Insider).
Just how much will prices go up? Business PCs, like those from the Dell Pro and Pro Max lineups, are expected to rise by $130 to $230 for configurations with 32GB of RAM. Should you be interested in speccing up to 128GB of RAM, prices should rise by $520 to $765. On the storage side, opting for a 1TB SSD in your PC or laptop will drive up costs by $55 to $135.
Speaking anonymously to BI, a Dell sales employee says the price increase will fall between 10% and 30% based on the specific contract. BI quotes the same Dell employee as saying, "It's impacting everyone, and there's no way around it currently, so customers will just have to pay more if they want the products."
Laptops and PCs aren't the only Dell products affected by AI shortages
Dell's commercial sector sells PCs to businesses rather than individual consumers, and it makes up roughly 85% of the company's annual revenue stream. Commercial sales also include monitors and specialized GPUs, and it appears that their prices won't be left unbothered.
The internal price list shows that a Dell Pro 55 Plus 4K display is expected to rise by $150 over its current $1,349.99 list price. Should you want an AI laptop with the monster NVIDIA RTX PRO 500 GPU with 6GB of VRAM, you'll be expected to pay $66 more. And if you opt for the 24GB GPU version, you're looking at a price increase of $530.
In another memo obtained by BI, Dell urged its sales teams on November 25 to "move decisively" before the price hikes hit, setting up multi-quarter deals while also closing deals already on the table. Dell also stated that "ordering today for future delivery DOES NOT lock in current pricing."
Dell is clearly concerned that the DRAM and NAND shortage will cause customers to rethink their investments. The internal push to lock down contracts is wise, but the Dell sales employee who spoke with BI has said that the situation feels "out of our control."
The DRAM and NAND price crisis has no clear end in sight, with some experts claiming the cycle will last until at least 2028. And because these components are so widely used, there's almost no tech that will go unaffected.
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