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The AI industry’s obsession with building huge data centers to house power-hungry chips has put major pressure on the electronics market.
First, the price of the graphical processing unit (GPU) started firing from the roof. Then the price of RAM skyrocketed, followed by the price of both solid-state and mechanical hard drives.
While that’s a nightmare for anyone looking to build a desktop computer, the economic pressures are already affecting the rest of the consumer electronics world. The Verge reports. Practically everything has a computer built into it, which can result in everything from hospital equipment to farm tractors becoming more expensive.
Tech companies have resorted to pushing back its release enthusiast gpu, vr headsetAnd gaming consoles Resulting in skyrocketing prices.
next Record sales in 2025The smartphone market may also come to a standstill this year because the supply of RAM is extremely low. Even iPhone maker Apple is “squeezing out”, according to Shravan Kundojjala of SemiAnalysis. told wall street journal Earlier this year, the AI hype significantly hit the company’s margins due to rising component prices.
The chip crisis has hit the gaming industry particularly hard bloomberg reporting That the price of Nintendo’s already expensive Switch 2 gaming console may soon increase. According to the publication’s sources, Sony’s long-awaited PlayStation 6 console may also be delayed altogether.
This is a brutal new reality as AI companies continue to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into giant data centers, which is also driving up electricity prices.
It’s not hard to see consumers bearing the brunt of the tech industry’s current obsession, as AI companies continue to try to justify their huge, unprecedented spending to nervous investors.
How long has it been since what some people are beginning to refer to as “”Ramageddon“It remains to be seen. As Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan acknowledged earlier this month, there may not be any”Relief till 2028” – That’s not exactly what anyone planning to buy a new smartphone, laptop, or gaming console wanted to hear.
More information on RAM: AI data centers are now driving up hard drive prices
