Laptop DDR5 RAM Prices Nearly Six Times Higher, Says Schenker

Schenker Technologies says the market price of representative laptop DDR5 SO-DIMM memory modules has climbed to almost six times its July 2025 level, prompting a new round of price increases across many XMG and SCHENKER laptops on 18 September.

The German company, which owns the XMG gaming-laptop and SCHENKER workstation brands, said its own purchasing prices had risen by a comparable amount. Its comparison used monthly German retail prices for three widely available DDR5 SO-DIMM products, with July 2025 set as the baseline.

Laptop prices have already moved

Most affected XMG models became €100 to €150 more expensive at the starting configuration. The SCHENKER KEY 18 Pro received the largest base-price increase, at €300. The published figures include 19% VAT.

• The XMG APEX 16, CORE 15, CORE 16, FUSION 16, NEO 16 (A25) and both PRO 16 VE models each rose by €100 at entry level.
• The XMG APEX 16 MAX, APEX 17, FOCUS 17, FUSION 15 and PRO 16 each rose by €150.
• The new XMG NEO 16 (M26) kept its starting price, but its RTX 5090 upgrade became €120 more expensive.
• The RTX 5090 option also rose by €120 on the XMG NEO 16 (A25).

XMG EVO and the SCHENKER CONNECT, ELEMENT and WORK lines were not affected in this particular adjustment, according to the company.

RAM is not the only pressure point

Schenker said the increases were not solely about memory and storage. “This is no longer just about RAM and SSDs: PCBs, electronic components, CPUs, graphics cards and video memory are also contributing to the higher cost level,” XMG said.

The company said the changes were a pass-through of higher upstream costs rather than an attempt to expand margins. It also said it would reflect lower procurement costs in retail prices if costs fall.

TrendForce reported earlier this month that CPU, DRAM and SSD costs accounted for about 68% of the bill of materials for a representative mainstream notebook in the third quarter of 2026, up from about 45% in the first quarter of 2025. It said brands could raise prices more aggressively as cheaper inventory is exhausted.

What happens next

Schenker expects to keep supplying most of its portfolio over the coming months, but warned that particular CPUs, GPUs, memory options and complete configurations could have longer lead times or temporary shortages.

A sustained fall in component prices is not currently foreseeable in the medium term, the company said. Its cited market outlook points to continued tightness in DRAM and NAND supply, but there is no confirmed date for laptop memory prices to return to previous levels.