The “upgrade the RAM yourself later” plan has stopped saving money

Summary

Upgradable RAM is a relic of the past. A product of a bygone era now dominated by AI data centers and agentic workflows, powered by one of the most easily upgradable PC components: random access memory. You’d typically buy or build a PC with the knowledge and security that you could upgrade your hardware down the line. But that’s simply not the case in 2026, and it probably won’t be the case in 2027, either. 2028 is in the mix. The reality is that the classic, tried-and-tested “upgrade the RAM yourself later” plan is a much, much harder sell these days, and finding a real bargain is nigh-impossible. RAM prices aren’t coming down any time soon 2027 is already locked in This is hardly breaking news, but RAM is really expensive. RAMageddon sent memory prices soaring in mid-2025, and some 18 months later, they’re still stratospheric. Take PC Part Picker’s memory charts as a prime example, illustrating the painful price rises across most DDR5 RAM categories. The chart above shows increases of 400+ percent across every segment, with 64GB DDR5-6000 rising 650 percent. If you want some shiny new high-quality, high-capacity memory, you’re shelling out at least $1, 000 b u c k s f or 64 GB, w i t h p r i ces f or 32 GB m e m ory b u n d l esco n s i s t e n tl ys hi pp in g f or m ore t han$ 600. RAM is now so expensive that some manufacturers are putting used parts in new devices. Manufacturing production capacity is already largely sold out for 2027. In September 2026, TrendForce reported that “that DRAM supply will remain tight in 2027,” while “DRAM suppliers continue to prioritize advanced-process capacity for high-performance server products in 4Q26, keeping the overall market undersupplied.” SK Hynix’s 3Q26 report also revealed “Long-term agreements secured for more than 50% of 2027~2028 production capacity,” with the expectation that the memory shortage will continue until at least 2030. You won’t be thinking about a little upgrade to the next RAM tier, because if the market continues as is, prices are only going one way. Should you buy as much RAM as possible, or upgrade later? Grab your calculator When it comes to laptops, it’s a tricky call. Soldered RAM is everywhere. The typical advice with any laptop with soldered RAM is buy as much memory as you can afford, because upgrading down the line is nearly impossible. But there are still laptops out there with upgradable SO-DIMM memory, and that becomes a more interesting proposition given the strains on memory prices. Buying as much RAM as you can afford from the manufacturer isn’t always the best course of action, but it’s very much on a laptop-by-laptop basis.

The Dell Pro 5 Series 16 Laptop will set you back $2, 183 ini t s I n t e lC ore U lt r a 5335 v PRO 16 GB DD R 5 co n f i gu r a t i o n, b u t a s a " P ro " l a pt o p, i t s t i ll ha sre m o v ab l e R A M . U p g r a d in g t o 32 GBw i t h De ll in cre a ses t h e p r i ce b y £530, w hi l e j u m p in g t o 64 GB a dd s a coo l$ 1,530.

The Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 8is priced at $1, 574 ini t s I n t e lC ore U lt r a 735516 GB DD R 5 co n f i gu r a t i o n, a l so a cce pt in g s w a pp ab l e SO - D I MM m o d u l es . U p g r a d in g t o 24 GB a dd s$ 260 to the bill, while jumping to 32GB adds $440; t h ere i s n o 64 GB o pt i o n o n t h e L e n o v os i t e . - T h e F r am e w or k L a pt o p 13 co n f i gu re d w i t han A M D R yze n A I 5340 an d 16 GB DD R 5 - 5600 R A M co m es ina t$ 1,169, with 32GB adding $210 t o t h e t o t a l, an d 64 GB a dd in g$ 680. Interestingly, Framework lets you go to an entirely different memory planet, with an option for 96GB DDR5-5600 RAM that brings the total to $2,849. So, how does that stack up against memory kits available from [Crucial](https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-5600MHz-5200MHz-4800MHz-CT2K32G56C46S5/dp/B0BLTG7TN6/?tag=makeusw-20&ascsubtag=UUmuoUeUpU2046701&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makeuseof.com%2Fupgrading-laptop-ram-later-stopped-saving-money%2F&asc_campaign=Feed) and [G-Skill](https://www.amazon.com/G-Skill-RipJaws-SO-DIMM-CL40-39-39-76-F5-4800S4039A32GA2-RS/dp/B0C64CFW4B?tag=makeusw-20&ascsubtag=UUmuoUeUpU2046701&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makeuseof.com%2Fupgrading-laptop-ram-later-stopped-saving-money%2F&asc_campaign=Feed)? | Laptop (base price) | Target RAM | Maker’s upgrade | Aftermarket (Crucial / G.Skill) | Difference | Better call | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Dell Pro 5 16 ($ 2,183) | 32GB | + $530∣$ 522.85 / $539.99∣ A f t er ma r k e t f ro m$ 7 cheaper to $10 p r i c i er ∣ T oss - u p, soor d er a t c h ec k o u t f orco n v e ni e n ce ∣∣64 GB ∣ +$ 1,530 | $1, 154.00/$ 1,399.99 | Aftermarket saves $130-$ 376 | Buy 16GB, upgrade yourself | | | Lenovo E14 Gen 8 ( $1, 574) ∣32 GB ∣ +$ 440 | $522.85/$ 539.99 | Checkout saves $83-$ 100 | Order at checkout | | 64GB | Not offered | n/a | n/a | n/a | | | Framework Laptop 13 ( $1, 169) ∣32 GB ∣ +$ 210 | $522.85/$ 539.99 | Checkout saves $313-$ 330 | Order at checkout | | 64GB | + $680∣$ 1,154.00 / $1, 399.99∣ C h ec k o u t s a v es$ 474– $720∣ O r d er a t c h ec k o u t ∣∣∣96 GB ∣ +$ 1,680 | $1, 591.77/ n o n e l i s t e d ∣ A f t er ma r k e t s a v es$ 88 (5%) | Marginal edge to upgrading later | Framework is the biggest difference, though. It’s the only manufacturer that lets you buy a completely plain “bring your own” option, letting you skip the memory section entirely. The base model with an AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 processor is $840, l e tt in g yo u s h o p a ro u n df or ab e tt er R A Mp r i ce .∣ T a r g e t ∣ O r d er a t c h ec k o u t ∣ B r in g yo u ro w n (C r u c ia l / G . S ki ll) ∣ D i ff ere n ce ∣∣ - - - ∣ - - - ∣ - - - ∣ - - - ∣∣32 GB (2 \times 16 GB) ∣$ 1,379 | $1, 371.85/$ 1,388.99 | A wash, with a spread of about $10 e i t h er w a y ∣∣64 GB (2 \times 32 GB) ∣$ 1,849 | $2, 003.00/$ 2,248.99 | Checkout saves $154-$ 400 | | 96GB (2×48GB) | $2, 849∣$ 2,440.77 / none listed | Bring your own saves $408 (14 B u t e v e n t h e n, i t^{'} s n o t gu a r an t ee d t o h e lp yo u f in d a re a l ba r g ain . I f w eco n s i d er t h e G - S ki ll an d C r u c ia l m o d u l es a g ain, yo u o n l yre a ll y " s a v e m o n ey " i f yo u b u y 96 GBR A M f ro m C r u c ia l o ff t h es h e l f, w i t ha s a v in g o f a ro u n d 400 b u c k s . B u t i f yo u w an t 64 GB ? Y o u^{'} ll a c t u a ll ys a v e m o n eyc h oos in g F r am e w or k^{'} s 64 GB o pt i o n . T hi s i se x a c tl y t h e p ro b l e m w i t h t h e u p g r a d ab l e R A M ma r k e t . I t^{'} s n o t e n o ug h t o kn o wt ha tR A Mp r i ces a ree x t re m e . L PC A MM 2 w a s m e an tt os a v e u s f ro m t h e p ain B u tt ha t^{'} s n o w a p i p e d re am T h e F r am e w or k L a pt o p 13 i s a p r im ee x am pl eo f h o wt h e R A M s h or t a g es a re d i rec tl y a ff ec t in gu p g r a d eo pt i o n s . A so n eo f t h e f e wl a pt o p man u f a c t u rers t o f u ll ye mb r a ce m o d u l a r d es i g n, F r am e w or k o f t e n f ee l s t h e im p a c t o f p r i cec han g es m ore t hanm os t . I tw a s a l soo n eo f t h e f i rs tl a pt o p man u f a c t u rers t oco n s i s t e n tl ys w i t c h t ore m o v ab l e an d u p g r a d ab l e L PC A MM 2 m o d u l es, f i tt in g w i t hi t s d es i g n e t h os . [Y o u w o n^{'} t f in d an yso l d ere d R A M a ro u n d h ere] (h ttp s : // www . mak e u seo f . co m / l a pt o p - mak ers - f ina ll y - ha v e - an - e x c u se - t o - s t o p - so l d er in g - d o w n - r am /) . B u t g i v e nm u lt i pl e ma r k e tp ress u res, F r am e w or k u n d ers t an d ab l y a d j u s t e d p r i ces . A tl a u n c h, i t s 64 GB L PC A MM 2 m o d u l es w ere$ 849, and in July 2026, they were pushed to $1, 600. I t s 32 GB m o d u l esr am p e d u pt o$ 800. Framework’s situation is made all the more difficult by Micron’s decision to remove its consumer-facing memory brand, Crucial, from the market in December 2025. Want to take a quick guess at the primary supplier of LPCAMM2 memory? With SK Hynix and Samsung only selling LPCAMM2 memory direct to manufacturers, consumers are out of luck. Removable memory is great, but if it’s not available to buy, it’s pointless. Of course, Crucial didn’t just supply LPCAMM2 memory. It also manufactured regular RAM modules and SO-DIMM modules for laptops. All of that capacity was moved to enterprise SSDs, HBM, and server modules, with Micron’s EVP and Chief Business Officer, Sumit Sadana, stating that the company “has made the difficult decision to exit the Crucial consumer business in order to improve supply and support for our larger, strategic customers in faster-growing segments.” Micron isn’t the whole reason RAM prices are so high, but removing a consumer-facing memory brand during a global shortage projected to last years is truly bad form. A Crucial DDR5 SODIMM laptop memory module seen at an angle, with a black circuit board, gold contacts along the bottom edge and a blue Micron Crucial label beside a black label with barcodes. Crucial CT2K32G56C46S5 64GB DDR5 SODIMM

Brand
Crucial
Size
64GB Kit (2x32GB)
Speed
5600MHz, 5200MHz, or 4800MHz This is a 64GB kit of two 32GB DDR5 SODIMM laptop memory modules from Crucial, with a 262-pin, non-ECC design. It runs at 5600MHz, 5200MHz or 4800MHz and works at 1.1V in a 2Rx8 configuration. Amazon lists it as compatible with 13th Gen Intel Core and AMD Ryzen 6000 processors, with Intel XMP 3.0 and AMD EXPO support. How much RAM do you really need? I’m currently using a laptop with 32GB soldered LPDDR5X 5600MHz RAM and an Intel Ultra Core 2 processor. It’ll keep me going for a good long time, as for the meantime, 32GB is plenty enough for most demands bar high-end local AI and so on. As my workflow doesn’t involve high-quality video editing, modeling, or similar, I should be fine. For most folks, given the the faster processing, higher capacities, and better efficiency of modern RAM 16GB still gets the job done. Given prices are unlikely to decrease any time soon, if you’re heading out to buy a new laptop or otherwise, make sure you take your calculator and work out the RAM upgrade math, because you might skip over a saving.

By Gavin Phillips

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The “upgrade the RAM yourself later” plan has stopped saving money

Summary

By Gavin Phillips

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