PC prices skyrocket as AI boom leaves consumers to pay the price

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Personal computer prices are expected to surge this year as massive demand for memory from artificial intelligence data centers strains global supplies.

The price hikes were on full display at the CES 2026 tech show, where Dell announced significant increases for its premium laptop lineup. The base price for the XPS 14 has jumped to $2,050, up from $1,699 last year, while the XPS 16 has risen to $2,200.

Executives from Samsung and AMD confirmed the industry-wide pressure. Samsung’s Wonjin Lee warned that semiconductor supply issues would impact all manufacturers.

David McAfee of AMD predicted that consumers will likely opt to upgrade individual components rather than build entirely new systems to avoid the high cost of RAM. He noted that approximately 30% to 40% of AMD's business remains centered on the older AM4 platform.

The spike in RAM demand is driven by a new generation of AI supercomputers. Systems recently introduced by NVIDIA and AMD can support dozens of terabytes of memory, effectively draining the global supply typically reserved for the consumer market.

The current surge in component pricing signals a fundamental realignment of the global technology supply chain rather than a mere cyclical price hike. The intensifying AI arms race—led by titans such as NVIDIA, Microsoft, and OpenAI—is effectively cannibalizing resources once reserved for the consumer electronics sector. Global memory supply is being aggressively redirected toward data centers to satisfy the insatiable demand for AI infrastructure, leaving the traditional PC market to contend with a deepening supply deficit.

For Vietnam, this shift presents a bifurcated challenge. First, as a rapidly expanding technology consumer market, the domestic population faces a significant barrier to entry. Rising costs for essential hardware—ranging from entry-level student laptops to high-performance workstations for creators—threaten to stall the country’s progress in digital literacy and technology penetration.

Second, the crisis poses a systemic risk to Vietnam’s standing as a critical global electronics assembly hub. Shortages and price volatility in core components, particularly RAM, are placing immense pressure on local manufacturing facilities. These rising input costs inevitably lead to margin compression for manufacturers or forced price hikes for finished goods, both of which erode the export competitiveness of "Made in Vietnam" electronics on the global stage.

Recent guidance from AMD leadership underscores a broader industry pivot toward mitigation. While encouraging consumers to adopt modular upgrades rather than full-system replacements serves as a necessary stopgap, it highlights a sobering new reality: the era of affordable, ubiquitous personal computing is being sidelined by the capital-intensive demands of the AI revolution.

Rising computer prices will directly impact Vietnamese-American small businesses. From the nail salons and phở restaurants that rely on POS systems to professional service offices, the cost of upgrading essential hardware is becoming a significant burden. These rising expenses will inevitably squeeze profit margins at a time when general operating costs are already climbing. Beyond the business sector, families with students will also feel the strain, as purchasing necessary laptops for school becomes an increasingly expensive hurdle for many households.