A 16GB DDR5 module now costs more than 30 of our 80 used laptop models
The steepest memory price rise in years has reached the warehouses of Sharjah. A 16GB DDR5 laptop module costs AED 690 in the UAEPC warehouse today, more than 30 of the 80 complete laptop models sold from the same shelves.
· 4 min read
Key points
- TrendForce reports that DRAM contract prices rose 93–98% in the first quarter of 2026.
- If its forecasts hold, DRAM contract prices will end 2026 at about 3.8 to 4.4 times their end-2025 level.
- In the UAEPC warehouse, DDR5 costs about 2.6 times as much per gigabyte as DDR4.
- Over the same period, the average price of 68 matched used laptop models held at AED 811.
In the UAEPC warehouse in Sharjah, a 16GB DDR5 memory module for a laptop is priced at AED 690 today, and the desktop version at AED 700. On the same list, 30 of the 80 complete laptop models — processor, memory, storage and screen included — sell for less than AED 690. The Lenovo A475 with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, for example, costs AED 490.
The gap is the result of one of the sharpest memory price surges in recent years. The large memory makers have moved production capacity towards products for AI servers, leaving less of it for ordinary RAM and SSDs.
Memory up nearly fourfold in a year
TrendForce, the research firm that tracks contract prices between memory makers and large buyers, reports that conventional DRAM contract prices rose 93–98% quarter on quarter in the first quarter of 2026. It forecast a further 58–63% rise in the second quarter, 13–18% in the third and 10–15% in the fourth.
If those figures hold, DRAM contract prices will end 2026 at roughly 3.8 to 4.4 times their level at the end of 2025. For NAND flash, the memory inside SSDs, the same calculation on TrendForce's forecasts comes to about 2.9 to 3.3 times.
| Quarter | DRAM | NAND flash |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | +93–98% (reported) | +33–38% (forecast) |
| Q2 2026 | +58–63% (forecast) | +70–75% (forecast) |
| Q3 2026 | +13–18% (forecast) | +10–15% (forecast) |
| Q4 2026 | +10–15% (forecast) | +15–20% (forecast) |
Slower increases, but no fall in sight
The forecasts show the climb flattening in the second half of 2026, but prices are still heading up. In its 30 September release, TrendForce said the DRAM market remains undersupplied in the fourth quarter and that PC makers keep buying because they expect DRAM supply to stay tight in 2027. It also expects enterprise SSD prices to rise faster in the fourth quarter than in the third.
Prices in the UAEPC warehouse
In our warehouse the gap between DDR4 and DDR5 is wide. An 8GB DDR4 laptop module costs AED 138, while the same capacity in DDR5 costs AED 355 — about 2.6 times as much per gigabyte. The 8GB DDR4 laptop module rose from AED 130 to AED 138 on 30 September, and the 1TB Seagate hard drive from AED 98 to AED 104 on 21 September. M.2 NVMe SSD prices have not changed since 30 September.
| Item | Price per unit | Recent change |
|---|---|---|
| Laptop RAM DDR4 8GB | AED 138 | from AED 130 on 30 September |
| Desktop RAM DDR4 8GB | AED 133 | — |
| Laptop RAM DDR5 8GB | AED 355 | — |
| Laptop RAM DDR5 16GB | AED 690 | — |
| Desktop RAM DDR5 16GB | AED 700 | unchanged since 22 September |
| SSD M.2 NVMe 256GB | AED 102 | unchanged since 30 September |
| SSD M.2 NVMe 512GB | AED 180 | unchanged since 30 September |
| SSD M.2 NVMe 1TB | AED 350 | unchanged since 30 September |
| 3.5-inch Seagate HDD 1TB | AED 104 | from AED 98 on 21 September |
“—” means our price archive holds no comparable earlier figure for this item.
Used laptops: the market that stayed calm
While memory parts have become more expensive, wholesale prices for used laptops in the UAEPC warehouse have barely moved. The 68 laptop models priced on both 3 August and 11 October averaged AED 811 on both dates. Of the 80 laptop models on today's list, 35 come with 16GB of RAM.
Full report: UAE wholesale prices for used laptops — October 2026
Methodology. Global figures are contract prices between memory makers and large buyers as reported by TrendForce; they are not retail prices. The Q1 2026 DRAM figure is a reported result and all other figures are forecasts. The multiple for the year is a UAEPC Press calculation that compounds the lowest and the highest figure of each quarter. Warehouse prices are UAEPC wholesale prices per unit on 11 October 2026. See the full data on the price index
- TrendForce — Memory Makers Prioritize Server Applications, Driving Across-the-Board Price Increases in 1Q26 — 5 January 2026
- TrendForce — AI Server Demand to Drive Memory Contract Price Increases in 2Q26 — 31 March 2026
- TrendForce — Rapid Contract Price Surge Drives 1Q26 DRAM Industry Up 81% QoQ — 1 June 2026
- TrendForce — AI Server Demand Continues to Support Memory Prices in 3Q26, but Gains Moderate — 3 July 2026
- TrendForce — AI Server Demand Sustains Memory Contract Price Increases in 4Q26 — 30 September 2026
UAEPC Press, “A 16GB DDR5 module now costs more than 30 of our 80 used laptop models”, 12 October 2026 — uaepc.com/en/press/ram-ssd-prices-2026-memory-surgeFounder and CEO of UAEPC, a Sharjah and Dubai wholesaler of used and refurbished laptops and computers with more than 16 years in the trade.