{
  "id": 556048,
  "title": "A researcher says 'we just undid about 20 years of progress' when it comes to memory prices, so I broke out my calculator and compared actual RAM kits from 2007 to 2026",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/11/a-researcher-says-we-just-undid-about-20-years-of-progress-when-it",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-11T10:22:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PC Gamer",
    "slug": "pc-gamer",
    "url": "https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/memory/a-researcher-says-we-just-undid-about-20-years-of-progress-when-it-comes-to-memory-prices-so-i-broke-out-my-calculator-and-compared-actual-ram-kits-from-2007-to-2026/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In 2007, a researcher who goes by Daniel Lemire noted that computer memory had been getting more expensive over the years, but the price in 2007 was roughly the same as it is today. He compared the cost of RAM kits from 2007 to current prices for gaming PCs. In 2007, Lemire had 4 GB (2x 2 GB) of DDR2-800 RAM, which cost around $100 for a good deal. The price for 4 GB was about $25/GB, while 2 GB kits cost around $30/GB. Presently, a 32 GB (2x 16 GB) DDR5 kit costs around $500, which is $15–16/GB. This means that the price per GB for RAM has not decreased, contrary to the exponential decline observed in the past. While overall RAM prices have not risen as steeply as $500 for 32 GB, the current cost is still substantially higher compared to 2007. The researcher concludes that the memory crisis has undone about 20 years of progress in terms of memory prices.",
  "summary": "Spoiler: it's not pretty.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}