The budget PC is dying, and memory prices are the murder weapon.
Gartner is predicting that entry-level PCs costing less than $500 will vanish by 2028, and the math behind that forecast is brutal. Memory costs are consuming a larger portion of manufacturing expenses, and the already-thin profit margins on budget devices are becoming unsustainable. Retailers can't afford to sell computers at a loss, and manufacturers can't build them cheap enough to hit that price point while staying in business.
Here's the specific problem: Gartner projects a 130% surge in DRAM and SSD storage prices by the end of 2026, which will increase overall PC prices by 17%. Memory alone will represent 23% of a PC's bill-of-materials, up from 16% previously. The industry has nicknamed this "RAMmageddon," and companies like Apple and Tesla have already warned about production constraints.
Ranjit Atwal, senior director analyst at Gartner, was direct: "Ultimately, we expect the sub-$500 entry-level PC segment will disappear by 2028." That's not speculation about market preferences or consumer trends—that's a statement about manufacturing economics. If it costs more than $500 to build a functional computer, nobody is selling them for less.
The secondary effect is that people will keep older devices longer. PC lifespans are expected to increase 15-20% by the end of 2026. That sounds fine until you consider what Gartner notes: this extends device usage despite "increased security vulnerabilities and challenges of managing older devices." Running a six-year-old laptop isn't just inconvenient—it's a security risk, especially in enterprise environments.
Here's the larger implication: if entry-level PCs disappear, the digital divide gets wider. Students who could previously get a functional computer for $400 will be priced out of the market. Small businesses operating on tight margins will face higher equipment costs. Remote workers in developing economies where $500 is a significant investment will have fewer options.
The technology isn't getting worse—if anything, even budget PCs today are impressively capable. But when the raw materials cost more than the selling price, the math just stops working. The question isn't whether this is good or bad. It's whether we're prepared for a world where computers are luxury goods again.
