Faced with the pressure of rapidly increasing memory chips, American computer hardware manufacturer Dell plans to increase the prices of its commercial product lines across the board starting from December 17.The price increase is roughly between 10% and 30%, depending on the storage parameters of the computer configuration.
This round of price increases is mainly caused by the skyrocketing prices of two types of chips: DRAM (dynamic random access memory), commonly known as memory sticks, each computer generally requires 8GB to 32GB; NAND (non-volatile flash memory) is used for solid-state hard drive storage, with common configurations of 512GB or 1TB. As demand for the construction of large-scale AI data centers surges, big-spending technology companies are hoarding large amounts of memory chips, squeezing the consumer market.
According to the quotation obtained by the whistleblower, the price of Dell Pro and Pro Max notebooks and desktops equipped with 32GB of memory will increase by US$130 to US$230 each. If you want to choose the top-end 128GB memory, the price of each unit will increase by 520 to 765 US dollars.
The price increase of hard drives is also obvious. The overall price of a notebook equipped with 1TB storage will increase by US$55 to US$135.
There is no doubt that the storage of independent graphics cards has also been affected by the price increase. According to reports, the price of AI notebooks equipped with 6GB video memory Nvidia RTX PRO 500 Blackwell GPU will increase by US$66, while models equipped with 24GB GPU will increase in price by US$530.
It is reported that Dell management issued an internal letter to sales employees on November 25, outlining the "critical next steps" they should take before raising prices. The letter also stated that "global memory and storage supply is rapidly tightening" and that DRAM and NAND chip contract prices "have increased significantly this quarter". Suppliers also hinted that there will be "further price increases and rationing restrictions" driven by AI demand.
Technology market research firm Counterpoint had predicted that DRAM prices would rise by 30% in the last quarter of 2025, and have risen by 50% so far this year.
The letter also warns that placing an order now and specifying future delivery will not lock in current prices, but will help customers cope with "expected significant memory price increases."
An anonymous Dell salesperson revealed that there was initially a wave of panic buying to help customers purchase remaining inventory, but the situation is now considered "out of control." Dell is also bearing some of the costs internally, by squeezing profit margins and limiting the discounts salespeople can offer, the employee said.
Although Friday's revelations pointed to Dell's business product line, PCs and laptops sold to enterprise customers. But this round of memory surge is driving up prices in the entire PC market.
In response to the latest rumors, a Dell spokesperson said: "Like other companies in the industry, Dell will take targeted pricing measures when necessary while maintaining supply continuity and maintaining its commitment to customer value."
In the third quarter earnings conference call in November this year, Dell Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clark said that the market's price increases were "unprecedented." "We haven't seen costs move at this pace. Demand far outstrips supply," he said.
