The Great Hardware Markup: Why Your RAM Costs 60% More (And Why Right-to-Repair Legislation Matters)

The Bottom Line

If you're building or upgrading a workstation right now, you're paying 60% more for the same DDR5 modules you could have bought in 2024. That's not a supply chain hiccup. That's manufacturers slowly tightening the vise on your upgrade path, betting you'll either accept the markup or buy a whole new machine. The good news: Right-to-repair legislation is finally making them sweat.

The Numbers Don't Lie (And Neither Do I)

According to current market data, DDR5 RAM pricing has climbed steadily since Q4 2025. A 32GB kit that cost $180 in 2024 is now sitting at $280-$320 depending on the vendor. SSDs? A 2TB NVMe drive that was $140 is now $220+. That's not "market adjustment"—that's a deliberate strategy.

Here's what manufacturers won't tell you: The silicon costs haven't moved. The manufacturing process hasn't changed. What *has* changed is the realization that most consumers don't upgrade RAM or storage—they just buy a new laptop.

The Friction Factor: Why This Matters

In 2016, you could open a MacBook Air, swap the RAM, and extend its lifespan by 4 years. In 2026, Apple soldered the RAM directly to the logic board. Now you're not upgrading; you're replacing.

This is the infrastructure problem that right-to-repair legislation is designed to solve.

Colorado's HB24-1121 (effective August 12, 2026) forbids manufacturers from using parts pairing to prevent repairs. New York's 2026 law requires manufacturers to provide parts and documentation at reasonable prices. Both laws have teeth: manufacturers who slow-walk parts access or charge unreasonable markups face fines.

The federal pushback is messier. Congress stripped right-to-repair provisions from the 2026 defense policy bill after industry lobbying, but that's actually a sign of how seriously the manufacturers are taking this threat.

The Real Cost: Planned Obsolescence as a Business Model

When you can't upgrade the RAM or swap the SSD, you're forced into a replacement cycle. A $1,200 laptop that could have lasted 6 years with a $200 RAM upgrade now becomes a $2,400 purchase (new machine + old one recycled or sitting in a drawer).

Multiply that across millions of users, and you're looking at a fundamental shift in how hardware economics work.

The manufacturers know this. That's why they've been engineering devices to be harder to repair, not easier. Soldered RAM. Proprietary screws. Batteries glued to the chassis. It's not accidental; it's architectural.

Why Right-to-Repair Legislation Is the Only Pressure Valve

Market forces alone won't solve this. A consumer can't "vote with their wallet" when every manufacturer does the same thing. Right-to-repair laws work because they remove the financial incentive to make devices unrepairable.

If Apple has to provide DDR5 modules at cost (or close to it), suddenly that $1,200 laptop becomes a 6-year asset instead of a 3-year one. The math changes. The business model breaks.

This is why you're seeing manufacturers quietly expanding parts availability in 2026. It's not generosity—it's compliance creep. States are passing legislation, and the manufacturers are doing the math on legal liability vs. parts availability. Parts availability is cheaper.

The Practical Audit: What This Means for Your Wallet

If you're upgrading RAM or storage right now: You're paying peak prices. The markup is real, and it's intentional. Your options:

• Buy used. A 2023 workstation with upgradeable RAM is now a better value than a 2026 machine with soldered components. The used market is flooded with devices that still have 4-5 years of utility left.
• Wait for legislation to settle. By Q3 2026, we'll know which manufacturers are actually complying with Colorado and NYC laws. Buy from those manufacturers.
• Check the iFixit score before you buy. If it's below 6/10 and the RAM is soldered, walk away. You're paying for disposability.

If you're buying a new workstation: Prioritize repairability. ThinkPad X-series, Framework, and System76 machines all allow RAM and SSD upgrades. Yes, they cost slightly more upfront. But the 6-year cost of ownership is half that of a sealed machine.

Who Should Skip This

If you're buying a new laptop every 18-24 months anyway, the markup doesn't affect you. You're already in the replacement cycle. This article is for the 60% of users who keep their machines for 4+ years and expect to upgrade components instead of buying new.

The Long View

Right-to-repair legislation is the only structural solution to the planned obsolescence problem. Market forces won't fix it. Consumer pressure won't fix it. Only regulation that makes it more expensive to seal devices than to open them will create the incentive shift.

Colorado and New York are the beta test. If the legislation holds and manufacturers don't find loopholes, expect a domino effect. California will follow. Federal legislation will eventually happen.

Until then, the RAM markup stays. Your best move is to buy devices that were designed to be repaired, and to support the legislation that forces manufacturers to keep making them that way.

The Bottom Line: You're not paying 60% more for better RAM. You're paying 60% more because manufacturers bet you'd replace the entire machine instead of upgrading a component. Right-to-repair laws are finally making that bet a losing one.