You may have noticed that RAMaggedon Hits Mini-PC prices on Amazon. Are they still a good deal for your radio room?

Last spring, I started exploring doing my Windows 11 upgrades on new mini-pc devices. This included buying a low-end mini-pc for home office use. Also, I bought a mid-range mini-pc to run all my radio and development applications.

Things worked out well. Nearly a year later, I am very happy with how these mini-pc perform in all respects.

Turns out, timing is everything. When I bought these mini-pc last May and July, the market was still experiencing a fading RAM glut. And Trump’s tariffs still had not taken hold. Boy, have things changed.

Both of my devices now cost between 60-70% more on Amazon and, even at those price increases, come with less storage. Over the past year, the cost of SSD storage has doubled. DDR5 RAM has seen its prices at least triple.

RAMageddon refers to the impact of AI giants gobbling up memory, and manufactures switching their wafer production from consumer to industrial markets, with higher margins. At the same time, tariff uncertainty has restructured supply chains. Together, these are all raising the prices of any consumer gear that needs memory and storage.

RAMaggedon Hits Mini-PC Prices – Still a Good Deal?

While RAM and SSD make up around 10-20% of materials cost in a gaming PC, they consume 25-35% of a mini-pc bill of materials. So, the comparable price and performance curves I described last June have shifted.

The price advantage of a mini-pc has dropped somewhat. These little devices are still a good deal, but not by as much. If I had to do this again, I would not be as excited as I was last summer. Your choice is up to you, of course.

Memory constraints and tariff risk have seriously inflated the cost of consumer electronics for at least another year, probably two.