Sapphire PR Manager: Memory crisis could stabilize in half a year
A PR manager for hardware manufacturer Sapphire urges calm when buying PCs. Prices are skyrocketing mainly due to panic.
Sapphire is primarily known as an AMD-exclusive graphics card manufacturer.
(Image: heise medien)
The supply situation for RAM, SSDs, and HDDs could ease sooner than expected. At least that's what Edward Crisler, PR manager at graphics card and motherboard manufacturer Sapphire for almost 13 years, believes. “There is great uncertainty in the market,” Crisler said in a podcast session with the YouTube channel Hardware Unboxed. “I think this uncertainty will be painful for us as gamers in the next six months or so. But I am firmly convinced that the market will stabilize within six to eight months.”
“Perhaps the prices won't quite meet our expectations, but I think some uncertainty will disappear and stabilization will set in,” Crisler continued. “So I tell people not to panic and think, 'The sky is falling, the sky is falling, PC gaming is dying.' They've been saying that forever, but it's never happened.”
Crisler compares the current situation to the beginning of frequently changing US tariffs: At that time, hardware manufacturers also frantically bought components to get ahead of the tariffs, thus driving up prices. Now prices are skyrocketing because everyone wants to secure as many memory products as possible.
Meanwhile, Crisler condemns the hardware hunger driven by artificial intelligence just as he did the crypto-mining boom at the time: “[AI] is like a black hole in the center of a solar system, pulling everything around it into itself, and nothing escapes.”
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Play with what you have
Until the situation improves, Crisler recommends continuing to use existing PCs as much as possible: “We are currently in a 3 to 4-year upgrade cycle. Most people who have a computer that is only three or four years old that they built themselves can still play with it for another year or two without problems. You will be able to enjoy the gaming experience. Don't panic, don't go out and buy something just because you have to buy something. Put your money aside, relax, play some games, and enjoy the system you currently have. And when the situation has calmed down, you can make an informed decision about how to proceed. And believe me, if you wait to upgrade until you really need it, you'll save money, and the upgrade will be more sensible and effective when you do it.”
His conclusion: “Folks, no panic, calm down, relax; let's see where we stand in six months.”
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