Acer CEO says memory makers are hyping the 2030 shortage to protect margins, predicts prices fall by mid-2027

Acer CEO Jason Chen has a message for anyone panicking about RAM prices: the end is closer than the memory manufacturers want you to believe. In comments reported by DigiTimes and covered by TechSpot and Tom's Hardware, Chen dismissed predictions that the RAM shortage will stretch to 2030, calling the forecasts self-serving. "It's impossible for the shortage to last until 2030," he said, arguing that supply of DDR4 and DDR5 memory is already "quite large" and that the current crunch is largely limited to high-end components like LPDDR5X-9600 and niche CPUs.

An overstated shortage driving prices

Chen didn't stop at supply skepticism. He directly accused memory makers of overshooting their shortage estimates to protect the profit margins the AI boom has handed them. Micron, SK Hynix, and Adata have all predicted extended shortages, with Adata's chairman even forecasting a decade of elevated prices. Chen sees those predictions as less about reality and more about keeping their bottom line as high as possible.

Unfortunately, that doesn't mean relief is immediate. Chen expects PC prices to keep climbing through the fourth quarter of 2026, with average increases of 5 to 20 percent. Prices should plateau in the first half of 2027 before finally declining after mid-year. The catalyst, according to Chen, is additional memory production capacity coming online, particularly from Chinese supplier CXMT. Cheaper Chinese DRAM could deliver the downward pressure that Western manufacturers have little incentive to provide.

A PC community that is increasingly alienated

The community reaction has been predictably split. On the TechSpot forums, one commenter summed up the mood: "I am really, really glad I built my rig when I did when prices were still reasonable. This is getting stupid". Others were more skeptical of Chen's motives, noting that Acer itself has raised prices and that a CEO with products to sell has every reason to talk prices down. On ResetEra, the thread drew a mix of cautious optimism and outright disbelief, with several posters pointing out that Acer's own February price hike suggests the company isn't exactly immune to the squeeze.

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Chen is right that the shortage won't last forever, and new capacity will eventually bring prices down. But he's also the CEO of a company that sells PCs, and telling consumers to hold out for 2027 is a convenient message when your current inventory is priced for 2026. Whether he's a truth-teller or just a man with a warehouse full of laptops to move, the timeline he's offering is the most optimistic one on the table.