One Australian gamer was denied a replacement for DRAM kit bought just two years prior and was only offered a refund of original price, four times less than its cost today

One Australian gamer was denied a replacement for DRAM kit bought just two years prior and was only offered a refund of original price, four times less than its cost today | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these Memory The company that stopped making memory for gamers just explained how important memory is for gamers. Yeah, really Memory Explainer: The RAMpocalypse is making memory, SSDs, and even GPUs much more expensive, and it’s all down to AI Memory Phison CEO says ‘both money and inventory are insufficient’ as NAND prices continue to climb at an astronomical rate Memory It looks like more memory price hikes may soon be on the way, as Samsung and SK Hynix reportedly inform customers of yet another DRAM price increase Gaming Laptops As if PC hardware news couldn’t get any gloomier, one research report suggests mainstream laptop prices could rise by as much as 40% Memory Industry insiders say Samsung has confirmed a DRAM price increase of ‘over 100%’ for its customers, so brace yourself for the next phase of the dreaded RAMpocalypse Gaming PCs Top analyst firm Gartner predicts the ‘sub-$500 entry-level PC segment will disappear by 2028’, along with worldwide PC shipment decline of 10.4% in 2026 Memory ‘There is no scenario where memory prices correct in the second half’ of 2027, according to new market research Memory Many consumer electronics manufacturers ‘will go bankrupt or exit product lines’ by the end of 2026 due to the AI memory crisis, Phison CEO reportedly says SSDs Unfortunately, all of that doomsaying last year was correct and SSD prices are surging as a result of the memory crisis Hardware Even in the depths of the RAMpocalypse, you can still get a nice system upgrade for your old gaming PC, thanks to this $500 Newegg bundle Memory Asus thinks ‘high-end brand value and high-end product mix’ will help it weather the memory crisis alongside AI Memory My testing shows that 16 GB of system memory is still absolutely fine for today’s PC games but there are some caveats to it all Memory The RAMpocalypse has developed a whole new style of scam: one unlucky gamer opened a sealed box of new DDR5 memory from Amazon only to find two sticks of DDR2 Graphics Cards Nvidia reportedly won’t release any new RTX graphics cards this year, and the RTX 60-series is said to be pushed back, too PopularNEW: PC Gamer Clips!MarathonArc RaidersBest PC gearQuizzes Hardware Memory One Australian gamer was denied a replacement for DRAM kit bought just two years prior and was only offered a refund of original price, four times less than its cost today News By James Bentley published 12 March 2026 A miserable situation, all around. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer Get the PC Gamer Newsletter Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Signup + Every Thursday GTA 6 O’clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O’clock experts. Signup + Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what’s on the horizon. Signup + Every Thursday The Setup Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more. Signup + Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo’s new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play. Signup + Every Saturday The Watchlist Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Even If You Have DDR5, This is How You Could Be Screwed – YouTube Watch On One of my biggest regrets over the last year is not picking up more hardware before the memory crisis, yet it turns out even thinking ahead may not save you. One customer bought a DDR5 memory kit back in 2024, and upon finding it (broken?), now they’ve been offered its worth… from 2024.As covered by YouTube channel Hardware Unboxed, Goran, an Australian customer of the company Umart, purchased a 32 GB kit of DDR5 memory back in 2024 for AU$155 (around $110). Today, that same kit would cost you around AU$700.The policy of the company is to refund or replace faulty parts, depending on the preference of the customer, but it ran out of stock of the particular kit. It defaulted to refunding the buyer for the value of the product when it was bought. This means Goran would have to put in an additional $400-$550 if they want to finish building their rig to the same spec.Article continues below You may like The RAMpocalypse has developed a whole new style of scam: one unlucky gamer opened a sealed box of new DDR5 memory from Amazon only to find two sticks of DDR2 Yes, Chinese DRAM is fine for gaming but don’t think for one moment that any of it is a bargain ‘There is no scenario where memory prices correct in the second half’ of 2027, according to new market research As noted by Hardware Unboxed, giving customers the choice to refund or replace the kit is protected under Australian law when it’s a major fault.According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commissio