Crucial disappears: why it's a huge earthquake for RAM and SSDs... and why prices will continue to rise

Crucial, it was an institution:

• The SSDs RealSSD C300 , first to hit 6 Gb/s in SATA.
• The MX series, among the most reliable SSDs on the market.
• The BX SSDs, the cheapest ones that have literally democratized the switch to SSDs.
• The DDR4/DDR5 kits that you would find in 1 out of 5 gaming PCs.

The Crucial's value for money was often unbeatable. , and that's exactly what we lose.

It's THE question: what does it change for us?

Unfortunately: a lot, and not in the right way.

Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are already in the process of reducing the lines dedicated to standard DRAM (DDR4/DDR5).

Their top priority:

• HBM3
• HBM3E
• Soon HBM4

→ These are the memories that sell the most expensive, with margins 10x higher.

The major players (Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon...) consume staggering amounts of memory.

The industry is talking about a 170% increase in DRAM prices in one year And this is just the beginning.

Less competition:

• Higher price
• Limited stock
• Fewer references affordable

Crucial was a guardrail. Without them, the "Cheap and Reliable RAM / SSD" segment may become a desert.

Let's not lie: building a PC is going to become more expensive, even much more expensive, especially on RAM.

🔼 Plan for a gradual but continuous increase

• DDR4: +20 to +40% depending on the capacities
• DDR5: +40 to +80% on certain references

SSD: more moderate increase, but increase nonetheless (NAND also redirected towards AI)

🔍 Stocks are at risk of running out quickly

As soon as the last Crucial MX500 and DDR5 consumer-grade products are gone... they won't be coming back. If you're planning a setup early in 2026, think now about securing your RAM .

📉 The secondary market will increase in value

Expect to see:

• brand new MX500 SSDs sold at collector's prices,
• new Crucial DDR5 kits becoming scarce,
• a general rise in prices on alternative brands (Kingston, Corsair, G.Skill).

With DropReference, you can easily analyze all available stocks in real time.

1. Gaming PCs will cost more

It's not speculation: it's already the case on DropReference, prices are going up week after week.

2. Mid-range configurations will be the most affected

Because they are mainly based on:

• DDR5 5600 / 6000 (highly impacted segment)
• Entry-level SATA / NVMe SSDs (Crucial was king here)

3. Cheap upgrades are becoming rare

Replacing an old PC with 32GB + an affordable SSD, it was Crucial that made it possible. This economical model is dead.

It's not just the end of a brand. It's a symptom of a change of era in hardware. The industry's priority is no longer the gaming PC on your desk It is the supercomputer that will power the next giant AI model.

Crucial disappears ... and with them, a time when upgrading your PC didn't cost an arm. 2026 is going to be a tense year . We will obviously continue to follow the price evolution on DropReference to guide you as best as possible.