It is fairly clear from current RAM prices - and soon SSD prices as well - that the push to expand AI infrastructure is making it harder for regular consumers to buy components for standard gaming hardware. There is broad agreement that this will have a pretty drastic impact on the market, and now some concrete numbers are set to describe what that impact could look like.
PC World recently interviewed industry analyst Dr. Ian Cutress, who pointed out that due to agreements between Nvidia and Intel - and further agreements between those two and manufacturers such as Asus and Acer - all of which are focused on expanding AI infrastructure, price increases are set to be quite significant.
It is estimated that this could hit the PC gaming market, and consumer-focused component sales in general, by as much as 9%, and that is due to RAM shortages alone.
"Chip manufacturers are less interested in launching new products for PC because that is a declining market in the short run."
It is then pointed out that these manufacturers are all turning toward AI "for a quick buck".