Buying a PC just got brutal

Laptop and desktop prices in Singapore have climbed by as much as 40 per cent, driven by a global shortage of the parts that go inside them.

The AI build-out is the cause

Companies expanding data centres are swallowing enormous volumes of memory, storage and graphics cards, leaving far less for everyone else.

What the numbers look like

IDC puts the average regular laptop at S$1,650 in the second quarter of 2026, up 26 per cent year on year from about S$1,300. Regular desktops rose 28 per cent to S$1,410.

Gamers got hit hardest

Gaming desktops jumped 39 per cent to nearly S$1,860. Gaming laptops rose 17 per cent to S$2,890.

RAM is the pressure point

Memory makers are steering production towards AI infrastructure buyers, where demand and margins are both higher.

“Since last year, the PC market has seen significant price hikes, driven largely by the memory shortage crisis”

Sim Lim Square tells the story

A 32GB DDR5 RAM kit nearly quadrupled from S$195 to S$763 in a year. A 1TB SSD more than doubled to S$328, and Nvidia 5060 cards rose 44 per cent to S$824.

Retailers are bleeding

Four Sim Lim Square shops reported sales down 20 to 80 per cent versus 2025. One owner said his new and refurbished computer sales fell by 80 per cent.

“It's very, very difficult. Sometimes we cannot cover our rent.”

Shoppers are waiting it out

Some bought early fearing worse, but more are now holding off. Suppliers told one store motherboard prices rose another 10 per cent in September.

Relief comes in 2028

IDC expects prices to stay elevated through 2027 with only slight easing late in the year. Graphics card makers are reportedly planning more increases first.