A lot of you panic-bought PCs to avoid RAMaggedon 2026

The specter of price hikes caused by the current AI-driven demand for memory and storage appears to have convinced a fair share of people to buy a new computer. According to data analyzed by Counterpoint Research , global PC shipments grew around 3.2 percent year-over-year in Q1 2026, "driven by pre-emptive buying before memory-led price increases hit the retail level" and Microsoft forcing some customers to upgrade by ending support for Windows 10 last year . Sales hit 63.3 million un