The global RAM shortage has forced many PC makers to increase their laptop prices over the past few months. Now, it's Dell's turn.
Select configurations of the new Dell XPS 14 have gotten up to 31 percent more expensive since its launch at the start of the year. Mashable first noticed the price changes in mid-May and confirmed them with a Dell spokesperson.
"We’re managing this environment in real time, applying lessons from prior cycles and continuing to offer customers value," the spokesperson said. "We’re differentiated by our scale, go-to-market model and long-standing supplier relationships."
The starting price of the XPS 14 used to be $1,599.99 on Dell's website, making it slightly cheaper than Apple's M5 MacBook Pro. But it now costs $1,889.99 — a $290 jump. That's a steep admission fee for a Windows laptop with an entry-level Intel Core Ultra 5 325 CPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of solid-state drive (SSD) storage.
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A next-tier XPS 14 with the slightly faster Core Ultra 7 355 CPU now costs $1,989.99 with the same amount of memory and storage. It used to cost $1,699.99, marking another $290 increase.
In the most dramatic change, an upgraded XPS 14 with the premium Core Ultra X7 358H CPU, Intel Arc B390 graphics, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and an OLED touchscreen display now costs a whopping $2,879.99, representing a $680 bump from its $2,199.99 launch price.
Most prices for the larger Dell XPS 16 appear to be holding steady, though Mashable noticed that the base model was listed for $2,279.99 on May 21 — a $240 increase from its initial starting price of $2,039.99. Dell was selling it for that original lower number by the time of publication on May 26.
Dell announced at CES 2026 in January that it was resurrecting the XPS laptop brand, exactly one year after it tried to pull off a questionable Apple-y rebrand. Since its Q1 release, the XPS 14 has earned positive reviews for its sleeker design, solid performance, and gorgeous tandem OLED display option. But it was already expensive at its launch price, and these new hikes make it an even tougher sell.
To return to Dell's statement: What about "this environment" is making laptops so expensive? You can blame AI.
Data center construction is gobbling up the world's RAM and SSD supplies, making these components vastly more expensive. In turn, many consumer electronics that rely on them have also gotten more expensive — laptops included. This crisis has been dubbed "RAMageddon."
In April, Microsoft told Windows Central that it raised the prices of its Surface devices by up to $500 because of "recent increases in memory and component costs." The same circumstances have prompted Framework, a modular PC company, to adjust its RAM and SSD prices almost every month this year.
Earlier this month, Mashable reported that Lenovo and Acer both quietly raised the prices of their premium Chromebooks by up to $250. Lenovo didn't get back to us, but an Acer spokesperson said the company "is adopting flexible pricing and promotional strategies to support demand and stabilize product availability as component costs increase."
Just last week, Dell announced that its new entry-level gaming laptop, the Alienware 15, would start at $1,299.99 — a higher price than expected. "The rising cost of RAM is affecting pricing across the industry," a company rep told Mashable. "The Alienware 15 is priced to be competitive against this new backdrop."
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