A 16GB stick of DDR5 laptop memory is listed at RM1,000, in stock, at a Malaysian retailer today. Separately, Intel and memory maker SK Hynix have each told investors this month that the wider memory supply situation stays tight ahead, on their own different timelines.
Quick facts
- A 16GB DDR5-5600 laptop memory module (TeamGroup Elite) is listed at RM1,000, in stock, at Malaysian retailer ticomputer.com.my (read on 30 October 2026). This is one listing at one shop, not a national figure, and we have not compared it against an earlier price.
- Intel's current supply of its budget Wildcat Lake laptop processor is sold out, with demand outstripping supply, The Verge reports from the company's earnings call.
- The Verge reports that many of the cheaper Windows laptops built around that chip ship with just 8GB of memory.
- Intel said it is not optimistic about memory supply in 2027, and SK Hynix, in its third-quarter results released on 28 October 2026, said it expects memory demand to exceed supply through 2030.
On its latest earnings call, chipmaker Intel told investors that its current supply of the cost-focused Wildcat Lake laptop processor is sold out, with demand outstripping supply, The Verge reports from the call. Intel does not make memory itself, but those chips sit inside a new wave of cheaper Windows laptops, and The Verge reports that to reach their prices many ship with only 8GB of RAM, an amount it says Windows laptops "can struggle to get by on".
The memory chips themselves are made by companies such as Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron. In Malaysia, a single 16GB DDR5-5600 laptop module from TeamGroup is listed at RM1,000 and in stock at ticomputer.com.my as we write this. It is one product at one retailer, not a national figure, and we are not claiming it has risen or that it is set by the shortage: it is simply what that one part costs at that shop today.
How long the wider tightness lasts is the uncomfortable part. Intel's finance chief told investors the company is not optimistic about memory in 2027 and does not expect conditions to improve that year, The Verge reports. SK Hynix, on its own longer horizon, told the market in its third-quarter results released on 28 October 2026 that it expects overall memory demand to exceed supply through 2030. Both are forward-looking statements about the chip market rather than Malaysian shop prices.
For buyers, the practical note is narrow. On laptops where the memory is soldered to the board, such as Apple's MacBooks, you cannot add more later, so the amount you buy with is the amount you keep. That makes upgrade pricing worth checking before you buy: we looked at Apple's memory and storage pricing in Malaysia recently, and keeping a budget laptop you already own is one way to sidestep a pricier memory market.
Intel is not optimistic about memory in 2027, and SK Hynix expects demand to outpace supply through 2030. Both are describing the chip market, not shop prices.
