tal
I commented elsewhere in the thread that one option that can mitigate limited RAM for some users is to get a fast, dedicated NVMe swap device, stick a large pagefile/paging partition on it, and let the OS page out stuff that isn't actively being used. Flash memory prices are up too, but are vastly cheaper than RAM.
My guess is that this generally isn't the ideal solution for situations where one RAM-hungry game is what's eating up all the memory, but for some things you mention (like wanting to leave a bunch of browser tabs open while going to play a game), I'd expect it to be pretty effective.
dev tasks, builds…etc
I don't know how applicable it is to your use case, but there's ccache to cache compiled binaries and distcc to do distributed C/C++ builds across multiple machines, if you can coral up some older machines.
It looks like Mozilla's sccache does both caching and distributed builds, and supports Rust as well. I haven't used it myself.
GPU prices
Outside of maybe integrated GPUs, I doubt it, because they need their own memory and are constrained by the same bottleneck
DRAM.
Or at least CPU prices?
I've read one article arguing that CPU prices will likely drop during the RAM shortage.
I don't know if that's actually true
I think that depends very much on the ability of CPU manufacturers to economically scale down their production to match demand, and I don't know to what degree that is possible. If they need to commit to a given amount of production in advance, then yeah, probably.
Go back a couple years, and DRAM manufacturers
who are currently making a ton of money due to the massive surge in demand from AI
were losing a ton of money, because they couldn't inexpensively rapidly scale production up and down to match demand. I don't know what the economics are like for CPUs.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fear-dram-glut-stifling-micron-155958125.html
November 5, 2018
To be clear, the oversupply concerns that have plagued Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) shares for weeks now are completely valid. Micron stock has fallen as much as 40% just since June on this deteriorating dynamic.
In short, the world doesn’t need as many memory chips as Micron and rivals like Samsung (OTCMKTS:SSNLF) and SK Hynix are collectively making. The glut is forcing the price of DRAM (dynamic random access memory) modules so low that it’s increasingly tougher to make a buck in the business.
We had a glut of DRAM as late as early this year:
https://evertiq.com/news/56996
Weak Demand and Inventory Backlogs
Both the DRAM and the NAND markets are still in a state of oversupply, with excess inventory leading to significant price declines through Q4 2024 and Q1 2025. This is driven by multiple factors such as weak consumer demand.
Memory manufacturers ramped up production during previous periods of strong demand, but the market failed to meet these forecasts. This has resulted in inventory backlogs that now weigh on prices.
That's fair, but my understanding is that VRChat, despite the name, isn't a VR-only thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xb-uxU6HqM&list=PL_vuAt0lzRbC-IACRMRgkgfV3mKztRAKL