It's all due to RAM. All the foundries have switched to making HBM RAM for AI cards, which commands much higher prices and has a near infinite, inelastic demand curve right now. Because of this, ordinary DDR5 RAM for computers, previously the high volume low margin option to keep your factory going at 100%, now needs to be priced much more expensively to directly compete with the substantially better margins on HBM. That means EVERYTHING is more expensive. A Raspberry PI now is selling in the actual market for over $400. $400! For an SBC that is nothing more than a toy. But it has 16GB so the price has to give you nosebleed. If you can wait a few years, prices may start to come back down. Motherboard manufacturers are beginning to qualify CXMT RAM from China to work with their boards, which gives a 4th option for DIMMs beyond the big 3. A glut is coming in the future again for sure, but not anytime in the immediate future.
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