If you've been following hardware pricing in 2026, you've probably noticed something weird: the market isn't moving in one direction anymore. It's splitting.
GPUs are actually getting cheaper. Like, genuinely. The RX 9070 XT just hit $680 — the lowest it's been since launch. The RTX 5070 is sitting around $629 retail and $535 used. After months of watching prices climb higher and higher, the GPU segment is showing real signs of recovery.
Meanwhile, CPUs and memory are going the other way. Intel and AMD have both confirmed price increases of up to 15% on processors. DDR5 prices, after spiking 400% year-over-year at their peak, are settling at levels still well above what they were in mid-2025. SSDs are climbing. NAND flash is projected to increase 70-75% quarter over quarter.
So: what do you buy now, what do you wait on, and what do you just accept isn't getting cheaper?
The GPU Recovery Is Real
Let's start with the good news. Street prices on NVIDIA's RTX 50-series and AMD's RX 9000-series have been dropping month over month since March.
The RX 9070 XT at $680 is the headline. It was $720+ in April. It was $750+ in March. AMD raised prices twice and the street price is still dropping — that's demand softening against supply finally catching up. For a card with 16GB of VRAM that handles 1440p and early 4K comfortably, $680 is the best price point it's hit in 2026.
On the NVIDIA side, the RTX 5070 at $629 ($535 used) is the most reasonable entry point in the 50-series. The markup is only 16% above its $549 MSRP, which in this market is basically "at MSRP." Tom's Hardware's price tracker is showing a general downward trend across the lineup.
The used market is more complicated. The RTX 3080 Ti jumped 31% in April — people saw new GPU prices and retreated to used, which pushed used prices back up. But that's starting to stabilize too. A used RX 9070 at $411 (26% below its MSRP) remains the single best value proposition for 1440p gaming with 16GB VRAM.
CPUs Are the Opposite Story
This is where the market split gets sharp.
Intel is reportedly preparing its third price increase of 2026, possibly as early as this month. AMD confirmed a 10-15% increase structure on Ryzen CPUs. The days of getting a great deal on a processor are numbered, and the window is closing.
The deals to look at right now:
- Ryzen 7 9850X3D at $459 (Amazon) — AMD's latest X3D chip at a new low. X3D chips rarely see significant discounts, and this is the lowest it's been since launch.
- Ryzen 7 9800X3D at $439 with a free Corsair 750W PSU — The PSU effectively makes this ~$349 for the chip. That's a legit deal if you need a power supply anyway.
- Ryzen 9 7900X at 44% off — Down to ~$260 on Amazon. A 12-core chip at midrange pricing, and possibly last-chance pricing before AMD's hikes hit.
- Intel Core Ultra 7 265F at $276 — Down 27% from its $379 MSRP. Again, this might be clearance pricing before the next Intel increase.
If you're building a PC and need a CPU, the advice is simple: buy now. These prices aren't going to be better later in the year.
RAM and Storage: Buy Now or Pay More Later
The DDR5 price story of 2026 is genuinely alarming. A 32GB DDR5-6000 kit that cost around $80 in mid-2025 briefly touched over $400 in early 2026. That's a 400% increase. It's come down since then — you can find basic kits around $87-100 now — but it hasn't returned to 2025 levels, and it's not going to.
TrendForce is projecting 70-75% quarter-over-quarter NAND flash price increases in Q2 2026. That affects SSDs directly. The WD_Black SN7100 2TB launched at $200, hit $379 at its peak, and is only slightly down from there. The 4TB Samsung 990 Pro is sitting at $721.
Framework explicitly warned customers that RAM and SSD prices will continue rising through the rest of 2026. They're not wrong. If you need storage, buy it now. It will cost more in three months.
The Best Build Strategy for May 2026
Given the divergence, the smartest approach is to buy components on their own schedule instead of all at once:
Buy now (prices are going up):
- CPUs (especially before Intel and AMD's next hikes)
- DDR5 RAM (off peak but still climbing)
- SSDs (NAND prices increasing QoQ)
Buy now (genuine deals available):
- RX 9070 XT at ~$680 if you need a mid-high end GPU
- Any Newegg bundle deals (5070 Ti + 9850X3D at $1,265 is solid)
- Ryzen X3D chips at their current lows
Wait if you can:
- Used GPUs — the market is stabilizing but not yet fully settled
- High-end NVIDIA (5090/5080) — unless you need them for work, there's no rush
Just don't:
- Don't buy a new RTX 5060 Ti 8GB at $399. 8GB VRAM in 2026 is not enough, even at MSRP.
- Don't wait for RAM/SSD prices to drop — they won't in 2026.
- Don't hold out for launch-day MSRP on anything. It's not coming back.
Bottom Line
The component market in May 2026 is two stories: GPUs coming down from their absurd peaks, and everything else still climbing. If you're building, the smart play is to buy CPUs and memory now, wait on GPUs if you can, and accept that 2025 prices aren't coming back for most things.
The deals are out there. You just have to catch the right ones at the right time.
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