{"id":639225,"date":"2026-04-13T12:06:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T10:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=639225"},"modified":"2026-04-13T12:07:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T10:07:54","slug":"the-worst-is-yet-to-come-for-computer-hardware-prices-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/hardware\/639225-the-worst-is-yet-to-come-for-computer-hardware-prices-in-south-africa.html","title":{"rendered":"The worst is yet to come for computer hardware prices in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The full impact of the worldwide memory crunch on hardware prices will only hit South African customers after April, hardware giant Acer South Africa told MyBroadband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Acer country manager Glenn Du Toit, the company began seeing upward price pressure in mid-2025 as global demand for CPUs outpaced supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConsequently, the market will likely see gradual price adjustments starting in April, with the full impact reflecting on retail shelves between May and July 2026,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Du Toit told us that Acer has been \u201cworking hard\u201d to cushion the impact of the rising costs, mostly through using inventory secured in late 2025. This inventory, however, is now mostly depleted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His comments are similar to those from other leading hardware retailers and distributors in South Africa, who said there will be a gradual, then significant market price adjustment taking place in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intel, which manufactures processors for the world\u2019s largest hardware makers, reportedly told its partners it would increase CPU prices by 10% in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hit everyone hard, us included.\u201d Evetech, one of South Africa\u2019s biggest tech retailers, told MyBroadband. The company said that it is also protecting sales by drawing from its inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut we can only hold that for so long. Our honest advice right now is if you need hardware and you can afford it, buy now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evetech said it has seen DDR5 RAM, the latest version of the memory hardware, rise in price by 180% to 220% since the fourth quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, older DDR4 memory is also getting pricier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The retailer said this has caught companies off guard. DDR4 RAM prices climbed between 90% and 140%, it said. Generally, all memory hardware is getting more expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SSDs are up 70%\u201395%, and GPUs are climbing 20%\u201325% \u201cwith more to come,\u201d it stated. Some retailers are hoping to protect sales by giving customers more options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitigation strategies to protect customers from price hikes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Hisense Atlantis Park in the Western Cape<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to Mustek, the custodian of Mecer, one of South Africa\u2019s oldest and most successful tech brands, it is focusing on working closely with its partners to offer more options at different price points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMemory pricing has been volatile globally, and that volatility can influence the cost of certain configurations,\u201d Mustek brand executive Michael Kan told us, adding that multiple variables were at play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSouth African retail pricing is typically influenced by multiple inputs, including exchange rates, shipping\/logistics and local availability, so it\u2019s not driven by any single factor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hisense South Africa said it takes a longer-term view in managing challenges arising from global uncertainties, including the memory shortage and other supply chain-related impacts on costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kan said that it continues to navigate \u201cfluctuations in freight costs, and broader geopolitical factors that influence input costs, such as oil and raw materials\u201d at a global level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The TV and appliance maker explained how its global scale allows it to secure more stable supply agreements, while its manufacturing capacity in South Africa eases import pressures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hisense\u2019s sprawling factory in Atlantis, Western Cape, has manufactured over 4.5 million TVs and 2.9 million refrigerators since it opened its doors<\/a> in 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these capabilities, the company said that some cost pressures are unavoidable across the industry, even as it actively seeks to lower manufacturing costs with more affordable components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs global conditions stabilise, we will continue to reassess pricing structures to ensure we remain competitive and accessible in the market.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acer is implementing a similar mitigation strategy, leveraging scale and options to protect sales across its business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDespite these headwinds, we are leveraging our multi-brand strategy to protect consumer choice. The Acer e10 range will serve as our primary value offering,\u201d said Du Toit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFurthermore, we have secured a strategic supply of graphics cards to ensure our gaming community can still access upgrades at competitive rates.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Du Toit explained that Acer South Africa is also capitalising on market trends to boost sales, adding that the company anticipates a surge in enterprise demand for Windows 11 devices as Windows 10 nears end-of-life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acer is now prioritising stock availability for these organisations to ensure cost-effective transitions before global supply shortages intensify further.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Major hardware retailers in South Africa warn that the true impact of global memory shortages will only be felt after April. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341213,"featured_media":639254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[2006,89976,34221,42318,23581,69523,7155,131,37244,3096,26970,70233],"class_list":["post-639225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hardware","tag-acer","tag-cpus","tag-ddr4","tag-ddr5","tag-evetech","tag-glenn-du-toit","tag-hisense","tag-intel","tag-memory","tag-ram","tag-windows-10","tag-windows-11"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639225"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=639225"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":639387,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639225\/revisions\/639387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/639254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=639225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=639225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}