Micron decided to axe the Crucial brand after decades of selling budget RAM and SSDs to regular people because AI companies keep throwing insane money at memory chips. The shift frees up supply for enterprise customers like OpenAI and Microsoft, who apparently need way more high-bandwidth memory modules than any gaming rig could ever use.
PC builders are already getting wrecked by memory shortages, and losing Crucial just makes everything worse since the brand was reliable middle-ground stuff that people actually trusted. CyberPowerPC had to raise prices on gaming systems, Framework stopped selling standalone RAM entirely, and even Raspberry Pi bumped costs up.
Micron will honor warranties and keep shipping products through February next year, but consumer memory is basically becoming an afterthought while chipmakers chase AI infrastructure contracts that pay way better than selling sticks to enthusiasts.
PC builders are already getting wrecked by memory shortages, and losing Crucial just makes everything worse since the brand was reliable middle-ground stuff that people actually trusted. CyberPowerPC had to raise prices on gaming systems, Framework stopped selling standalone RAM entirely, and even Raspberry Pi bumped costs up.
Micron will honor warranties and keep shipping products through February next year, but consumer memory is basically becoming an afterthought while chipmakers chase AI infrastructure contracts that pay way better than selling sticks to enthusiasts.
