January 29, 2026
Bloat vs Bucks: pick your fighter
Is the RAM shortage killing small VPS hosts?
AI hogs the memory aisle; indie hosts sweat while commenters shout 'use old gear or charge more'
TLDR: AI-driven memory costs are spiking, squeezing small server hosts who fear becoming the next casualties like 2000s indie ISPs. The crowd is split: use old gear, raise prices, blame bloated software, or hope cheaper Chinese RAM swoops in—because this could reshape where and how we host the internet.
RAM—the short-term “brain” inside servers—is suddenly pricey as chipmakers chase AI money with HBM (a fancy, faster kind of memory) instead of regular DRAM. The article warns this could squeeze mom-and-pop VPS hosts (those small shops renting out tiny servers), just like small internet providers got crushed in the 2000s. Cue the comments section: chaos, comedy, and hot takes.
The chill crowd says: relax. “Just run old hardware longer,” says one, noting even the IPv4 address shortage didn’t kill budget hosting. The pragmatists shrug: “Everyone’s costs are up—raise prices.” Meanwhile, the skeptics ask, why pick a tiny host over Amazon or Google? Better service, lower prices, or local presence—do they still have an edge?
Then the spice hits. One commenter flips the table: “RAM shortage or competent programmer shortage?” Blame the bloat, not the chips! Why does “Hello, world” need a full backend and a gig of memory when a tiny static site would do? Others bet on China riding in with cheaper RAM, suggesting makers like CXMT could fill the gap if “fast enough and affordable enough” wins the market.
Verdict? It’s a cage match: code bloat vs. price hikes vs. China saves the day, with indie hosts stuck in the middle.
Key Points
- •AI-driven demand has led DRAM producers, such as Micron, to prioritize HBM, contributing to higher DRAM prices.
- •Server costs have increased substantially, with an example citing a rise from about $2,500 to roughly $5,000, largely due to expensive RAM.
- •The article analogizes current hardware market pressures on small VPS hosts to U.S. telecom policy changes in the 2000s.
- •In 2000, the FCC mandated DSL line unbundling, but later reversals ended sharing, contributing to the collapse of thousands of rival ISPs.
- •Cable companies like Comcast were not required to share networks; fiber and 5G expansion later helped erode cable’s dominance.