Your next PC won't let you upgrade the RAM, and it's going to cost you thousands

Unified memory architectures, where RAM is soldered directly onto the CPU/SoC package, are moving from laptops into desktop PCs. While this delivers significant performance gains — higher memory bandwidth, lower latency, and shared pools for CPU, GPU, and NPU — it eliminates the ability to upgrade RAM post-purchase. This mirrors Apple's strategy of charging steep premiums for memory tiers at the time of purchase. For enthusiasts and local AI workloads that require large memory pools, a fixed baseline configuration could mean buying an entirely new PC rather than simply upgrading a component.