RAM prices are soaring, but an 8GB laptop is still a bad buy

Rising memory prices are pushing vendors back to 8GB base configs: Dell's XPS 13 starts at $699 and Apple's MacBook Neo at $699. Testing shows 8GB is nearly exhausted right after Windows boots, while Dell's $200 upgrade to 16GB boosts PCMark 10 scores by about 30%.

• Dell charges $200 to move the XPS 13 from 8GB to 16GB of RAM
• In testing, 80% of 8GB was committed right after Windows booted
• The 16GB model scored about 30% higher in PCMark 10
• TrendForce expects PC memory prices to rise 90–95% in Q1