Computer makers have been forced into an interesting trade off: Sell fewer PCs at far higher prices.

The trend is being driven by the same shortage of memory chips, and accompanying soaring costs, stemming from the massive buildout of artificial-intelligence infrastructure. The bottleneck has trickled down to personal computers, which has sent prices higher, at the expense of units sold.

Worldwide PC shipments were down 4.9% in the second quarter of this year, according to International Data Corp. The firm is projecting that PC prices will be up 20% this year and continue growing modestly in 2027, and that shipments will keep falling.

The PC manufacturers "have to offset the decrease in shipments with higher pricing to maintain revenue or grow revenue," IDC Director of Consumer Research Jitesh Ubrani said.

So far, PC makers have found that enough businesses and consumers are buying the pricier computers to lift overall sales. Last week, HP said its personal systems segment, which houses its PC business, recorded an 18% rise in revenue for the second quarter, even as the number of units sold fell 16%.

The same trajectory played out at other PC makers. Dell's client services group posted a 20% revenue gain in its latest quarter, and Lenovo reported a nearly 30% increase in revenue from PCs and smart devices.

"Because memory is so expensive, and there's so little of it to go around, companies are choosing to build fewer low-cost devices and putting more of their resources toward the premium segment, because that's where margins tend to be better," Ubrani said.

Many of the devices being sold are what manufacturers refer to as AI PCs, or computers optimized for on-device AI workloads. The manufacturers are betting that AI excitement among consumers, and especially commercial customers, will offset declines in other areas of the market.

"We're proud to have an increased penetration of AI PCs today as part of our shipments," HP's Chief Financial Officer Karen Parkhill told analysts on a recent earnings call, adding that the category will be "a growing part as we look ahead."

Demand for AI PCs in the commercial market, representing around 75% of market volume, should be fairly durable, UBS analyst David Vogt said. Enterprises are increasingly turning to on-premise solutions for complex or sensitive AI workloads, especially in regulated industries, he noted.

At the same time, PCs may be vying for IT budget space with other areas of enterprise tech spending, Vogt said, adding that some of the recent strength may reflect pull-in ordering ahead of anticipated price increases. The consumer side of the market, meanwhile, may be more sensitive about paying a premium for an AI PC, he said.

"That's a struggle that HP and Dell and Lenovo are going to have to grapple with," Vogt said, pointing out that HP gave a sub-seasonal guide for the current quarter. "You're starting to see it in the numbers already."

Consumers hoping for easing prices are stuck waiting for the memory shortage to ease, something Ubrani doesn't see happening until at least 2028. At that point, IDC's model suggests prices will start to fall, albeit not to their 2025 levels.

And for consumers holding out hope for a good deal on a new laptop?

"The best time to buy a PC was yesterday," Ubrani said.