Costco Pulls RAM From Display PCs to Stop Theft
Spotted this wild security measure at Costco. They're literally removing RAM and GPUs from display computers because parts are so expensive now.
Scout Team
Okay so I saw this deal and had to share... except it's not really a deal. It's more like the opposite. Someone spotted their local Costco removing RAM sticks from every single display PC in the store. Some locations are even yanking out the graphics cards too.
Here's what's going on. RAM prices have gone absolutely bonkers in 2026 thanks to everyone and their mother building AI rigs. We're talking prices that make me nostalgic for the crypto mining days. And honestly? I get why Costco's doing this. When a single stick of DDR5 costs more than some people's grocery bill, you can't just leave them sitting in open display units.
But this creates a weird shopping experience, right? You walk up to check out a gaming PC and it's basically gutted. No way to see how it actually performs. Sure, you can read the spec sheet taped to the side, but that's like buying a car without test driving it. How are you supposed to know if that prebuilt is worth dropping two grand on?
What really gets me is that we've reached this point at all. PC parts have become such hot commodities that major retailers need anti-theft measures usually reserved for jewelry stores. Next thing you know, they'll be keeping SSDs in a vault out back. Wild times for PC builders.