“What I don’t get is how memory for internal chips have skyrocketed while the costs of USB sticks have dropped to unheard of levels. I know they’re made differently but it still doesn’t make any sense.”
RAM memory is very different than the memory (chips) in flash drives and NVMe drives. NVMe prices have been climbing. Bottom line is that a new HP or Dell will cost you more in 2026 onward.
Thank you. Looks like I might check Amazon’s selection of “renewed” (refurbished) laptops again before the difference catches up. Got the Dell I’m using for $280 after it was selling new for $1200. The cool thing is that you get them in better working condition than they were out of the box plus a one-year warranty on top of the savings.