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joelurker
Anon
2013-Mar-4 12:22 am
Are RAM prices on the rise?Back in December, I had a chance to buy DDR3 ram for my laptop but didn't need it urgently. Over the past 3 months, I've been watching the prices of RAM go up insanely high.
RAM that used to be about $30 a stick has now almost doubled in price to more than $50! It's not just any specific stick that I've seen this happen to. I've seen this on many different types of laptop RAM, even across brands!
Is this just a seasonal trend or is there something bigger going on that I'm unaware of? I remember the spike in hard drive prices last year, but there was a clear reason behind it; floods in countries that produced hard drives. I can find no such explanation for the huge increase in RAM prices. If it is just a seasonal trend, why is the change so drastic, and when can we expect better prices? |
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 KrisnatharokPC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit |
Ram prices have been projected to rise. |
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Da Man
join:2008-05-08
Hanover, PA |
to joelurker
There was likely an oversupply of RAM when Win8 PCs didn't sell that well. *puts on armchair analyst hat* The market having realized that has adjusted production accordingly to match the lowered demand. |
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Thordrune
Premium Member
join:2005-08-03
Lakeport, CA
1 edit |
I remember reading about DDR3 oversupply about a year ago, forgot where it was exactly though. The intention was to cut production to stabilize the market, it took a bit longer than I was expecting though.
The same thing happened with DDR2 years ago. Oversupply -> super cheap RAM -> bankrupt manufacturers (Qimonda then, Elpida now). |
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to joelurker
My main system now has 32GB of DDR3 1600 RAM. I bought individual 2x4GB kits over time and each kit was about ~$30 to ~$35. I have an extra 1x8GB DDR3 1600 DIMM that I tested but isn't currently in use. I bought it for ~$59.99 before the price started to rise thinking I would desseminate the 2x4GB kits to other systems while transitioning to 8GB DIMMs in my main system.
If I can help it I won't buy DDR3 DIMM modules for more then I have been comfortable paying in the past (~$30 to ~$35 for 8GB) so I'll wait it out with no pressing need at the moment,.... |
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to joelurker
I had to purchase RAM for my two laptops over the weekend. I was gaming on my older Alienware M15x (i7-840QM), and started getting BSOD's telling me "Paged fault in nonpaged area." Eventually it locked up and refused to POST. I pulled the 2GB stick out of my M11x (i5-2467M), and was up and running fine...
I decided to replace all of the Nanya 1333MHz RAM with four 4GB sticks of Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600 ($33/each). A total of 4GB of 1333MHz in each would have been sufficient, but my tax return came in on Friday:) |
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KrisnatharokPC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit |
to joelurker
said by The Tech Report :PC memory prices are still rising
A little over a month ago, we learned that contract prices for PC memory modules were on the rise. Well, the tide hasn't turned, and prices are still climbing, according to a story posted by DigiTimes this morning.
DigiTimes says contract pricing for 4GB DDR3 modules has now reached $20. That's up from between $17 and $17.50 in early January, based on that month-old report, which means we're looking at a hike from $34-35 to $40 for an eight-gig DDR3 memory kit. (2GB modules have also gone up to $11 a piece, so they cost a little more per gigabyte than their 4GB brethren.)
This time, DigiTimes has some more background details on the reasons behind the hike. It turns out that DRAM manufacturers have allocated less of their capacity to PC memory and more to server and mobile RAM, according to the "Taiwan-based makers" who spoke to the site. Reportedly, PC DRAM now accounts for less than 20% of Samsung's capacity and less than 50% of Hynix's capacity.
If demand for mobile and server memory doesn't wane, DigiTimes expects contract prices for 4GB PC module to climb "toward $25." I expect retail prices to be even higher, given that 8GB DDR3-1600 desktop kits aren't available for much less than $43 at Newegg already. |
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 signmeuptoo94Bless you Howie
Premium Member
join:2001-11-22
NanoParticle |
to joelurker
Wow, so I was right weeks ago when I thought that RAM would start inching up. Maybe it will go up a lot in 6 months, like back in the DDR days... And maybe that will cause Intel to start raising prices on CPUs, too. Looks like inflation is just around the corner.
I think if you're gonna build a system, now might be a good time... |
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me1212
join:2008-11-20
Lees Summit, MO  ·Google Fiber
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to joelurker
So, now would be a good time to buy those 16GB I've been wanting? Or wait til christmas or so and hope they go back? Hopefully it doesn't go over $100 for 16GB.
I hope intel doesn't raise prices, but if they do maybe amd'll get more buys and they will step up or intel lower prices or something. |
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Thordrune
Premium Member
join:2005-08-03
Lakeport, CA |
to joelurker
To me, RAM prices are still very cheap. I remember getting a 2 GB set of PC4000 DDR in 2005 for $400  . I've been thinking about getting more RAM for my current PC but the only thing I would do with the extra amount would be running Vista/7/8 VMs on a RAMdisk purely out of curiosity. I have enough now to do that with XP or 2000 (which I've done, pretty fun to mess with  ). |
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to signmeuptoo94
Actually it might be more then that,....
I speculated in an earlier unrelated thread that the migration from desktop to mobile wouldn't necessarily mean that desktop systems would simply go away. However, a smaller market and lower demand can and likely will mean that component prices will go up,....and not just RAM prices,... |
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signmeuptoo94Bless you Howie
Premium Member
join:2001-11-22
NanoParticle |
to joelurker
Indeed, by this time next year, HD prices may be more reasonable for capacity, but RAM and processors, and maybe even GPUs are gonna go up, go up a bit, maybe even 20 percent.
In the mean time, yes, cheap tablets will become more plentiful and cheap, but before Christmas, some of them will go up too.
Chip fabs need to make a profit again, and pay for new multi million dollar equipment.
SSDs may get cheaper though, both in price and quality. |
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me1212
join:2008-11-20
Lees Summit, MO ·Google Fiber
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me1212
Member
2013-Mar-9 3:40 pm
Everything is on the rise, people are still hurting for money and can't afford all these nice things. I kinda doubt some cpu and gpu will rise as much as others. IE the k series, intel isn't really making them for your every day consumers, they know enthusiast who over clock are buying them mostly. Same with the x70/x80 nvidia gpu, they don't make those for your average joe but for people who want the most performance. And professionals don't buy those ether, they buy xeons or quadros. I'm not saying they wont rise, they will, but I don't expect it to be as much as RAM does. HDD and SSD will probably lower in price a bit since those can be/are used in laptops too.
They prices will probably come down by 2015 or so. Once they go up people will buy less and demand goes down, which in turn will eventually lead to a price drop. Such is a market economy. |
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 DKSDamn Kidney Stones
join:2001-03-22
Owen Sound, ON |
to Thordrune
said by Thordrune:To me, RAM prices are still very cheap. I remember getting a 2 GB set of PC4000 DDR in 2005 for $400 . I I remember getting 128K of RAM (8 x 16k chips) for $200 when I expanded the memory of my first computer. |
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to joelurker
The thing about SSDs and the migration to mobile is that both PC laptops and PC tablets can use small mSATA SSD units. So, again, depending on how standards are adopted we may see more of a demand for mSATA then typical SATA 2.5" and even PCIe SSD units. Right now mSATA SSD units tend to be more expensive but the future may see the inverse of this,....
I'm not saying the HDD in the retail sector will go away but portability often forgoes the use of standard HDDs so this too addresses the demand issue,....a consequences of which could give way to elevated prices. |
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DKSDamn Kidney Stones
join:2001-03-22
Owen Sound, ON |
to joelurker
Prices of DRAM expected to stabilize, NAND to fallquote:
After multiple years of double-digit drops, prices for DRAM could stabilize as demand exceeds supply and the number of memory makers dwindles, a research analyst for IC Insights said this week.
The average selling price for DRAM in January jumped by about 13 percent compared to January 2012. That's a sign that prices could stabilize or even increase over this year after incessant price drops over the last few years, said Brian Matas, vice president for market research at IC Insights.
"The DRAM market is extremely volatile. If it just gets a little bit where there is more demand than supply, then prices skyrocket," Matas said.
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 CovMac
Premium Member
join:2000-11-06
Covington, LA |
CovMac to DKS
Premium Member
2013-Mar-10 9:41 am
to DKS
said by DKS:said by Thordrune:To me, RAM prices are still very cheap. I remember getting a 2 GB set of PC4000 DDR in 2005 for $400 . I I remember getting 128K of RAM (8 x 16k chips) for $200 when I expanded the memory of my first computer. Not too bad. I paid $119 for a 16K (8 x 2K chips) add on card to upgrade my Apple ][+ to a whopping 64K of RAM in 1981! |
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 trparky
Premium Member
join:2000-05-24
Cleveland, OH |
trparky
Premium Member
2013-Mar-10 4:58 pm
Then maybe it's a good idea that I bought some more before the prices go up. I want to double my RAM in my PC since I've been recently pushing the machine harder and using more RAM. I'm going to be taking it up to 16 GBs. |
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. I've been thinking about getting more RAM for my current PC but the only thing I would do with the extra amount would be running Vista/7/8 VMs on a RAMdisk purely out of curiosity. I have enough now to do that with XP or 2000 (which I've done, pretty fun to mess with 
).
