Tweets from Taiwanese industry sources indicate that the DRAM market will continue to face challenges through the end of 2022. Digi Times reports that DRAM spot prices have fallen 40% this year. Specifically, spot prices for DDR4 and DDR3 memory ICs of all sizes dropped significantly in 2022. Perhaps most interested by the PC enthusiast and his DIY enthusiast is the contract price of the 8GB DDR5 RAM module at the end of February and the end of October this year.
Ideally, the entire PC industry would have transitioned to DDR5 system memory in 2022, supporting the latest platforms from AMD and Intel. However, those who bought the DDR5 build, especially earlier this year, had to pay a significant premium to add memory on top of new CPUs, motherboards, etc. So some motherboards The manufacturer proudly offered identical motherboards for the latest generation Intel CPUs in configurations that support DDR4 or DDR5.
So it’s impressive that contract 8GB DDR5 module prices have fallen 43% in eight months, but what about consumer pricing? 16GB (2x capable 8GB modules) from some of the biggest brands Let’s take a look at the kit’s Amazon DDR5 price tracking chart to see what has happened since Spring 2022 (about nine months).
|
16GB DDR5 (2x 8GB) kit |
Spring 2022 price |
Current price |
|---|---|---|
|
Crucial DDR6 4800MT/s CL40 Desktop Kit |
$132 |
$71 |
|
Kingston Fury Beast 4800MT/s CL40 Desktop Kit |
$167 |
$93 |
|
PNY Performance 4800MT/s CL40 Desktop Kit |
$200 |
$130 |
|
Corsair Vengeance 4800MT/s CL40 SO-DIMM Laptop Kit |
$140 |
$63 |
The Amazon price snapshot comparison above shows some worthwhile price drops. That means putting together a DDR5 system by the end of 2022 won’t be too much of a pain for the pocket. With prices between $50 and $60 today, much of the DDR5 premium seems to have disappeared. However, the recently released faster, cutting-edge DDR5 kits aren’t covered by the three-quarters of the yearly price comparisons.
Returning to the topic of the DRAM market in general, DigiTimes reports that there are currently no signs of recovery in this semiconductor business segment. The biggest impact currently being felt is due to DRAM makers overstocking and device makers being cautious about ordering. We reported last month that Micron is trying to cut production of his DRAM (and NAND) to drive up prices, but such unilateral actions usually don’t seem to do much. In Q3, DRAM makers reported a 30% drop in quarterly revenue, but of course, it’s too early to see numbers for Q4 2022.
NAND News Nuggets
Before we go any further, a source article shared some additional news regarding NAND Flash pricing. According to the company, prices for TLC NAND wafers continue to trend downward, dropping as much as 20% in the last quarter, making it starting to become uneconomical to produce these chips. However, the SLC NAND price trend has held up much better.
The DRAM and NAND contact price movements commented above are a double-edged sword for consumers. We would love to see cheaper RAM and flash storage at retail, but we also need to enable companies to generate a sustainable income from production.
