- Rising RAM -prices are set to affect almost any market segment
- Supply limits tied to DRAM -HUGE CHANGE DRIVING PRODUCT DEPARTMENT
- GDDR6 and DDR4 lead the current memory price increases
RAM prices are rising once again, but this time the blame finger has not only pointed to AI, new research has claimed.
The current financial quarter is reportedly bringing steep climbs everywhere, which affects everything from server memory to mobile drama and graphics cards.
New data from Trendforce, backed up by research from computer base, says DDR4 has seen the biggest jump, with prices up to 45% higher than in the previous quarter.
Ripple effect
The trend started earlier this year when the producers, including Micron, began phasing out DDR4 and LPDDR4. These were produced using older drama hubs that are now retired.
Micron issued messages about the end of the life of these products, something that had a major impact on customers in large volumes across consumer, client, mobile and data center segments.
DDR4 and LPDDR4X deficiency followed, creating a ring effect across the memory market.
In some areas, the DDR4 has temporarily become more expensive than DDR5. Prices for the DDR4 in the PC segment are now expected to rise 38-43% in 3rd quarter, up from 13-18% in the 2nd quarter. Server DDR4 is closely following an increase of 28-33%.
Graphics memory is also affected. GDDR6 is expected to rise 28-33%, making mid-range and entry-level GPU options more expensive.
GDDR7, still early in the adoption, could see prices climb by 5-10%.
Mobile devices are also not immune to the price increases. LPDDR4X is expected to jump 23-28%and LPDDR5X can rise 5–10%.
For consumers and OEMs that depend on these chips, the timing adds pressure prior to seasonal product launches.
HBM, primarily used in high performance calculation and AI, is set to rise up to 20%. Although this segment is smaller, it still means pricing for data centers and business buyers.
Micron has stated that it will support customers who need long-term delivery of 1-alpha-dram, but only for specific sectors with lower volume such as the automotive industry and industrial.
