The latest information indicates that the fall in the price of RAM has slowed down in the last quarter compared to the previous one. A change in the trend that has been taken for certainmanipulations” from the market by the largest manufacturers in the sector. What are the measures taken and how has the cost of RAM affected users?
The current problem with the price of RAM is that it is known that the current manufacturers are mostly located in a specific geographical area, South Korea, and have a tendency to agree on prices of it, as well as its stocks. Again we find ourselves in a similar situation.
The drop in the price of RAM stops in the second quarter of 2023
According to the latest reports from TrendForce, it is indicated that the drop in the price of RAM slows down compared to the trend of a few months ago. Specific, in the last quarter it has fallen by a maximum of 5%which contrasts with the previous one, where the decrease was from 13 to 18%. These figures, which according to the market analysis firm do not refer to a single segment in particular, but include all at the same time. That is, from mobile devices and servers to home computers.
At the moment, the three largest manufacturers of RAM memory have temporarily limited their production. However, this is not to create an artificial shortage, but rather to clear out current inventory without further falling prices. We must remember that even within the same generation, from time to time faster memories come out, which limits interest in older memories. Let’s not forget that having an outdated piece of hardware taking up space in a warehouse is a waste of money in the long run.
It is a simple strategy, wait for the product already available to sell while keeping the price stable. The idea is not only for stores to make more money as motivation, but also to avoid counterproductive excess inventory. So it is still a more than usual movement in this type of situation.
Is the market preparing to say goodbye to DDR4 memory?
One of the reasons why the drop in the price of RAM has been artificially slowed down is the elimination in the stores of those memories that will soon be out of date like DDR4For example.
Although DDR5 has been with us for two years, its predecessor continues to have a high level of demand despite the fact that it is a technology whose days are numbered. The reason she’s still alive is due to the fact that the Ryzen 5000 they continue to be sold on the market, and even Intel, in its most advanced CPUs, continues to support DDR4. From there to considering that there is an excess inventory of PC memories and that a false shortage has been created, the objective is none other than to reduce the stock of these memories while the transition to fifth generation ones is completed.
Let’s not forget that once socket AM4 AMD processors are unaffordable, and Arrow Lake-based Intel Core 15s hit the market, standard memory will shift to DDR5 and DDR4 will enter the process of withdrawal from the market, which means that its demand will plummet. In any case, this will not happen overnight and the transition is turning out to be much more complex than expected.
