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The price of a stick of RAM (Random Access Memory) has seen sharp declines throughout 2023, but even though a new market research report claims those days are over, consumers still might benefit in the long run.
Market analysts Trendforce have predicted that, in sharp contrast to Q2 2023 prices declining anywhere between 13 and 18 percent, Q3 wil only see a drop of, at most, 8 percent.
While any hardware price decline is surely welcome given the (to use the technical term) absolute state of the economy, enthusiasts may be alarmed that such benefits are now doomed. Still, there are good reasons for this, and perhaps not much to worry about as we look forward to 2024.
Why are RAM price declines slowing down?
Some observers have noted that manufacturers are slowing production of DDR4, the most common RAM standard, but also suggests that manufacturers may be doing this to create scarcity – an economic tale as old as time.
However, manufacturers may be doing this due to an oversupply of DDR4, and that they may be expecting some new catalyst, like a product launch, to spur purchases.
Now, I’m not an economist, but surely, if they wanted to shift old RAM, drop the prices more? Waiting for some event to drum things up is also a bit pointless – PCs need RAM, so I’m not sure where that’s going.
Still, the fact remains that DDR5 – a nascent standard with a high price making it largely the domain of wealthy enthusiasts and high-end gamers at present – will struggle to become cost-efficient to produce and purchase if DDR4 RAM is easier to obtain, so cutting production makes sense.
And so, with Trendforce predicting that prices will in fact rise in 2024, perhaps as a result of the DDR4 stockpile being vanished by a stage magician, now might be the time to invest if you’ve been holding out. Alternatively, ‘paper hands’, or whatever.
Via Tom’s Hardware
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