Chip manufacturers are pushing their DRAM components onto the market at lower prices in order to boost demand. This also benefits desktop PCs and notebooks.
The high inventories of memory chips should tempt the first chip manufacturers to more aggressive pricing. Trendforce’s well-connected market research team therefore assumes that DRAM prices will fall more sharply by the end of the year than previously assumed. According to current forecasts, prices are expected to fall by around 13 to 18 percent in the current third quarter and a further 3 to 8 percent in the fourth quarter.
Trendforce notes in its own report that the price situation around the turn of the year is difficult to estimate; a general downward trend cannot be ruled out. The current price reductions are apparently coming from South Korean manufacturers – there, for example, the two DRAM world market leaders Samsung and SK Hynix are based.
Price development for DRAM bars
Experience has shown that the cost reductions for DRAM chips are not directly reflected in the prices of finished memory sticks, but they show where things are headed. In the case of DDR4 DRAM, prices in German retail have been falling since last April. A kit with 32 GB DDR4-3000, for example, is currently available from 95 euros.
With DDR5 bars, the best prices fluctuate more – depending on whether shops currently have offers in their range. So there is currently a single 32 GB kit from 135 euros, while the next cheapest costs 180 euros. The price level apart from the best prices was almost identical in June 2022.
DDR5 modules require, among other things, a power management circuit (PMIC) for voltage regulation, which DDR4 bars do not have. It was precisely these PMICs that were in short supply for a long time, which reduced availability and drove up prices. However, the delivery situation should gradually ease.
