[Stratus_ss]

Specifically wondering about DDR3.
Has anyone heard anything that might indicate the prices coming down?

[18 is # 1]

My two cents...
DDR prices are subject to supply and demand (I know, duh!) like any other commodity. DDR1 prices are high because of low demand and low supply. DDR2 prices are low because of too much supply. DDR3 prices, while they have dropped some as any new piece of electronics initially does, are going to remain up as more and more computers are requiring it. The sheer number of people moving to i5 and i7 will keep it inflated (not to mention box makers like Dell as they evolve). Also, the manufacturers don't want to make too much and get burned like they did with DDR2.

[Reefa_Madness]

I've read a post by OCZ's Tony, over at XS (see post #15)

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=228641

as well as some articles in tech trade ezines that RAM prices are on their way up. I noticed about 4 weeks ago that the Crucial 3x2GB DDR2-1333 kit from Newegg which was selling for about $92, have now risen to $110. I was interested in those particular kits because they are supposed to have the same ICs as the OCZ "Animals" there were being discussed in that linked thread.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148247

[madhatter256]

That's what they said about DDR2 about a year ago and it is still very cheap today....

[Reefa_Madness]

That's what they said about DDR2 about a year ago and it is still very cheap today....

I understand where you are coming from. I am certainly not in favor of price increases, however, do note that I've pointed to a price increase in a specific retail product, plus in the ezine articles that I read and referred to, they pointed to specific market price increases in ICs over the last two months or so. None of these were "projections" or wishful thinking, but instead were actual documented increases. These increases is what Tony was referring to when he posted that the cost of their raw materials was going up. Whether or not these are isolated cases or a trend, only time will confirm.

[Omega Destroyer]

RAM prices are generally going down, but because one company doesn't control the prices, there usually isn't big price drops.
For example, Intel can have price drops because it fixes the price that it sells CPUs to retailers. Because Intel is the only supplier of Intel chips and the only other competition is AMD which offers a fairly different product, Intel can set the price at whatever it wants (within reason).
Then when Intel thinks it's a strategic time to drop the price they do.

RAM on the other hand is sold by many manufacturers and they all sell pretty much the same thing. Because competetion is so tight, no one manufacturer gets to set the price but rather as they compete with one another the price gradually decreases. This is why there aren't "price drops" but constant decreases in the price of RAM.

A while back there was some lawsuit against the RAM companies for price fixing but I'm not sure how that turned out. There, I think they got together and decided to set a price floor so they wouldn't compete with each other and drive each other's margins lower.

[ratbuddy]

*Threadjack!*

Anyone remember the 'RAM factory fire' many years back when prices on 72 pin (and maybe 30 pin too) memory went through the roof?

[Reefa_Madness]

If someone wants to speculate, that is certainly their prerogative, but perhaps some of you other guys might be interested in reading current news (all of the following were available with a simple Google search). Here are a couple of partial quotes from articles on the topic and links for anyone interested in reading about what is actually going on with DRAM pricing at this time.

Electronics buyers can expect DRAM prices to rise through the rest of the year because of production cutbacks, rising demand and migration to higher-density, higher-priced parts.
The average price of a DRAM was about $1.27 in the first quarter and then increased to $1.44 in the second quarter, says researcher IC Insights. The price will rise to $1.63 in the third quarter and then to $1.73 in the last quarter of 2009. For the entire year, the average DRAM price will be $1.54, according to the researcher.

http://www.purchasing.com/article/314929-Expect_higher_DRAM_prices_later_in_the_year_as_dem and_rises.php

The recent fixed-trade price of mainstream 1Gb 128Mx8 667Mhz DDR2 was $1.41, which is a 5.2 percent increase compared to early this month at $1.34, and a 15.6 percent jump from a month ago at $1.22.

The price has nearly doubled compared to the $0.81 price it hit in the second week of January this year.

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2909095

I would consider a doubling in price to qualify as an increasing trend. I would also consider the comments about rising prices from Tony and RyderOCZ (specific to DDR3 in this case), people in the know, to be worthy of consideration. How far they will rise and for how long, I certainly don't know, but which direction are they currently headed...hard to argue with the facts that they are rising.

[MongGrel]

After that dead elpedia fiasco I had read the prices were going up on DDR3, who knows. I'm not buying any awhile I guess anyways have some ram laying about doing nothing atm

Yeah and all those projections are great, considering the state of most economies atm if they don't sell it it won't go up too much.



I imagine there are enough companies that will drive it up though anyway, just have to see I guess.