are memory prices good right now?

Sunny129

Diamond Member
Nov 14, 2000
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ok, the prices of RAM seen to have highs and lows just like the stock market. i was just wondering where between "high" and "low" the prices are sitting right now. i am planning on getting two 512MB sticks of PC2700 DDR SDRAM @ $123.00 apiece. now at first it just sounded like a good price, but then i realized i had nothing to compare it to, except for the two 128MB sticks of PC133 i bought 2 years ago, which really can't be used as a comparison. i was wondering if the current price of the memory i'm looking at is going to get much less than $123.00, if at all...what do you all think?
 

Chaotic42

Lifer
Jun 15, 2001
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Prices have gone up quite a bit lately.

My 512MB DIMM that was $175 a month and a half ago is now likw $220.

I don't want to give you any advice, that's not my thing.
 

Chain777

Senior member
Nov 21, 2001
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Sunny,

You're right. It's like playing the market. Buy low, sell high. Just get the timing right. For an example I bought a 256MB stick of Crucial DDR-233 last Feb. @ $43.00 shipped, then got another stick for $29.00 shipped in April. Both good prices, but just goes to show it's all in the luck of the draw.


Good Luck,

(Trust your gut feeling);)
 

Sunny129

Diamond Member
Nov 14, 2000
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well thanks for the price comparison anyways...

also, its going to be a while before i actually find and purchase a mobo i like, so it would be better to wait and get my RAM when i get the mobo if mempry prices are falling. on the other hand, it would be better to just get it now if prices are on the rise...
 

bravesfan258

Member
Nov 27, 2001
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You can look at price trend graphs for RAM (or most any other product) at pricescan.com. Look for prices on, say, Cruial 256 meg DDR. It will display a list of vendors and current prices, and you can then select the 'Price Trend Graph' above the table. This will show you a year long graph of the higest, lowest and average prices for the procuct over the last year.

The graph shows RAM prices now at about the midpoint between the highest and lowest prices in the last year, but there has been a recent jump in prices.

Good luck with your build.
 

Mavrick007

Diamond Member
Dec 19, 2001
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That's a good price for Ram right now, but I doubt it is quality stuff. It's probably not Samsung, Crucial, Corsair or Mushkin, which is what I would stick with, albeit at a higher premium too but you get what you pay for.
 

Sunny129

Diamond Member
Nov 14, 2000
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actually the two sticks 512MB of PC2700 i am looking to buy is in fact Samsung. i know that if there's one component in a system that isn't worth being cheap on is memory.
 

Chaotic42

Lifer
Jun 15, 2001
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Originally posted by: Sunny129
actually the two sticks 512MB of PC2700 i am looking to buy is in fact Samsung. i know that if there's one component in a system that isn't worth being cheap on is memory.

Samsung chips *and* PCB or just chips?
 

Sunny129

Diamond Member
Nov 14, 2000
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ok now i'm not so sure...i searched for "samsung PC2700 512MB" at pricewatch.com. i linked to a few of the sites selling the product and looked at the product details/tech specs. some say that either samsung, micron, or other chips are used in that specific product line (even though it is labeled as Samsung). so i know that stuff isn't what i want. but then other websites are unclear about whether both the PCB and the chips are made by Samsung. some sites use only Samsung chips (i.e. there is no chance you get RAM with any other kind of chips on it), but it doesn't specify anything about who makes the PCB. where can i find Samsung PC2700 and be sure that both the chips and the PCB are made by Samsung?and on top of that, will it be much more than $123.00 for 512MB? if so, maybe i'm better off getting some Corsair XMS3200...anyways, let me know what you all think

eric
 

Sunny129

Diamond Member
Nov 14, 2000
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^...hey guys, i need to know where to find the Samsung PC2700 whose chips and PCB are both made by Samsung, and not just one or the other.
 

John

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: Sunny129
^...hey guys, i need to know where to find the Samsung PC2700 whose chips and PCB are both made by Samsung, and not just one or the other.

Samsung Original @ newegg.com
 

Sunny129

Diamond Member
Nov 14, 2000
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cool...adding the word "original' to my search really helped in finding chips and PCB both made by Samsung. but the stuff at newegg is $170.00 for 512MB. and the cheapest 512MB stick is $140.95, which makes me wonder if i should spend the few extra $ on Corsair XMS3200, XMS3000, or even XMS2700 (whose cas latency is 2 as opposed to Samsung original's cas2.5). and when i run a search on pricewatch for "corsair XMS3200 512MB", am i getting quality chips and PCB, or am i running the same risk of just getting good chips on crappy PCB like i did when i ran a search for samsung without the "original"?