Is RAM likely to fall significantly anymore this summer + any performance boost

[KyleMac]

Last year it was £25 for 256mb anything, right now it's about £40 for 256mb PC2100. Is it likely to get to £25 again before September?

What sort of a performance boost would an extra 256mb PC2100 (on top of 256mb already) be in modern games such as RtCW and MoHAA?

Not related to the topic but GF5s are expected to be the next model up from GF4s, not a replacement right? i.e. they're not going to push GF4 prices down much.

 

[nightelf]

Originally posted by: KyleMac
Last year it was £25 for 256mb anything, right now it's about £40 for 256mb PC2100. Is it likely to get to £25 again before September?

Well, what kind of RAM are you talking about?? Last year, I dont think there was any DDR Ram on the market, and I assume the RAM prices you said that were from "this year" is DDR Ram. The prices from "last year" I assume you were talking about SDR SDRAM.

Anyways, no, It's July right now and September is only 3 months away (counting September..). So, will there be almost a 40% drop in price over three months of the latest and "bestest" Ram? No. I really don't think so.

What sort of a performance boost would an extra 256mb PC2100 (on top of 256mb already) be in modern games such as RtCW and MoHAA?

Even for intensive games, I really dont think you're gonna be seeing much of a difference betweeen 512 and 384. If I were you, I would just buy (high-quality) 128 more over your 256. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong...

Not related to the topic but GF5s are expected to be the next up from GF4s, not a replacement right? i.e. they're not going to push GF4 prices down much.

How does your definition of a 'replacement" differ from that of a "upgrade"?? They release a new , and many people will "upgrade" or "replace" their existing card (no diff). About the prices, their will probably be a definite drop, but the cards will still be mid-to-high-end for a while, so don't expect HUGE price drops until a bit afterwards.

Hope this helps....

 

[ElFenix]

i got 2 256 DDR 2100 at crucial this time last year for about $37 a stick. last week they had the 15% off and a $10 coupon making it $39. i dunno if it will drop more or not... but 256 for $40 is a nice price. i dunno what it would be over in merry olde england, though.

 

[KyleMac]

Last year it was £25 for 256mb anything

By anything I mean SD and DDR RAM (probably wasn't 2100 if there is anything below that). I remember saying to my friend last year that DDR had dropped in price as well after looking at crucial.com quite clearly.

right now it's about £40 for 256mb PC2100.

Says it itself.

I really dont think you're gonna be seeing much of a difference betweeen 512 and 384.

Maybe so but there isn't really much point filling slots with small amounts of ram when you can afford 256 quite easily (but not 512).
In RtCW and MoHAA my old 700mhz with 384mb SD can give my 1.47ghz with 256mb DDR a run for its money. People with similar specs to me (but 512mb DDR) can get smoother fps. My FPS totally crashes when I walk into a new room for example.

How does your definition of a 'replacement" differ from that of a "upgrade"??

The Ti4600 is not a replacement for the Ti4400 but is still an upgrade. If the GF5 was to be sold at £325 and shift the Ti4600 down from £315 to say £250 that I would consider a replacement. If the GF5 was to be sold at £400 while the Ti4600 just went to £310 that I would consider just the next model up.


Well anyway the point in this is that Crucial have an "£8 voucher". Depending on if they take it off before or after VAT (they never seem to be able to decide) 256mb PC2100 would be £32-£33.

 

[xylem]

DDR most certainly was available a year ago, and prior to that time. KyleMac, prices for pc2100 are almost as low as they dipped during last year. Crucial isn't going to be as good a buy as it was before, unless the price drops on their top-line product... their best chips aren't going into pc2100 any more.

You'll probably see a benefit going from 256 to 512, more if you use Win XP. I personally would stay away from 128mb sticks, since a 256 will be more useful to you for longer.

I imagine GF4 prices will follow the same trend as any video card when the next gen part comes out. Prices should drop.

 

[kami]

I bought some Samsung PC2100 a few weeks ago, and now it's almost $15 more at the same store! I think it's going up?

 

[KyleMac]

Care to recomend any brand better or just as good and cheaper than Crucial? My current 256mb is Crucial, cost goddamn £65 too.

 

[goog40]

If you're going to buy DDR RAM I'd suggest you buy it now. RAM prices on the spot market have been going upwards steadily since bottoming out three weeks ago, and just yesterday DDR chips went up about 5% on the spot market, and today they're up between 9-14%. Prices are up about 50% over three weeks ago(although the largest increases were just in the last two days).

The low price on pricewatch for a 256mb PC2100 was $34 a few days ago, now it's $39. Mushkin's 512mb DDR has gone from $75 to $81 and now $88.

Daily data on the spot prices, however, temporarily showed a slight increase in June. This was because of U.S.-based Micron Technology Inc.'s reduction of its shipments to an adequate level after its settlement period in May.

I read that the memory makers are probably cutting teh supply to inflate the price during the summer, when demand is usually low, so that the prices will be nice and high for August/September, when demand usually increases.

As to the original question on performance, I went from 512mb of PC133 ro 256mb and definitely noticed the difference just using multiple windows of IE and running other programs in the background. I haven't noticed a big difference in games though.