Question Is the cost of RAM going up everywhere?

[DZero]

This is the important point for us.

"which means that for the average consumer, the DRAM shortages could persist for quite some time now, or at least until the AI demand starts to fade away."

The fab expansion will first satisfy the AI companies, (itself a long time), and only then relieve the consumer market. We ---- don't ---- matter.

That or China starts to limit the rare earths they use and BAM, they could end into a worse situation than expecting.

 

[bigboxes]

I've been sitting on 128GB of ECC server ram since 2017. I canceled my project and have never used it. I'm going to look into seeing how much it's going for these days and maybe I will sell it. Who'd have thought?

 

[bba-tcg]

This is the important point for us.

"which means that for the average consumer, the DRAM shortages could persist for quite some time now, or at least until the AI demand starts to fade away."

The fab expansion will first satisfy the AI companies, (itself a long time), and only then relieve the consumer market. We ---- don't ---- matter.

We never did.

 

[Schmide]

So I bought 2 Kingston ddr4 2666 laptop sticks. I put them on adapters and slotted them into a b550 motherboard with a 3600. Stock they errored. Well it would boot and get to the OS but I would get kernal panics and occt would throw errors. I backed the speed down to 2400 and they were rock solid. So for about $100 i got 32GB of slow memory. 10% off the speed.

Final note: I finally got the lost SK HYNIX16GB DDR4-2666 stick. Matched it with a random Kingston stick same metrics, put it in the system and it ran fine 4x16 2400 64GB with the b550 3600. So ~$200 gets you slow 64. Note I can't find sticks for the price I got these for. $40-50. Now they are $60+.

 

[fastandfurious6]

the most interesting moment of CES 2026




notably the entire conference was devoid of anything really interesting or radical or new at all... no surprises at all.

only AI... and half the world's wafers to power endless HBM4 memory banks

 

[marees]

half the world's wafers to power endless HBM4 memory banks

not just hbm4 but also ddr5

https://twitter.com/x/status/2010796061364003232

 

[AdamK47]

The memory in my PC is now the second most valuable component in my system. Looked up the email receipt for the memory...
This was in May of 2023. It's currently $920 at Micro Center.

 

[manly]

This is the important point for us.

"which means that for the average consumer, the DRAM shortages could persist for quite some time now, or at least until the AI demand starts to fade away."

The fab expansion will first satisfy the AI companies, (itself a long time), and only then relieve the consumer market. We ---- don't ---- matter.

don't worry folks. In that same interview, Micron's VP said they're taking care of us...

https://www.pcmag.com/news/micron-killing-crucial-is-good-for-consumers-actually

 

[Steltek]

Well, apparently SK Hynix is investing $13 billion in a new advanced packaging plant that should come on line at the end of 2027 ---- to produce HBM memory only.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/13/sk-hynix-invest-13-billion-new-fab-memory-chip-shortage-advanced-packaging-ai-memory.html

Lucky us!

 

[maddie]

Well, apparently SK Hynix is investing $13 billion in a new advanced packaging plant that should come on line at the end of 2027 ---- to produce HBM memory only.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/13/sk-hynix-invest-13-billion-new-fab-memory-chip-shortage-advanced-packaging-ai-memory.html

Lucky us!

This is very hard for most of us old veterans to appreciate. This time, it really is different. The Tech billionaires and their social clique are chasing immortality through AGI, or at least they think so. Everything will be sacrificed for this goal.

 

[Steltek]

Meet the new biologists treating LLMs like aliens

By studying large language models as if they were living things instead of computer programs, scientists are discovering some of their secrets for the first time.

www.technologyreview.com

I guess this means they will have to eventually develop AI psychological models to deal with AI mental issues and disorders?

And, if so, I wonder if this means they'll need even more data centers for AI mental health monitoring?

 

[Makaveli]

$300 to $935 to now $1532 CAD

Almost more than I spent on my GPU.

 

[fastandfurious6]

yes, premium modules over >= 32GB are heavily affected... sky high prices


but normal modules from 16GB and lower are mostly fine

 

[DZero]

yes, premium modules over >= 32GB are heavily affected... sky high prices


but normal modules from 16GB and lower are mostly fine

Not really, is starting to increase in price step by step

 

[Golgatha]

Storage isn't much better. I bought an 8TB Lexar drive for $590 back in May 2025. It's now only $200 shy of what I paid for my RTX 4090 back in Dec 2022.

 

[Makaveli]

yes, premium modules over >= 32GB are heavily affected... sky high prices


but normal modules from 16GB and lower are mostly fine

This is true but it seem to be happening at all levels.

The 96GB kit use to cost $700 when I bought my 64GB kit for $300

However right now the price is so close between 96GB vs 64GB if I was buying right now I would go 96.

 

[EXCellR8]

I shouldn't have paid $350 for a 32GB CL30 kit back in Dec, but needed to. Fortunately that'll suffice for what I need the system for, because even that same kit is $500 now. Otherwise I'd double up, but not worth it.

 

[DZero]

This is true but it seem to be happening at all levels.

The 96GB kit use to cost $700 when I bought my 64GB kit for $300

However right now the price is so close between 96GB vs 64GB if I was buying right now I would go 96.

View attachment 136756

Well... checking Chinese sites, this is no longer the truth..
16 GB DDR5




And 16 GB DDR4

This is beyond insane.

 

[Makaveli]

Well... checking Chinese sites, this is no longer the truth..
16 GB DDR5
View attachment 136760



And 16 GB DDR4
View attachment 136762
This is beyond insane.

ok but i'm not ordering ram from china and this is gskill memory.

I only do local pickup so if I have an issue I can deal with it same day.

Also i'm not in the states my pricing is in CAD

32GB 6000 CL30 memory here I'm not buying 16GB of memory also.

you and I are different buyers

 

[jamesdsimone]

Look at the bright side. At some point the next version of ram will come out and all that ram the AI companies are buying up now will get dumped on the used market.

 

[dlerious]

Look at the bright side. At some point the next version of ram will come out and all that ram the AI companies are buying up now will get dumped on the used market.

Who's going to be buying all that HBM? I don't have anything that I can drop it into and I haven't heard of any consumer products coming soon that will use it.

 

[Steltek]

Who's going to be buying all that HBM? I don't have anything that I can drop it into and I haven't heard of any consumer products coming soon that will use it.

OpenAI will be the key, as they have a huge inventory of DDR5 (both finished and unfinished modules) and thus will have a lot to dump at some point once they finally convert their servers over to HBM. Altman was at one point even intentionally depleting retail memory supplies by sending employees and contractors out to retail stores in an attempt to buy out everything they could get their hands on to limit competitors.

Beyond that, though, you are right about the HBM.

It might or might not be useful for producing GPUs (which AMD has done in the past, with the R9 and Radeon VII lines), but I don't see any motherboard manufacturers --- presuming there are actually any left by that point --- producing consumer products that could use it.

The domestic Chinese market might be an exception, as they have made an art and industry out of scavenging existing technology to make things that weren't designed (or intended) to work together to do so.

 

[dlerious]

It might or might not be useful for producing GPUs (which AMD has done in the past, with the R9 and Radeon VII lines), but I don't see any motherboard manufacturers --- presuming there are actually any left by that point --- producing consumer products that could use it.

Would GPU manufacturers buy used memory? My Vega 64 has HBM2 (AI is HBM3E currently), but I'd need to try and solder/de-solder to add/subtract. There isn't anything on GPUs where you can add sticks like with a motherboard - which would add latency.

 

[Steltek]

Would GPU manufacturers buy used memory? My Vega 64 has HBM2 (AI is HBM3E currently), but I'd need to try and solder/de-solder to add/subtract. There isn't anything on GPUs where you can add sticks like with a motherboard - which would add latency.

True.

However, if it is possible, I'll bet at minimum the
Chinese GPU companies will try it -- they'll do anything that might let them catch up faster. I just shake my head at some of the insanely crazy things I see that they've managed to kludge together and make work over the last 5 years....

The only thing I'm not sure about is the packaging. From what I know, HBM3E/4 uses complicated 3d stacked packaging that wouldn't necessarily be conducive to use in GPUs.

Then again, people talented at repurposing electronics can do some amazing things. If nothing else, it will be interesting to see someone try.

 

[aigomorla]

OK so the good news tho, Monitors and TV have not gone up in prices even with the trade Tarrifs.

But i am guessing its going to be limited to that only. As i see even high power supplies going up now too along with high capacity NVME's.