Will SB's popularity cause DDR3 RAM prices to rise?

[VirtualLarry]

Just wondering. If everyone and their brother upgrades to SB upon release, won't that put an increased demand for DDR3 too? And therefore, won't prices start to rise again?

 

[frostedflakes]

In the grand scheme of things, enthusiasts upgrading to SB will be a drop in the bucket. Most of the DDR3 out there is sucked up by OEMs, and their customers probably don't even know what Sandy Bridge is, much less care about its release. Plus I'd imagine a lot of people who are upgrading already have 1156 or 1366 systems with DDR3.

 

[BD231]

This isn't rambus, DDR is an industry standard so there will always be demand.

Memory prices rise and fall dramatically, thats the way its always been. Buy when its low and be happy.

 

[taltamir]

SB will have no effect on pricing of RAM, this is because it uses the same RAM as the last few generations of CPUs. DDR2 has been obsolete for a while now, and while still useful if you have older components, no CPU in production works with DDR2, only DDR3.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Seems like all RAM has limited lifetime warranties so even if you won't use it for a month or more it seems smart to buy when low.

 

[llee]

I highly doubt the average consumer will even know what Sandy Bridge is. Most people don't use names like Nehalem, Lynnfield, or Bobcat. They'll go off of the common names of the chips like the Core iX, Phenom XXX or the fabricated image of brands like Centrino and Atom. With that in mind, and considering that the new SB chips will be using the same nomenclature as the previous 'tick' and 'tock', I don't think that RAM prices will fluctuate.

 

[Dadofamunky]

There might be some change, but I don't expect it to be too significant. Other factors (such as raw materials availability from China) may be a bigger factor.

 

[God Mode]

A good chance that Newegg etc will gouge for a short period. I've noticed this phenomenon whenever a new hot item comes out. Either buy now or after the intial 1st adopters buying phase ends.

 

[Nintendesert]

I wouldn't be too surprised to see the overclocked already overpriced RAM go up to take advantage of those that feel they need this kind of stuff when SB is released.

 

[Castiel]

It seems like ram pricing has dropped considerably over the past month.

 

[sxr7171]

Isn't "everyone" already using DDR3?

 

[Castiel]

Isn't "everyone" already using DDR3?

AM2+ guys and 775 guys are still using DDR2

 

[smakme7757]

AM2+ guys and 775 guys are still using DDR2

Yeap i'm still on some DDR2 Dominators who can't even run at their rated speed anymore (1066Mhz), they're old .

As to the OP, some retailers might create a price hike, but i don't think it will be a global thing.

 

[combust3r]

We have yet to see how SB IMC handle RAM voltages. There are many 1.65V DDR3 modules out there, it doesn't mean that SB will take that easily. Many manufacturers are announcing DDR3 modules targeting SB, most of them (if not all) are 1.5V modules with C7 latency.

I bought Mushkin 996946 1600Mhz C9 rated at 1.5-1.6 (1.55 rated at their website) but I'm sure it will run 1333Mhz C9 with 1.5V JIC. I would avoid 1.65V modules if you are buying DDR3 ahead of official reviews.

Regarding price, I expect that 1.65V modules will be cheaper in Feb.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

ram prices were supposed to have bottomed out at christmas and go up from there anyway.

 

[Lonyo]

RAM prices are affected by supply and demand, but mainly by supply.
Prices change predominantly based on the DRAM manufacturers and whether they need to make a profit at a given point in time.

There isn't much that a new product has to do with the price except at the start of a production cycle (e.g. when DDR3 was new) where demand is significantly impacted.

 

[flopper]

40euro for 4gb is so cheap its almost stealing.

 

[Zap]

40euro for 4gb is so cheap its almost stealing.

Cheap was 2 years ago when I bought a 4GB DDR2 kit for $15 after rebate, or when HP was dumping those 1GB sticks for FREE after rebate.

Cheapest I've gotten DDR3 was recently at around $29 for a 4GB kit.

 

[sxr7171]

AM2+ guys and 775 guys are still using DDR2

But what I sort of mean is that for a while people buying or building new machines are using DDR3. The demand mostly comes from new machines followed by upgrades.

 

[Adul]

SB will have no effect on pricing of RAM, this is because it uses the same RAM as the last few generations of CPUs. DDR2 has been obsolete for a while now, and while still useful if you have older components, no CPU in production works with DDR2, only DDR3.

False,

Phenom II and Athlon II's still work with DDR2.

 

[taltamir]

False,

Phenom and Athalon's still work with DDR2.

both of which are obsolete and haven't been in production in a while. the phenom 2 and athlon 2, the current AMD chips, are both are DDR3.
Heck, newegg doesn't even carry any phenom1 anymore, and only 1 model of athlon1.

 

[Adul]

both of which are obsolete and haven't been in production in a while. the phenom 2 and athlon 2, the current AMD chips, are both are DDR3.
Heck, newegg doesn't even carry any phenom1 anymore, and only 1 model of athlon1.

I meant the current ones Phenom II and Athlon II. I got distracted at work. These chips work with DDR2 and DDR3. I have my gf running a Phenom II x6 1075T in a DDR2 mb.

 

[taltamir]

I meant the current ones Phenom II and Athlon II. I got distracted at work. These chips work with DDR2 and DDR3. I have my gf running a Phenom II x6 1075T in a DDR2 mb.

you are right, I made an error.
Although it still will not affect pricing, not only is AMD's market-share tiny, but those processors support both DDR3 and DDR2 so many people have been getting them with DDR3.

 

[Sp12]

How did you make an error when I know you built a server box with DDR2 and an Athlon II x4 a while ago.....

 

[taltamir]

How did you make an error when I know you built a server box with DDR2 and an Athlon II x4 a while ago.....

I made the error in how I phrased my statement. I reread what I wrote and I realized that the way I phrased it leads to it being a false statement. I knew about backwards compatibility.

I said "no CPU in production works with DDR2" instead of "no CPU in production requires with DDR2". Modern CPUs are either DDR3 exclusive, or are compatible with both DDR2/DDR3.