The two main elements in any computer are the processor and its corresponding RAM memory, one does not make sense without the other, since they are complementary. Well, while the rest of the components seem to be having a significant price rise, RAM has dropped its price by almost half for manufacturers in the last year. What are the causes and how will it affect us end users?
DDR5 debuted at the end of 2021 with the launch of Intel‘s Intel Core 12 processors, while in the case of AMD it has arrived with the Ryzen 6000 for laptops and the Ryzen 7000 for desktops. However, it was born as an extremely expensive memory in which its adoption not only meant the purchase of RAM memory modules, but a whole new PC. Well, a year has passed since the launch and we find that the prices of said memory have plummeted, especially due to the accumulation of inventory.
DDR5 RAM has dropped in price by up to 43%
We are referring specifically to DDR5 memory modules with 8 GB capacity , which is good news for the general adoption of this new generation of PC RAM. However, it is not this component that is creating a barrier to its adoption, but the fact that its improvements result in such a radical change that, despite the fact that we have processors that support both DDR4 and DDR5 in the case of Intel, we do not have universal base plates. To this we must add the fact that AMD’s Ryzen 7000 sales, which only support DDR5, have not taken off in sales.
All this leads to the fact that the stock of DDR5 memory has been accumulating and has forced a drop in prices in order to give it an outlet. Although it also supposes the fact that they were being sold well above their real price, taking advantage of being a new technology that the most enthusiastic would want. However, the market situation has forced them to get off the donkey. This is important, due to the fact that it is known that South Korean memory manufacturers, led by Samsung, have been agreeing on prices for some time and a jug of cold water always goes well.
Being a basic component of any PC, one wonders how they have done so that the RAM memory modules end up accumulating, however, the answer is found in the fact that prices have risen artificially. RAM, like NAND Flash, is manufactured using less advanced transistors and lower-cost manufacturing processes than chips like CPUs and GPUs. So it is not affected by high manufacturing costs.
Its full adoption will not be completed until 2024
The reason for this is simple, the definitive leap of Intel desktop processors to use DDR5 memory will not take place until next year, since this year we will see an update of the Intel Core 13 with Raptor Lake architecture and that they bring support also for DDR4, so we will still have to wait until 2024 for DDR5 to be the only memory available on the market.
This means that if you have a computer with DDR4 memory, 2023 will be the best time to upgrade your system memory, as manufacturers will take the opportunity to clear stock from their warehouses. So, if you want to give your PC a little more performance or it is short of RAM for your day to day, then this is the best time.
