System RAM for your PC – or for other devices – could get considerably more expensive in the near future, going by a new report.
Of course, this isn’t the first time that we’ve heard this prediction, but in this case, the mentioned potential price rises for RAM sticks are worryingly steeper than earlier forecasts – and they echo a recent report from a month back.
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According to the fresh report by DigiTimes (which is based on an article from Seeking Alpha), contract RAM prices are estimated to be in line for 10% to 20% price jumps in Q3 of 2021, going by whispers from industry sources. Apparently pricing of memory modules could rise by up to 25%, depending on what kind of RAM kit you’re looking at.
The aforementioned previous forecast from April was from analyst outfit Trendforce which reckoned that RAM could go up in price by 23% to 28%, and that these increases will start to take hold in Q2 – right now, in other words.
At any rate, if you’re thinking of buying system memory, it would seem prudent to move sooner rather than later, seeing as it’s set to get a good deal more expensive if these predictions are on the money.
Under pressure
So what’s happening here? Naturally, the pressures of pandemic-related component shortages are making themselves felt, on top of increased demand for DRAM modules (remember, PC sales are up), and the fact that memory manufacturers are in the process of transitioning to DDR5 RAM adds another thorny factor into the mix.
Bear in mind that however much the price of RAM ends up increasing by – and it’s very easy to believe that there will be at least some price hiking, given the current climate – this isn’t just about the cost of standalone memory modules or kits. Laptop makers will also be paying more for the RAM that goes inside their portables, and of course the customer will ultimately pick up the cost of that (plus this will affect phones, too).
Sadly, RAM isn’t the only PC component to be heading upwards in price, as hard drives and SSDs could be set to do likewise, not to mention other hardware. The problems with getting hold of GPUs are well-documented, and CPUs in some cases, with power supplies having their own supply difficulties too (and display components, for that matter). The overall picture really isn’t pretty, particularly for those mulling over the prospect of building their own PC.
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Via Tom’s Hardware
