Gaming RAM, specifically that of the DDR5 variety, is set for a major price increase soon as reports suggest that SK Hynix, likely followed by Samsung and Micron, are going to raise prices of DRAM chips, which will then have a knock on affect on memory sticks. This comes off the back of a difficult period for DRAM prices as high bandwidth memory (HBM) demand skyrocketed for AI use while the resources required to produce DDR5 memory were reallocated, leading to this delayed price increase.
All signs suggest that if you need the best gaming RAM, like the Corsair Vengeance LPX, now is the time to buy. The price increases aren’t entirely surprising, but an expected jump is plenty of reason to get in before the changes kick in.
The immediate price rises are reported by Taiwan Economic Daily who suggest SK Hynix is set to increase its DDR5 prices by 20%, which is a 15% increase on the previous quote. Meanwhile, more broadly, prices of both DRAM and NAND flash are expected to hit an all-time high, peaking in 2025 with manufacturers projected to earn more than double the projected annual revenue of 2023, according to TrendForce.
The leading cause of this fluctuation is HBM, which is incredibly expensive and crucial to AI operations. Despite accounting for less than 5% of the overall memory shipped, its costs and production needs are still having a major knock-on effect on production of other types of memory.
Manufacturing resources used for DDR5 production are being pulled away to satisfy the orders of HBM, which are currently sold through 2025 as production capacity is maxed out.
The end result is a price increase for customers, as the likes of SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron now have to account for their decreased DDR5 production by raising the price of what they project they will have available. The goal is to dampen some of the demand, preventing a situation where their DDR5 allocation runs completely dry.
While all that sounds quite alarming, it’s worth reiterating that the price increase is expected to be around 20%. That’s a good enough reason to buy now but we don’t expect to see the sort of price and availability problems that beset graphics cards during the pandemic, for instance.
Meanwhile, on the topic of remarkable RAM increases, we’ve recently seen Nvidia GPUs sporting double VRAM, but not all is as it seems.