News PC RAM Price Declines Are Slowing, Says TrendForce

[Admin]

PC RAM pricing continues to fall, but at a far slower rate. However, it isn't sustainable for manufacturers to slow production and stockpile in the long term.

PC RAM Price Declines Are Slowing, Says TrendForce : Read more

 

[bit_user]

High inventory levels suggest that any rebound is going to be a gradual one, rather than a sudden spike. Although, I wonder how much of that inventory is biased towards DDR4 vs. DDR5.

 

[TJ Hooker]

I keep hearing that there's been a glut of DRAM out there for months, but ECC DDR5 still seems nearly nonexistent (and expensive) in retail/consumer channels?

 

[Makaveli]

I keep hearing that there's been a glut of DRAM out there for months, but ECC DDR5 still seems nearly nonexistent (and expensive) in retail/consumer channels?

That will most likely continue to be the case since ECC memory is bought mostly by Enterprise.

So they will want to keep the price there as high as possible.

 

[bit_user]

I keep hearing that there's been a glut of DRAM out there for months, but ECC DDR5 still seems nearly nonexistent (and expensive) in retail/consumer channels?

Which: unbuffered or registered?

I've seen unbuffered on the market and available since about December/January, with generally consistent availability since. Here's a 32 GiB DDR5-4800 Kingston part:

• https://www.provantage.com/kingston-technology-ksm48e40bd8km-32hm~7KINN0E4.htm (267 units in stock)
• https://www.newegg.com/kingston-32gb/p/N82E16820242792

Here's the same for Crucial:

• https://www.newegg.com/crucial-32gb/p/N82E16820156359
• https://www.cdw.com/product/micron-32gb-ddr5-4800mhz-ecc-udimm-2rx8-cl40-server-memory/7415973 (26 units in stock)

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be anything faster on the market. I'm therefore probably going to buy 2x 16 GiB and then just upgrade to 2x 32 GiB in a couple years, when DDR5-5600 ECC UDIMMs are cheap and plentiful (I hope).


As for Registered, they're were rumored to be in short supply due to a shortage of the additional PMIC (?) chips required by those DIMMs. I don't know where that issue stands, currently.

 

[bit_user]

That will most likely continue to be the case since ECC memory is bought mostly by Enterprise.

So they will want to keep the price there as high as possible.

Restricting supply to the point of unavailability would seem self-defeating, especially if they're really do have excess inventory. They have to carry excess inventory on their books, and that doesn't look good to investors or lenders.

When I compare the Newegg price of Kingston DDR5-4800 UDIMMs (both sold by Newegg, not 3rd parties), the ECC memory is actually a tiny bit cheaper than expected:

​

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare?CompareItemList=20-242-703%2C20-242-792

​

Unlike all previous ECC DIMMs, DDR5 must now have 25% more DRAM chips instead of 12.5%. So, if their base 32 GiB DDR5-4800 UDIMM is $125, then you'd expect their ECC version to cost about $156.25. However, that assumes basically all of the cost is the DRAM chips, so maybe it costs exactly what it should.

Then again, that non-ECC DIMM I used for comparison is one of the more expensive 32 GiB options. So, maybe not the best choice for establishing a cost basis. By contrast, Crucial has this one currently selling for just $78.

​

https://www.newegg.com/crucial-32gb-288-pin-ddr5-sdram/p/N82E16820156285

​

The ECC version I linked in the previous post is selling for $125, whereas the extrapolated price would be just $97.50.

 

[TJ Hooker]

Which: unbuffered or registered?

I've seen unbuffered on the market and available since about December/January, with generally consistent availability since. Here's a 32 GiB DDR5-4800 Kingston part:

• https://www.provantage.com/kingston-technology-ksm48e40bd8km-32hm~7KINN0E4.htm (267 units in stock)
• https://www.newegg.com/kingston-32gb/p/N82E16820242792

Here's the same for Crucial:

• https://www.newegg.com/crucial-32gb/p/N82E16820156359
• https://www.cdw.com/product/micron-32gb-ddr5-4800mhz-ecc-udimm-2rx8-cl40-server-memory/7415973 (26 units in stock)

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be anything faster on the market. I'm therefore probably going to buy 2x 16 GiB and then just upgrade to 2x 32 GiB in a couple years, when DDR5-5600 ECC UDIMMs are cheap and plentiful (I hope).


As for Registered, they're were rumored to be in short supply due to a shortage of the additional PMIC (?) chips required by those DIMMs. I don't know where that issue stands, currently.

I was looking at unbuffered, in Canada. It's actually not as bad as I thought, I guess I wasn't looking hard enough/in the right places. E.g. filtering by DDR5 and ECC on newegg.ca indicated no results, but they do in fact have some (just not flagged properly I guess).

Edit: Looks like Kingston makes some > 4800 MT/s sticks. E.g. DDR5-5600 ECC UDIMM
Price is even pretty close to 4800 MT/s ECC sticks, at least in Canada. It's all at least twice the price of the same capacity of non-ECC memory, but maybe that's normal? I've never shopped for ECC memory before.

 

[Li Ken-un]

Supermicro is still selling DDR5 ECC UDIMMs pretty cheaply: $122 for the 32 GiB. I got mine a few months ago for $112 each.

 

[bit_user]

Edit: Looks like Kingston makes some > 4800 MT/s sticks. E.g. DDR5-5600 ECC UDIMM

Hey, thanks!

I've searched their site before, but this time I just used the link I had handy, which was using their memory-finder to show memory compatible specific W680 motherboard. So, hopefully that's just because they have yet to certify it for that board and not because it's incompatible.

It's all at least twice the price of the same capacity of non-ECC memory, but maybe that's normal? I've never shopped for ECC memory before.

My recollection is that ECC memory usually carries a bigger price premium than it logically should, but not by nearly that much!

In the case of the two examples I quoted above, the Newegg price for Kingston DDR5-4800 ECC is only 20% greater than non-ECC, while Crucial's is 60.3% greater. However, I'm sure that's more to do with the price of the non-ECC DIMMs I'm comparing against ($125 vs. $78), since they differ more than the ECC DIMMs ($150 vs. $125) in both absolute and relative terms.

FWIW, the only place I found that DDR5-5600 ECC UDIMM was provantage:

PROVANTAGE: Kingston Technology KSM56E46BD8KM-32HA 32GB 5600MT/S DDR5 ECC CL46 DIMM 2RX8 Hynix A

Get Fast Service & Low Prices on KSM56E46BD8KM-32HA Kingston Technology 32GB 5600MT/S DDR5 ECC CL46 DIMM 2RX8 Hynix A and Much More at PROVANTAGE.

www.provantage.com

Out of curiosity, which sites do you usually order from?

 

[bit_user]

Supermicro is still selling DDR5 ECC UDIMMs pretty cheaply: $122 for the 32 GiB. I got mine a few months ago for $112 each.

They also did this cute thing where the only memory they certified for this motherboard is their own:

https://www.supermicro.com/en/suppo...=88114&type=DDR5&ecc=1&reg=0&fbd=0&cpu=others
​

And that is currently limited to just DDR5-4800.

 

[TJ Hooker]

Hey, thanks!

I've searched their site before, but this time I just used the link I had handy, which was using their memory-finder to show memory compatible specific W680 motherboard. So, hopefully that's just because they have yet to certify it for that board and not because it's incompatible.


My recollection is that ECC memory usually carries a bigger price premium than it logically should, but not by nearly that much!

In the case of the two examples I quoted above, the Newegg price for Kingston DDR5-4800 ECC is only 20% greater than non-ECC, while Crucial's is 60.3% greater. However, I'm sure that's more to do with the price of the non-ECC DIMMs I'm comparing against ($125 vs. $78), since they differ more than the ECC DIMMs ($150 vs. $125) in both absolute and relative terms.

FWIW, the only place I found that DDR5-5600 ECC UDIMM was provantage:

PROVANTAGE: Kingston Technology KSM56E46BD8KM-32HA 32GB 5600MT/S DDR5 ECC CL46 DIMM 2RX8 Hynix A

Get Fast Service & Low Prices on KSM56E46BD8KM-32HA Kingston Technology 32GB 5600MT/S DDR5 ECC CL46 DIMM 2RX8 Hynix A and Much More at PROVANTAGE.

www.provantage.com

Out of curiosity, which sites do you usually order from?

Memory Express is a Canadian computer chain that has a location in my city, I try to buy from them first but they don't always have the best selection, particularly for more niche things (like ECC memory). Otherwise, usually Newegg or Amazon (their Canadian webstores).

I found the Kingston DDR5-5600 on Mouser Canada, looks like they have them on their US site as well. Albeit with a several week lead time.

But the cheapest DDR5 ECC UDIMMs I could find were ~105-130 CAD for 16GB, whereas non-ECC is more like 55-65 CAD

 

[bit_user]

I found the Kingston DDR5-5600 on Mouser Canada, looks like they have them on their US site as well. Albeit with a several week lead time.

If they ship to Canada, you might do better at Provantage. For me Mouser is $167.62 and Provantage is $144.64:

PROVANTAGE: Kingston Technology KSM56E46BD8KM-32HA 32GB 5600MT/S DDR5 ECC CL46 DIMM 2RX8 Hynix A

Get Fast Service & Low Prices on KSM56E46BD8KM-32HA Kingston Technology 32GB 5600MT/S DDR5 ECC CL46 DIMM 2RX8 Hynix A and Much More at PROVANTAGE.

www.provantage.com

I've bought stuff from Provantage. The only bad experience I had was paying for the first order, where they didn't like that my shipping and billing addresses differed. I convinced them to try an second credit card, after I refused to pay by wire transfer (never pay for anything by wire transfer!) and that went through. Since then, I've bought more items and had no trouble.

Sometimes, Provantage managed to beat Newegg by a lot. Other times, they're much worse. I don't really know why, other than they probably use a different supplier network. For example, I've saved 14% off a server motherboard vs. Newegg's price.

They tend to have lower prices on professional/enterprise stuff, but I even found a Noctua CPU cooler cheaper on there than elsewhere.

 

[TJ Hooker]

If they ship to Canada, you might do better at Provantage. For me Mouser is $167.62 and Provantage is $144.64:

​

PROVANTAGE: Kingston Technology KSM56E46BD8KM-32HA 32GB 5600MT/S DDR5 ECC CL46 DIMM 2RX8 Hynix A

Get Fast Service & Low Prices on KSM56E46BD8KM-32HA Kingston Technology 32GB 5600MT/S DDR5 ECC CL46 DIMM 2RX8 Hynix A and Much More at PROVANTAGE.

www.provantage.com

​

I've bought stuff from Provantage. The only bad experience I had was paying for the first order, where they didn't like that my shipping and billing addresses differed. I convinced them to try an second credit card, after I refused to pay by wire transfer (never pay for anything by wire transfer!) and that went through. Since then, I've bought more items and had no trouble.

Sometimes, Provantage managed to beat Newegg by a lot. Other times, they're much worse. I don't really know why, other than they probably use a different supplier network. For example, I've saved 14% off a server motherboard vs. Newegg's price.

They tend to have lower prices on professional/enterprise stuff, but I even found a Noctua CPU cooler cheaper on there than elsewhere.

Unfortunately they don't ship internationally :/

Although in this case it looks like it'd end up a similar price anyway, after factoring in shipping (and possibly import fees) and converting from USD to CAD.