RAM prices stable?

[sactogw]

Many of us who built our rigs early this year/late last year payed twice as much for RAM as the present cost -- heck, I payed $230(!) for 2gb of corsair xms2pro. This is the nature of the beast, I suppose; but, many will remember that RAM prices shot up before falling back down (same spec RAM). I'm wondering if there are any signs that we will see a price spike again within the next year.
Current low prices on ddr2 seem to be aided by surplus (vista hoopla?) and lack of development (ddr3 is not making much noise, yet). How long does everyone think these low prices, and practicality of going with ddr2, will uphold? It rarely makes sense to buy parts for a future build and hold onto them for a couple months; but, 30 bucks for 2gb of ddr2-800 is ridiculously cheap, and the price/performance benefits of ddr3 seem to be far off. A new build for me is a couple years of, but I'm just trying to get a better sense of the memory market. What do you think will happen?

 

[nzxtlexa]

hi sactogw,

personally i think that ram prices will stay the same for quite a while now, especially with DDR3 and higher mhz ram soon to become more and more used, therefore keeping the price of what is now technically "old" DDR2 nice and low.

hope that helps

 

[jaguarskx]

I think RAM price have stabilized. I just bought another 2GB of Corsair XMS DDR2 667 RAM for my current system; 4GB total. It'll come in more handy when I eventually move the parts over to a HTPC and install Vista.

 

[zenmaster]

I think they will be stable or fall as manufacturers start moving to denser chips.

A year ago I bought 2x2gb and there were very few options.
Now 2x2gb are widely listed.
There are now 2x4gb as the top end.

I think what you will find is that a year from now 2x2gb will be the common configuration with a much better price point.
Heck, I've seen DDR2-800 2x2gb for as low as $55. Crazy.
But that was during Black Friday ads on line.

 

[sactogw]

Thanks for the replies all. I'm in with you all in getting the hunch that the prices have likely bottomed out, and will be at this point for a while. The one thing that will probably push the prices up is lack of supply/demand, which may be long off -- i.e., much like older ddr is expensive due to lower stock and much less demand. It's difficult to guess when that will happen with ddr2; but, if 4gb of ddr2-800 continues to supply the performance needs, there is not much mainstream-demand for another standard (unless, of course, it eventually blows pc6400 out of the water). Maybe the slow advent of the 64-bit OS will tell the story? These are interesting times, and this consumer is much happier with the current RAM prices.
[I'm planning to pick up a notebook within the next 4 months, so I hope the 667 and 800 so-dimms keep in line with the current low prices -- 4gb (2x2gb) 667 for $80 right now!]