DRAM And NAND Chip Makers Are Determined To Drive Up DDR5 And SSD Prices
We're starting to sound like a broken record (or a buffering stream, if you're not old enough to remember vinyl), but there are factors at play that could drive up system memory and solid state drive (SSD) prices throughout the course of 2024. After several consecutive quarters of declines in DRAM and NAND flash memory prices, chip makers find themselves staring at a rebound, with hopes of sustaining a price rally for the full year.
According to TrendForce, DRAM contract prices had been on a downswing for eight consecutive quarters before finally being reversed in the fourth quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, NAND contract prices had similarly declined for four straight quarters before rebounding in the third quarter of last year. The reversal is new enough that it's easy to overlook in the retail market, but could become more prominent if the efforts by chip suppliers to control capacity utilization rates prove effective.
The market research firm says contract prices are up by 13-18% for DRAM and 18-13% for NAND flash memory. TrendForce anticipates a slower growth in the second quarter, with DRAM and Flash contract prices jumping another 3-8%, followed by bigger increases in the third and fourth quarters at up to 8-13% each.
"in 4Q24, the general price rally is anticipated to continue if suppliers maintain an effective strategy for controlling output. DRAM contract prices are forecasted to increase by about 8-13% QoQ. It should be noted that the increase in DRAM contract prices will be primarily due to the rising market penetration of DDR5 and HBM products," TrendForce says.
The good news for consumers is that even with the recent rebound, there are still some solid deals to be found in memory and storage. Here are some examples...
- 32GB TeamGroup T-Force Delta RGB DDR5-7200: $124.99 (46% off)
- 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6000: $112.99
- 32GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5-5600: $96.99 (8% off)
- 2TB Crucial P3 Plus PCie 4.0 SSD: $109.99 (32% off)
- 2TB WD Black SN850X PCie 4.0 SSD: $139.95
Those are just a few examples of reasonably-priced RAM and SSDs. As always, we'll continue to highlight deals as we see them. Speaking of which, our advice once again remains unchanged in light of TrendForce's latest forecasts—if you spot a good bargain on RAM and or an SSD and are in need of an upgrade, pull the trigger.
