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PC builders continue to jump for joy at the rock bottom prices of memory, leading to an easy decision to go with a 4GB kit in lieu of a 2GB kit of RAM. Never has memory been so cheap, and some say the market for memory makers is the worst it has been in 15 years.
And therein lies the problem. While end users are celebrating low prices, DRAM makers have been cutting back production, reducing workers' hours, and laying off employees all in an attempt drive prices back up and cope with decreased revenue. But it isn't enough, and now it appears that memory makers have reached a crossroads.
"We believe that the DRAM industry has entered the key adjusting stage of 'reduce or retire,'" DRAMeXchange stated. "The big scale reduction is now in progress and even some DRAM vendors will be out of the DRAM market in 2009. This adjusting wave will continue until the demand and supply come to balance."
According to DRAMeXchange, the cash cost of the market's 70nm technology is between $1.3 and $1.5 and is expected to drop to $1.0 to $1.2 as DRAM makers migrate to the 6x nm process. Total 12-inch wafer output continues to fall, with the reduction for November expected to be 125,000 less wafers, which is equivalent to 10 percent of the total 12-inch wafer output. The situation looks to get even worse in December, with another 17,000-wafer reduction expected, with more reductions possible in January.
"We expect the oversupply situation will be eased starting from the end of Q1 2009," DRAMeXchange said. "Therefore, the DRAM price may have a chance to rebound at the end of Q2 09 and Q3 09 with the rising demand of PC OEMS."
The question is, which memory makers will be left standing by then?
Comments are closed on this article
dankers
November 12, 2008 at 3:50pm
Quick everyone to Newegg and Tiger Direct! Grab your credit cards, buy RAM till supply meets demand! It's what I did and couldn;t be happier.
Talcum X
November 12, 2008 at 1:19pm
When RAM was $50 a MB (back in the day) there was only a handfull of makers of SIMMs out there. Most of them wernt fancy at all and just had a makers name on the chips and you had to know how to read the chip lables to know what kind of RAM you had. Now, everyone in their mother makes memory and it has flooded the market. Yes, a few makers are going to have to leave the arena for RAM to regain it's value. It's all a matter of who will make the plunge.
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Every morning is the dawn of a new error.
"In Ireland, there are more drunks per capita than people." - Peter Griffin
Talcum X
November 13, 2008 at 6:48am
I can only proof read my own work so many times, then the eyes see what's supposed to be there rather than what is actually there...Not the first time, and won't be the last, I assure you.
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Every morning is the dawn of a new error.
"In Ireland, there are more drunks per capita than people." - Peter Griffin
Pyrophorics
November 12, 2008 at 2:37pm
I guess I just dont understand. It doesnt seem like the low price of ram is the problem, its the fact that too many different companies are mass producing it so no one company is getting a lot of business.
It would seem to me that if the ram continued at the same prices but with less manufacturers then they wouldnt be complaining ... or would they?
They are making enough per stick they are just getting gready and want to hike prices. Unless execs are making millions they aren't happen .. and even when they are they still want more.
All the companies are doing it right now. How much can I milk from one product. :/
