The DRAM price hike mess is making it extremely difficult to find decently priced DDR5 RAM modules or kits worldwide.
South Korea DIY Market Witnesses Insane Memory Price Hike; 16 GB-5600 DDR5 Went from $47 to $142 Per Module
It's insane that now distributors have started "forcing" customers to buy a motherboard with every RAM module. This "AI" boom has created such a mess in the hardware market that regular users are now forced to pay 2X the price they would usually pay for a module/kit. But if you think 2X price is crazy, then you haven't taken a look at Samsung's DDR5 memory costs in the South Korean DIY market.
Danawa, which tracks the prices on different retailers in South Korea, shows that the Samsung Electronics DDR5-5600 16 GB module has risen by a whopping 3X+ in the last three months. In August, the module was selling for 69,246 Won, which translates to around US$47. Right now, it's selling for an incredible 208,090 Won or US$142. The graph shows that the price increase was steady in August and September.
At the end of October, the prices started to soar drastically, and at the beginning of this month, the growth rate is even higher. In some retail stores, the module is selling for as high as 216,500 Won or US148. For this price, it was easier to get a premium 32 GB DDR5 kit a few months ago, but now you get a generic module with just 5600 MT/s clock speed. This is far higher than what we reported recently about Samsung increasing its DRAM chips prices by nearly 60%.
Even though DDR5 prices in other regions have also risen sharply, they are mostly at 2X, but yes, some modules are selling for as high as $100+, such as the Corsair Vengeance RGB 16 GB 5200 MT/s module, which is right now listed at a whopping $125 on Amazon US. DRAM shortages aren't just affecting the regular desktop and laptop DDR RAM modules, but are also impacting the prices of mini PCs, pre-built systems, and GPUs as well.
Just today, it has been reported that AMD has announced an imminent price hike for its GPUs due to higher DRAM prices, and this is the second such announcement since October. We don't know how long this will last, but until we don't hear about this "AI demand" shows signs of cooling, DRAM prices will keep climbing.
News Source: @harukaze5719
About the author: Sarfraz Khan is a hardware reporter with a focus on PC components and the builder community. With years of experience writing about PC hardware and laptops, his work has been featured on several reputable technology publications. Sarfraz's hands-on experience is demonstrated through his first-person accounts of using and comparing different hardware configurations, providing practical and relatable insights for everyday users. His technical analysis is respected by peers in the enthusiast community and has been cited by specialized hardware sites such as Germany's Igor's Lab.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
