Current computer prices, especially memory and GPU-chips

[Franklan]

Apple is reportedly buying up all available mobile DRAM at very high prices to starve out its competitors

If things keep going on like that, the computer landscape in Europe will look like the streets of Cuba in five years. They have to keep old cars running at all costs (because of the embargo)... and we have to keep all old computers/Laptops/Mobile phopnes running as we cannot effort to buy new stuff...

[Eric7]

Yes, I was horrified a couple of weeks ago when checking the prices of RAM.
I needed 3 new mini-PCs for 3D rendering duty and a 64GB kit was something like €650 compared to €150 last year.
I ended up cannibalising other PCs and laptops to spread out the RAM and bring them up to a bare minimum of 32GB each.
Not ideal but will have to do for now!

[yesterday]

Anyone got an idea on whats causing this and maybe how long this will last ?

Like I want to but this, but look how the price has changed

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[Franklan]

There is DRAM, that's the "normal" RAM in a consumer grade PC. And then there is NAND, that is basically what consumer grade SSDs contain.

And then there is HBM, "High Bandwith memory". That is the sort of RAM used in professional AI data centers.

There is currently so much hype around AI that the traditional HBM producers cannot supply the demanded quantities and as a result, the current prices for HBM went insane.

However, due to the current hype, everybody investing in AI data centers is willing to pay those insane prices, as long as you actually can deliver.

As a result, the three major manufacturers Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have shifted away from producing consumer grade DRAM or consumer grade NAND, towards producing professional HBM (because that's were the money is at the moment).

The current pricing of consumer grade RAM and SSD reflects the fact that the major suppliers do not have their machines running to produce those consumer grade products.

I do not expect this to change before 2027.

[Emkay]

Reminds me of way back in the early nineties, when I worked for a computer company. Most customers were burgled, only memory was stolen.