Graphics Memory Prices Surge 30% in August, Could Affect Graphics Card Prices

[btarunr]

The DRAM industry is experiencing an acute shortage of various classes of GDDR memory (graphics DDR), which could affect graphics card prices come Holiday. Supplier quotes for various graphics memory components have risen by as much as 30.8% in August, from an average of USD $6.50 in July, to $8.50. Top graphics memory suppliers Samsung and SK Hynix have committed a bulk of their inventories to manufacturers of servers and mobile handsets, which triggered the price rally. Samsung is the largest supplier of graphics memory, with a 55 percent market-share, followed by SK Hynix at 35 percent, and Micron Technology at 10 percent.



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[Dimi]

Next up: Steam sold 5 million more games last Summer sale. Could affect graphics card prices!

I've had it with this BS.

 

[bonehead123]

capitalism at it's finest

 

[Chaitanya]

Lets all blame miners. Seems like price fixing in DRAM industry seems to be working fine for the manufacturers.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Because graphics cards aren't expensive enough as it is...
Looks like next year's cards will be $100 more on principle...

 

[_JP_]

Yay, computers are ridiculously expensive again!
Really, who enjoyed paying below 1000€ for a fully-capable rig, or some 1500€ for a beast?
This is just great news all around, with the advent of IoT and computing in general.
I think the IT market and prices/business models were fine in 1992. It's great to have it like that once again.

Spoiler

>SARCASM<

 

[RejZoR]

There was a flood in Australia and this will affect potato prices in Norway. They just make shit up to jack the prices.

 

[Frick]

Yay, computers are ridiculously expensive again!
Really, who enjoyed paying below 1000€ for a fully-capable rig, or some 1500€ for a beast?
This is just great news all around, with the advent of IoT and computing in general.
I think the IT market and prices/business models were fine in 1992. It's great to have it like that once again.

Spoiler

>SARCASM<

Well, if this makes a good 1080p60FPs gaming system cost €650 instead of €600 that's not much of a loss. If you want 4K gaming you have to spend tons anyway. I assume you mean gaming capable, as this presumably won't affect CPU prices, and you get sooo much performance for momey now. If anything SSD prices is the thing most in need of shaking up.

EDIT:

There was a flood in Australia and this will affect potato prices in Norway. They just make shit up to jack the prices.

To be fair the worlds economy is made up of an insane number of highly complicated trade deals, and everything is shipped worldwide, so ... yes, I can see that happen.

 

[XiGMAKiD]

Increased CPU memory price, check.
Increased GPU memory price, check.

Now I'm waiting for NAND price increase

 

[Frick]

Now I'm waiting for NAND price increase

Now I'm sad I sold my tubes of 74-logic years ago.

 

[Liviu Cojocaru]

same BS as with the DDR4 prices and SSD prices ... just another way to rip people off

 

[XiGMAKiD]

Now I'm sad I sold my tubes of 74-logic years ago.

I misread that as "Now I'm sad I sold my tubes 74 years ago" lol

 

[Eric3988]

In other news, water is wet and roses are red. Seriously, if consumers are just going to get gouged regardless at least have the integrity to give it to us straight.

 

[Prince Valiant]

I guess the DRAM companies figured it was about time they try their price fixing shenanigans again.

 

[Hood]

I have been doing my part by not buying any PC components for the last 2 years - if the rest of you would just stop buying these overpriced parts for a year or two, prices would have to come down. I also don't own a "smartphone" - ya'll stop buying those too, and strike a blow against corporate greed!

 

[PowerPC]

I have been doing my part by not buying any PC components for the last 2 years - if the rest of you would just stop buying these overpriced parts for a year or two, prices would have to come down. I also don't own a "smartphone" - ya'll stop buying those too, and strike a blow against corporate greed!

I haven't bought a new system for much longer than that. What am I supposed to do, never upgrade?

 

[erocker]

So... Why the shortage?

 

[Prince Valiant]

So... Why the shortage?

Supposedly because they've allocated resources to servers and mobile stuff by cutting into VGA according to the article source.

The exact wording:
"Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have allocated part of their VGA RAM production capacities to producing memories for servers and handsets, fueling the price rally."

 

[erocker]

What can I say, I don't really believe them.

 

[Aquinus]

Seems like price fixing in DRAM industry seems to be working fine for the manufacturers.

This seems more than likely, at least in my opinion.

What can I say, I don't really believe them.

Neither do I. It's one thing if prices were raised slightly by one organization in order to offset some cost but, the leaders of a market don't just start charging significantly more in tandem out of nowhere.

 

[xorbe]

Oil up 25% on the news of dram shortages! "We won't be able to accurately calculate future profits without more ram, so we have to preemptively adjust pricing temporarily."

 

[Prima.Vera]

Well, is not the first time this happens, and definitely not the last time. But like always, the market and in the end, the...enduser, are the ones that going to dictate the prices. If a product is expensive enough, it will not be bought. Simple. Then they will have plenty amount in stock, so the only way to get rid off, is to lower the prices. By a lot. IT industry is not like the Food industry, so they can play with the prices as they see fit. IT industry is in a constant move and change, with new products and technologies launched monthly; so you cannot keep the same price for a product that is going to be old and deprecated in less than a year....

 

[Captain_Tom]

Well, if this makes a good 1080p60FPs gaming system cost €650 instead of €600 that's not much of a loss. If you want 4K gaming you have to spend tons anyway. I assume you mean gaming capable, as this presumably won't affect CPU prices, and you get sooo much performance for momey now. If anything SSD prices is the thing most in need of shaking up.

EDIT:

To be fair the worlds economy is made up of an insane number of highly complicated trade deals, and everything is shipped worldwide, so ... yes, I can see that happen.

100% agreed.

SSD prices are (for me) the most egregious right now. Yeah DDR4/3 is expensive again, but at least it is generally faster and of higher capacity than before.

SSD's are just double the price (or more ) than they used to be.

 

[Liviu Cojocaru]

Well, is not the first time this happens, and definitely not the last time. But like always, the market and in the end, the...enduser, are the ones that going to dictate the prices. If a product is expensive enough, it will not be bought. Simple. Then they will have plenty amount in stock, so the only way to get rid off, is to lower the prices. By a lot. IT industry is not like the Food industry, so they can play with the prices as they see fit. IT industry is in a constant move and change, with new products and technologies launched monthly; so you cannot keep the same price for a product that is going to be old and deprecated in less than a year....

I beg to differ, if the demand is high enough this will go through...look at the DDR4 situation, the prices are way higher than it used to be but people are still buying because they need it

 

[bonehead123]

Word: supply
Word: demand

Both of these factors are at play here, similar to other commodities.

The worlds energy sector has been (successfully) playing this same exact game for decades now...get used to it...

As I said earlier.....textbook Capitalism, at its finest