Samsung Electronics to Increase its DRAM Output

[btarunr]

Samsung Electronics, one of the largest manufacturers of DRAM and NAND flash memory, is poised to increase its production of DRAM. The company is bolstered by expansion of two of its DRAM manufacturing plants, located in Hwasung and Pyeongtaek, South Korea. The company is re-purposing a portion of its 2D NAND flash line at its Hwasung plant to produce DRAM. The new production line will begin its output from Q1-2018. The Pyeongtaek plant has been seeing similar activity where DRAM manufacturing clean-rooms are being built on the plant's second floor.

It's only in the second half of 2018 when end-users could expect Samsung's increased DRAM output to have any effect on prices of PC memory. The PC industry is not the only consumer of DRAM, as a larger share of it is consumed by the mobile industry (smartphones, tablets). DRAM inventories have been under tremendous strain over the past three quarters, which have forced PC memory prices to surge by 80-100 percent and beyond.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Prima.Vera]

I foresee in 2019-2020 a severe drop on the DRAM prices due to overflow of the market. Smartphones are becoming boring, while PC/laptop sales are in constant decrease. Not even tablets are not that on demand anymore, since last year tablet is perfect for what is offering and see no reason for upgrading if current trends are followed...

 

[TheGuruStud]

I foresee in 2019-2020 a severe drop on the DRAM prices due to overflow of the market. Smartphones are becoming boring, while PC/laptop sales are in constant decrease. Not even tablets are not that on demand anymore, since last year tablet is perfect for what is offering and see no reason for upgrading if current trends are followed...

They can just lie, again, and pull another 2016. "Demand is so high and we're increasing production!" Neither were true for consumer (and this was after they admitted to cutting production, a literal admission of collusion).

 

[buggalugs]

This has been going on for years, they cap production to keep prices high. When there are only a few players in an industry, they get together and collude on pricing and production levels. Even after being sued, they still do it.

 

[dj-electric]

The NAND cartel is just laughing at us all.

 

[cryohellinc]

Good news!

 

[R0H1T]

The NAND cartel is just laughing at us all.

This is DRAM though, NAND would include the likes of Intel/Micron & the erstwhile Toshiba/Sandisk combine.

Now one could easily argue that they're just like a cartel as well, or was that your original point?

I foresee in 2019-2020 a severe drop on the DRAM prices due to overflow of the market. Smartphones are becoming boring, while PC/laptop sales are in constant decrease. Not even tablets are not that on demand anymore, since last year tablet is perfect for what is offering and see no reason for upgrading if current trends are followed...

I foresee DDR4 prices dropping sometime next year before gradually rising or (maybe) exploding again towards the end of 2019, just as the latest & the greatest in DDR5 products come online.

 

[Tsukiyomi91]

I "hope" this will lower the prices of RAM down a notch coz getting one now is simply not worth it.

 

[StrayKAT]

edit: Bah. nvm

 

[natr0n]

Need more magic/wonder ram for cheap.

 

[GorbazTheDragon]

This has been going on for years, they cap production to keep prices high. When there are only a few players in an industry, they get together and collude on pricing and production levels. Even after being sued, they still do it.

This...

Why else would they make these stupid announcements

 

[ppn]

I hope they make the move to 10nm already, to enable some single sided 16G modules.

 

[The Von Matrices]

I foresee DDR4 prices dropping sometime next year before gradually rising or (maybe) exploding again towards the end of 2019, just as the latest & the greatest in DDR5 products come online.

My experience has shown that's it's always a good decision to max out your PC with the highest capacity "obsolete" memory modules just as a new memory technology is coming out. The price of the previous generation memory just keeps appreciating as the supply dries up but people are still doing system upgrades. You just have to make sure to sell the memory before people start replacing PCs using that memory instead of upgrading. So it would make sense that DDR4 would reach a minimum price just as DDR5 was coming out, but the highest capacity DDR4 modules will increase in price after DDR5 takes over the market.

 

[ironcerealbox]

My experience has shown that's it's always a good decision to max out your PC with the highest capacity "obsolete" memory modules just as a new memory technology is coming out. The price of the previous generation memory just keeps appreciating as the supply dries up but people are still doing system upgrades. You just have to make sure to sell the memory before people start replacing PCs using that memory instead of upgrading. So it would make sense that DDR4 would reach a minimum price just as DDR5 was coming out, but the highest capacity DDR4 modules will increase in price after DDR5 takes over the market.

Your observations are pretty spot-on because DDR3 was really inexpensive approximately 18 months prior to DDR4 mass production began. The same occurred with DDR2 (less significantly from DDR3 to DDR4, however) 12 to 18 months prior to DDR3 mass production began.

I remember paying $45 to $55 per 2x4GiB kits and about $55 to $65 per 4x2GiB kits. Name brands with good or superior timings too! G.Skill 2x4GiB x2 kits with 9-9-9-24-1T/2T cost me around $100 back then.