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Server DRAM prices surge 50% as AI-induced memory shortage hits hyperscalers

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Re: Server DRAM prices surge 50% as AI-induced memory shortage hits hyperscalers

#11

Post by embedding-shape »

zparky wrote: post #5
vondur wrote: post #2

Desktop memory has also increased in price. I think it’s twice as expensive for DDR5 than it was 6 months ago.

Yep, DDR5 prices have nearly doubled in less than 2 months. https://pcpartpicker.com/trends/price/memory/#ram.ddr5.5200....

Are those graphs specifically for the US? When I change the country in the top right, it doesn't seem like the graphs are changing, and considering they're in USD, I'm assuming it's US-only?

Is the same doubling happening world-wide or is this US-specific, I guess is my question?

Edit: one data point, I last bought 128GB of RAM in March 2024 for ~€536, similar ones right now costs ~€500, but maybe the time range is too long.

Re: Server DRAM prices surge 50% as AI-induced memory shortage hits hyperscalers

#13

Post by formerly_proven »

pton_xd wrote: post #6
piva00 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've just built a gaming PC (after more than a decade without one), for curiosity's sake I just compared the prices I paid for DDR5 2 months ago to now, and at my location it already shows a 25-30% increase. Bonkers...

Same, just checked and the "G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo Series 64GB (2 x 32GB)" RAM I bought 9 months ago for $208 is now $464. That's crazy!

Feast and famine industry, it’s very traditional

Re: Server DRAM prices surge 50% as AI-induced memory shortage hits hyperscalers

#14

Post by dist-epoch »

> OpenAI's Stargate project to consume up to 40% of global DRAM output

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/dram/openais-star...

> South Korean SK Hynix has exhausted all of its chip production for next year and plans to significantly increase investment, anticipating a prolonged "super cycle" of chips, spurred by the boom of artificial intelligence, it said on Wednesday after reporting a record quarterly profit.

https://en.ilsole24ore.com/art/korean-chip-race-sk-hynix-has...

> Adata chairman says AI datacenters are gobbling up hard drives, SSDs, and DRAM alike — insatiable upstream demand could soon lead to consumer shortages

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/adata-ch...

Re: Server DRAM prices surge 50% as AI-induced memory shortage hits hyperscalers

#16

Post by brianshaler »

pton_xd wrote: post #6
piva00 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've just built a gaming PC (after more than a decade without one), for curiosity's sake I just compared the prices I paid for DDR5 2 months ago to now, and at my location it already shows a 25-30% increase. Bonkers...

Same, just checked and the "G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo Series 64GB (2 x 32GB)" RAM I bought 9 months ago for $208 is now $464. That's crazy!

I think that's nearly exactly what I paid for 2x32GB at a retail store last week. I hadn't bought RAM in over a decade so I didn't think anything of it. Wish my emergency PC replacement had occurred a year earlier!

Re: Server DRAM prices surge 50% as AI-induced memory shortage hits hyperscalers

#18

Post by sleepyguy »

Manufacturers learned a valuable lesson a few years ago: overproduction leads to lower prices. Samsung was the first to address this issue by scaling back, and other manufacturers soon followed suit (collusion, cough cough). The past couple of years have been extremely profitable for the entire industry, and they’re not about to increase production and risk hurting their profits.

I suspect they would rather face shortages then satisfy market demand.

Re: Server DRAM prices surge 50% as AI-induced memory shortage hits hyperscalers

#19

Post by tehjoker »

sleepyguy wrote: post #18

Manufacturers learned a valuable lesson a few years ago: overproduction leads to lower prices. Samsung was the first to address this issue by scaling back, and other manufacturers soon followed suit (collusion, cough cough). The past couple of years have been extremely profitable for the entire industry, and they’re not about to increase production and risk hurting their profits. I suspect they would rather face shor…

lower prices are ok if they are selling more units, the question is whether the price point * units is Pareto optimal

overproduction means unsold units which is very bad, you pay a cost for every unsold unit

underproduction means internal processes are strained, customers are angry, but a higher price per a unit... can you increase the price by more than you are underproducing?

Re: Server DRAM prices surge 50% as AI-induced memory shortage hits hyperscalers

#20

Post by markerz »

brador wrote: post #10

Regular Monopoly/Duopoly like the storage market or Nepopoly like the GPU market? Either way, without competition expect it to increase further.

It's intense market demand by people with lots of money against products that have a very long supply chain. Even with multiple sellers competing, this kind of demand is insane, and the buyers pockets run deep.

The other way I look at this is that these companies have been collecting an insane amount of wealth and value over the last 2-3 decades, are finally in a situation where they feel threatened, and are willing to spend to survive. They have previously never felt this existential threat before. It's basically bidding wars on houses in San Francisco, but with all the wealthiest companies in the world.

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