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RAM now represents 35 percent of bill of materials for HP PCs

arstechnica.com

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Re: RAM now represents 35 percent of bill of materials for HP PCs

#11

Post by throw_m239339 »

Aerroon wrote: post #9

I think Europe should invest into manufacturing RAM. RAM isn't going anywhere, all of modern compute uses it. This would be an opportunity to create domestic supply of it.

> I think Europe should invest into manufacturing RAM. RAM isn't going anywhere, all of modern compute uses it. This would be an opportunity to create domestic supply of it.

It's easy to build factories, much more difficult to train the engineers required to run them... and let's not even talk about all the crazy regulations & environmental rules at the EU level that make that task even more difficult, because yes, chip factories do pollute... a lot.

Countries like South Korea or Taiwan have adapted all their legislations and tax, environmental regulations to allow such factories to operate easily. The EU and EU countries will never do that... better outsource pollution and claim they care about the planet...

Re: RAM now represents 35 percent of bill of materials for HP PCs

#12

Post by trollbridge »

throw_m239339 wrote: post #11
Aerroon wrote: post #9

I think Europe should invest into manufacturing RAM. RAM isn't going anywhere, all of modern compute uses it. This would be an opportunity to create domestic supply of it.

> I think Europe should invest into manufacturing RAM. RAM isn't going anywhere, all of modern compute uses it. This would be an opportunity to create domestic supply of it. It's easy to build factories, much more difficult to train the engineers required to run them... and let's not even talk about all the crazy regulations & environmental rules at the EU level that make that task even more difficult, because yes, c…

Doesn’t the EU have an excellent education system?

Re: RAM now represents 35 percent of bill of materials for HP PCs

#13

Post by asadm »

tehlike wrote: post #6
asadm wrote: post #4

i am working on my side-product [1] where i was exploring a Rockchip which required external memory (just 1G) which went from $3 to $32 and completely destroyed economics for me. I settled with one with embedded memory and optimizing my code instead :) 1. https://x.com/_asadmemon/status/1989417143398797424

I suspect game development will be similar - game companies will optimize their games given customer cards are not going to be released for a while or will be too expensive.

win win, considering the slop game studios are pushing out these days.

Re: RAM now represents 35 percent of bill of materials for HP PCs

#14

Post by hsbauauvhabzb »

jld wrote: post #10
re-thc wrote: post #8

What!? I always thought we could just download more RAM!

http://computeradsfromthepast.substack.com/p/connectix-ram-d...

> RAM was expensive at the time. For example, an 8 MB stick cost $300.

So why you’re saying is that it could be worse, but not by much?

Re: RAM now represents 35 percent of bill of materials for HP PCs

#15

Post by rafaelmn »

locusofself wrote: post #2

Jeez. I'm glad I "splurged" for the 24gb RAM in my macbook air. Should last me a few more years..

The joke is that Apple RAM pricing is now close to market level, they still have margin in there even at market prices, and they are notorious for supply chain management and locking in contracts/prices ahead of time. So doubt Apple will change anything here short term.

On the flip side if you're buying a new computer in 2026 - it's going to be even harder to justify not getting a MacBook, the chips are already 2 years ahead of PC, the price of base models was super competitive, now that the ram is super expensive even the upgraded versions are competitive with the PC market. Oh and Windows is turning to an even larger pile of shit on a daily basis.

Re: RAM now represents 35 percent of bill of materials for HP PCs

#16

Post by bsimpson »

jld wrote: post #10
re-thc wrote: post #8

What!? I always thought we could just download more RAM!

http://computeradsfromthepast.substack.com/p/connectix-ram-d...

Connectix was a big deal in its day. RAM Doubler was considered essential software.

They also marketed the first webcam, and made emulators mainstream. Their PlayStation emulator is the basis for the case law that says emulators are fair use, decided as a result of a suit from Sony.

Re: RAM now represents 35 percent of bill of materials for HP PCs

#17

Post by throw_m239339 »

trollbridge wrote: post #12
throw_m239339 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think Europe should invest into manufacturing RAM. RAM isn't going anywhere, all of modern compute uses it. This would be an opportunity to create domestic supply of it. It's easy to build factories, much more difficult to train the engineers required to run them... and let's not even talk about all the crazy regulations & environmental rules at the EU level that make that task even more difficult, because yes, c…

Doesn’t the EU have an excellent education system?

> Doesn’t the EU have an excellent education system?

Well, the EU has not manufactured a whole lot of chips in the last 30 years, where do you get the people with the professional experience to teach new engineers... Oh you mean you have to import the teachers from South Asia too? /s and it takes what, 5 years at the minimum to train an engineer? France and UK used to produce entire home computers... in the 80's...

Re: RAM now represents 35 percent of bill of materials for HP PCs

#18

Post by bsimpson »

tehlike wrote: post #6
asadm wrote: post #4

i am working on my side-product [1] where i was exploring a Rockchip which required external memory (just 1G) which went from $3 to $32 and completely destroyed economics for me. I settled with one with embedded memory and optimizing my code instead :) 1. https://x.com/_asadmemon/status/1989417143398797424

I suspect game development will be similar - game companies will optimize their games given customer cards are not going to be released for a while or will be too expensive.

I hope so.

Resource usage has been on a hedonic treadmill at least since I came online in the 90s. Good things have come from that, of course, but there's also plenty of abstraction/waste that's permitted because "new computers can handle it."

With so many gaming devices based on the AMD Z1 Extreme platform (and its custom Valve corollaries) over the past few years, it'll be great to see that be the target/baseline for a while. Brings access to more players and staves of e-waste for longer.

Re: RAM now represents 35 percent of bill of materials for HP PCs

#19

Post by SolubleSnake »

throw_m239339 wrote: post #11
Aerroon wrote: post #9

I think Europe should invest into manufacturing RAM. RAM isn't going anywhere, all of modern compute uses it. This would be an opportunity to create domestic supply of it.

> I think Europe should invest into manufacturing RAM. RAM isn't going anywhere, all of modern compute uses it. This would be an opportunity to create domestic supply of it. It's easy to build factories, much more difficult to train the engineers required to run them... and let's not even talk about all the crazy regulations & environmental rules at the EU level that make that task even more difficult, because yes, c…

I am a CAD engineer and software developer who has worked in manufacturing a lot in the UK in various industries - products as big as superyachts and as small as peristaltic pumps. I think if the UK and EU are to try and defend their weakening and shrinking manufacturing sectors (these industries have been disappearing for my entire adult life) then it is possible but difficult...In 10 to 20 years it will be impossible.

The reason is as you have described. We are getting close to where the numbers of people with practical experience working in, managing, and designing things like the work processes and factory layouts in industries that build physical products are disappearing. We're losing a lot of capable practical engineers with hands on experience. We can keep the universities going teaching the physical subjects but those lecturers wouldn't know even where to begin on designing and building efficient factories unfortunately.

We'd probably end up having to get Chinese and Taiwanese businesses to outsource their 'experts' back to us in order to actually do this and pay them a fortune - basically the reverse of what was happening in the manufacturing sector in the 80s and 90s!

Re: RAM now represents 35 percent of bill of materials for HP PCs

#20

Post by nine_k »

trollbridge wrote: post #12
throw_m239339 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think Europe should invest into manufacturing RAM. RAM isn't going anywhere, all of modern compute uses it. This would be an opportunity to create domestic supply of it. It's easy to build factories, much more difficult to train the engineers required to run them... and let's not even talk about all the crazy regulations & environmental rules at the EU level that make that task even more difficult, because yes, c…

Doesn’t the EU have an excellent education system?

Even the most excellent education system takes several yeas to educate a high-schooler to a level of a junior engineer. Then several more years are needed for the best of them to become senior engineers, with the knowledge and experience that a university alone cannot provide.

So, we're looking at a decade-long project at least, even if everything goes as planned, and crazy fast, in the technical and administrative departments.

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