RAM prices?

[Essence_of_War]

I have 16 GB of RAM presently (2x8GB, DDR3-1600, the rest of the rig is in my sig), and I've found myself doing a lot of signal processing work in matlab recently that is consistently sucking down 10+ GB of RAM.

I can keep from paging too severely by being careful, but I was considering going up to 32 GB of RAM.

Every now and then I'm seeing 2x8GB sticks in the ~100 USD range from reputable manufacturers, are these prices likely to just trend increasingly higher in the future as memory manufacturers look for more profitable things to make (DDR4, mobile ram, etc)?

I'm tempted to just grab it soon when I know I can lock-in close to $100.

 

[GlacierFreeze]

Might as well buy now. No way to know if they will go back down. RAM has always been on the expensive side, IMO. I'm surprised it has been as cheap as it was over the past year or whatever it was. $100 seems cheap for 16GB. I probably around that or more for 4GB about 5 years ago in my current build. Even if it dropped 20% or so over the next couple months, would you really miss the difference that much?

 

[fleshconsumed]

Memory pricing is cyclical until it gets replaced by new generation of memory (in this case DDR4 whenever it becomes mainstream). We're currently in the upswing, but I think the prices have stabilized.

For example:
http://camelegg.com/product/N82E16820148662
http://camelegg.com/product/N82E16820148663

Looking at the graphs the prices are at all time high, but they're not going up anymore. Most likely the prices will start to decline, the only question is how soon and how fast. I'm guessing by Black Friday/End of the year we'll start seeing good deals. So you'll have to decide how badly do you need that 32GB of RAM, if you need it right now or if you can wait a little, and if waiting a little is worth the aggravation you may experience while living with 16GB.

 

[corkyg]

No one is considering the rate at which the Fed is printing money and thus debasing the dollar. Ergo, it is going to take more dollars to equal the same value as before.

 

[Wall Street]

No one is considering the rate at which the Fed is printing money and thus debasing the dollar. Ergo, it is going to take more dollars to equal the same value as before.

Inflation has been 1-2% consistently since 2008. Or do you believe that CPI data is lies used to blind the sheeple?

 

[blastingcap]

Inflation has been 1-2% consistently since 2008. Or do you believe that CPI data is lies used to blind the sheeple?

I can't tell if you are serious or not. The government continually rejiggers the basket of goods and definitions, almost always with the result that CPI understate inflation, whether that is their intent or not. Are big screen TVs cheaper now and more featured and larger? Sure, but that doesn't make up for food, gasoline, etc. There are people who actually look at the data and figure out what CPI would be under the new definition vs older definitions and CPI is usually under what it would be under the older metrics.

No one is considering the rate at which the Fed is printing money and thus debasing the dollar. Ergo, it is going to take more dollars to equal the same value as before.

On the other hand, corkyg isn't exactly right either. If the economy slows down faster than you print money, you can still get deflation. Inflation is about more than just the (electronic or paper) dollars in circulation, it's also about things like velocity of circulation and expectations as well. Not to mention how the USD is a world reserve currency, so you also need to take into account the supply of dollars that gets shipped elsewhere.

Wait a minute, am I on a tech site or a finance site?

Anyway, back to OP: $100 for 2x8GB DDR3-1600 is okay but I've seen sales that dip slightly lower. You can keep waiting if you want to max out your bang/buck, but at some point it doesn't seem worth it to wait another half-year to save another $20, if you really need the RAM now, as a hypothetical example. But if you can wait, I would wait. Only you know how badly you need the RAM time-wise, though.

 

[VirtualLarry]

If you need RAM now, get it now.

 

[_Rick_]

If you need RAM now, get it now.

Or better yet, get it 6 months ago :awe:

I don't expect much movement in memory prices in the near future. All the memory makers have sold off their stock, and reduced production, hence they can price it high again, and now that the situation is under control, and demand remains stable, we should not expect much movement.

Pretty shocking to see the price now being more expensive than when I bought a year ago.

Prices might decline in summer, when demand droops a little bit, and again towards the end of the year, when sales goals have to be met.

 

[gammaray]

On the other hand, corkyg isn't exactly right either. If the economy slows down faster than you print money, you can still get deflation.

let me write an example, if you had 1 rare baseball card, and you are pretty sure this is the only one and you think it's worth "X" dollars.

Then suddenly, the FED, a criminal organisation that can print new rare card just like yours, suddenly print 4 other exact cards like you own, and no one can tell the difference.

How much you think your card is now worth?

========================================

About RAM, i just got 16GBs of corsair vengeance 1866 mhz on newegg for 98$ S&H included, with coupon code.

otherwise must kit hover around 120ish. Although 6 months ago, i got same ram around 80$. So prices fluctuate and we don't have crystal balls, it could go up higher.

 

[bradley]

let me write an example, if you had 1 rare baseball card, and you are pretty sure this is the only one and you think it's worth "X" dollars.

Then suddenly, the FED, a criminal organisation that can print new rare card just like yours, suddenly print 4 other exact cards like you own, and no one can tell the difference.

How much you think your card is now worth?

People who believe economics truly are a science will never get your very simple analogy. Obviously the 'masterminds' of this Rube Goldberg economy want to keep these concepts as complex and ornate as possible.

 

[Essence_of_War]

If you want to talk politics and economics, there is a perfectly good "News and Politics" forum, and I'd gently ask that you take it there rather than de-railing my thread.

Thanks for input on the RAM pricings though!

 

[bradley]

If you want to talk politics and economics, there is a perfectly good "News and Politics" forum, and I'd gently ask that you take it there rather than de-railing my thread.

Thanks for input on the RAM pricings though!

I didn't take Corkyg's comments to represent anything other than common sense... certainly not politics or economics.

Actually.... by calling out a forum mod (and not taking it the matter to Personal Forum Issues) you are the one breaking the rules.

 

[Essence_of_War]

I didn't take the original comment as anything but a one-off, but it generated several replies that look like they we could be revving up the train to de-rail town

 

[Montosaurous]

Rising RAM prices are probably a stabilization of the market and attempt to prepare the market for DDR4.

 

[bradley]

Major memory manufacturers cut back on DDR3 production due to weakened demand. Windows 8 and tablets have sucked any life left in the PC market. Instead they are focusing on ramping up DDR4.

Afterall, it really is about supply side economics and was predicted many months ago.

 

[tweakboy]

DDR2 is way expensive, more so then DDR3 .... Due to stock. A 16GB kit is good
2x8GB dual channel. thx gl

 

[nenforcer]

Major memory manufacturers cut back on DDR3 production due to weakened demand. Windows 8 and tablets have sucked any life left in the PC market. Instead they are focusing on ramping up DDR4.

Afterall, it really is about supply side economics and was predicted many months ago.

Don't forget that there has been a major shift from DRAM to FLASH for all of the tablets, SSD's and smartphones out there. DDR4 is still at least a year away.