DRAM prices continue to fall

Memory market watcher DRAMeXchange predicts some bargains to be had in the coming months, as improvements in yields meet a slowing demand from the channel.

In the company's latest report into the market, it remarks that the wholesale price of a 2GB DDR3 module has dropped 46 per cent since the start of the year, from $46.50 to around $25 now - and predicts that it could drop as low as $20 by the end of the year.

The massive drop in price comes as manufacturers are experiencing increased output thanks to the use of immersion scanner technology to improve yields in their fabs, which couples with the unusually low demand for memory to form an oversupply situation - meaning massive drops in prices.

While that's good news for PC manufacturers, it's not so great for memory makers. The good news is that DRAMeXchange is also predicting that the market will bottom out around the first quarter of 2011, with OEMs and ODMs taking advantage of the cheaper RAM prices to boost the amount of memory systems ship with - a predicted 36 per cent increase for desktops, 31 per cent increase for laptops, and a whopping 105 per cent year-on-year increase for netbooks.

Sadly, the good times are unlikely to continue for long. As demand increases to accommodate the improved yields, prices will surely begin to rise - and given recent events between North Korea and South Korea, it's possible that the market could become extremely volatile extremely quickly.

Are you pleased to hear that memory prices are dropping, or just wondering whether any of the OEMs will be bothering to pass the savings on? Share your thoughts over in the forums.