Why Is RAM So Expensive Right Now?: The supply and demand are a big reason behind the increasing price of RAM.
And the interesting thing is that there are only three companies that manufacture and fulfill the demand for RAM of almost 98% of the world.
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The monopoly of manufacturers is also a reason for high RAM prices.
Stuff used to make a RAM is highly complicated and uses very specialized machinery, which is expensive, so due to which the price of RAM is high.
Table of Content
Supply and Demand
An important reason for high RAM prices is less Supply and more demand.
From the past few years, people have become more interested in gadgets and sales of gadgets have boomed up, so definitely demand for RAM has increased, leading to high prices.
Sadly, there are few manufacturers in the market and they have not increased their production.
Some experts say that manufacturers do not increase the production so, they can shoot up the price of RAM.
As there are very few companies who produce RAM so they have a monopoly over the whole RAM market and they can control the supply of RAM and demand any price from the consumer as they have no competition.
There is a continuous increase in the demand of RAM but the supply has not been increased which is resulting in high prices of RAM.
Most of the Smartphone companies shifted from DDR3 To DDR4 so as a result there was a sudden increase in the demand of DDR4.
And manufacturers were not prepared to fulfil such a huge demand, so there was a shortage of RAM in the market and the prices of RAM increased.
Smartphone Companies
There are other reasons as well but primarily Smartphone companies are to be blamed, Sudden shift of smartphone companies from DDR3 To DDR4 has produced high demand.
Essentially mobile phone production using DDR4 Chips is on the rise.
The recent generation of smartphones is utilizing DDR4, the launch of Google Pixel, as well as the Chinese hardware conglomerate currently moving in the US Technology market, has increased the demand for DDR4 memory which in result has led towards high RAM prices.
Big smartphone companies like Samsung and Apple are willing to pay high prices for a guaranteed stock of RAM, consequently, RAM manufactures are eager to make more profits.
RAM manufacturers are not going to sell anyone at a cheap price until smartphone companies are paying more to them.
They are not going to sell it at the cheap price until Smartphone companies are paying them more and the demand from smartphone manufactures is high enough, which is driving the prices up.
Complex Technology
RAM is made in a factory but not just an ordinary factory.
Highly complex equipment is used to fabricate the chips and because impurities within silicon can cause defects so the environment is kept extraordinarily clean.
Matter of programming the machine requires highly engineering expertise.
Memory must be attached to a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) or the mainboard of product it will be shipped in.
That PCB is also created in a highly clean environment under the expert engineers afterwards the finished product must be tested for quality.
This complex production setup costs from several hundred thousand dollars to several million dollars per machine, therefore, the prices of RAM are higher.
Manufacturing of RAM is one of the most expensive and complicated processes so as a result RAM is too much expensive.
Will these high prices last forever?
Well, we cannot say anything at this point but few positive things are happening so it seems that in future RAM prices will fall.
Samsung is planning to build a second fabrication plant in Korea and has also started improving its existing plants.
Sk Hynix has also announced to build a new RAM manufacturing plant in China moreover some experts say that the high prices of RAM will surely encourage and attract new manufacturers which in result will increase the supply of RAM.
These steps will necessarily help to drop the RAM prices as the supply will increase and there would be more competitors in the market so the quality will improve and the prices of RAM will automatically fall.
New manufacturers and more manufacturing plants will surely decrease the prices of RAM but it will take a little while as it is a long and time taking process of building a Manufacturing plant or bringing new investors in the market.
The Cheapest RAM Available in The Market in 2021
At this time when RAM prices have inflated, we have found some cheap and worthy RAMs for you so why don’t you take a look at our guide to the best RAM prices and deals.
DDR4 RAM
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB)
DDR4 is the fastest RAM which was launched a few years ago.
Corsair Vengeance LPX is the most reliable kit of RAM which you can purchase.
It is the only RAM with most specifications and the starting speed of 2,400 MHz.
DDR3 RAM
HyperX Fury
Due to the launch of DDR4 RAM, many people are shifting from DDR3 To DDR4 and in this situation, you can find many cheap deals of DDR3 and HyperX Fury is the best of them.
It has a beautifully sleek design with amazing speed and it is energy efficient with the feature of overclocking.
Gaming RAM
Corsair Vengeance RGB LED 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 3000
A magnificent LED designed RAM with a variety of colour choices.
This RAM is known for its impressive overclocking and it has a better cooling solution to keep it running and provide users with uninterrupted fun.
Corsair Vengeance RGB has a faster 3000 MHz frequency which makes it super-efficient and the best choice for the users.
Mac RAM
Crucial 16GB Kit (8GBx2)
It is too much costly to add extra memory to your MacBook. Instead of wasting a lot of money you can simply double or even triple the amount of RAM of your MacBook with a reasonable kit.
Crucial is a quality RAM maker and you would have to check out 16GB or 32GB RAMs which are far cheaper than the upgrades provided by Apple store.
Laptop RAM
Timetec Hynix IC 16GB Kit(2x8GB) DDR3
Upgrading the memory is one of the easiest things which you can do to improve the performance of your Laptop.
Timetec manufactures one of the most reliable and inexpensive Kits of Hynix IC which can boost the performance of your laptop and provide a better experience.
It is the cheapest RAM with all the features compared to its competitors.
How much RAM do you need?
How much RAM you need depends upon what do you do on your system.
For the basic use of your computer, you need 4GB of RAM but if you want to run different programs at the same time smoothly, then you should have 8GB of RAM.
If you edit photos or videos then you would require a RAM of 8GB because during editing the computer has to work a little harder.
But if you are editing 4K videos then you should at least have a 16 GB of RAM but before installing 16 GB RAM make sure your computer or laptop supports it.
For playing simple games 8GB of RAM should be enough but if you want to play VR games then you should have at least a RAM of 16 GB and if you want to play in high quality then you should have a RAM of 32GB if supported by your system, you can check that in your windows settings.
Do you run any kind of Virtual Machines on your workstations? If so, then you will require a 32GB RAM and to run your virtual machines optimally we recommend 64GB of RAM.
FAQs & Conclusion
Why is RAM expensive than Hard Disk?
– In the manufacturing of RAM both transistor and capacitor are required to build a single cell. While in the case of Hard Drive, metal plate coated with iron oxide and an electromagnet is enough for storing data. So that’s why RAM is costlier than a Hard Drive.
Is it better to have more RAM or storage?
– Memory enables your computer to think. The more memory it will have, the more it will be able to think. It allows you to use different complex programs at the same time. You can open more complex programs at one time if you have more RAM. Storage refers to everything that your computer knows, but isn’t thinking about. The more the storage, the more things you can install on your computer. Now it all depends on you, what are your requirements.
Which is the fastest RAM?
– Corsair’s Vengeance LPX DDR4 5,000MHz kit is the fastest RAM and it costs more than your gaming PC.
Is too much RAM bad?
– It is not considered bad but there is no use of having extra RAM when you don’t require it, for example, Simple games require maximum 8GB of RAM so if your system is having more RAM than 8GB, it will not give any surplus benefit to your PC.
Does RAM increase FPS?
– Yes! Having a higher RAM will help in producing more FPS. As RAM helps in increasing the speed of your computer in general.
Can I mix 4GB and 8GB RAM?
– It is recommended to use the same model in all slots though it doesn’t mean that you can’t mix different RAM sticks. All the RAM sticks will work together at the frequency of the lower stick, by default.
Does extra RAM cause overheating?
– No, RAM has no relation with heating. It might warm your computer by an incalculable amount which does not affect your computer at all as each stick of RAM uses a few watts of power.
Ending Note
RAM is expensive due to different reasons which we have shared with you earlier, but it does not mean that a consumer who has a low budget cannot buy new RAM.
There are still many different options available for people who cannot afford expensive RAMs, all the RAMs mentioned above are a good choice for a regular user.
You will have to decide by yourself that what are your requirements and how much RAM you need, never buy a RAM heavier than your requirements as it is useless and a waste of your money.
Just hope and wait for the prices of RAM to drop as it is expected that soon the supply will increase and its prices will fall.
