Did DDR2 RAM prices just go up?!?!?????

[Shadow703793]

Just took a look at Newegg for some DDR2 2*2GB kits for an upgrade to a P45-DS3R (to upgrade to 8GB for a friend) and the DDR2 prices are almost the same as DDR3 prices????? WTF? What happened to the $45-50 prices that were there for the DDR2 800/1066 RAM?


DDR2 Prices:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147%201052108080%201052315794&name=4GB%20%282%20x%202GB%29

DDR3 Prices:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147%201052129233%201052315794&name=4GB%20%282%20x%202GB%29

Tiger also has only these 2 DDR2 2*2GB kits under $60:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4545459&CatId=2261

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4610262&CatId=2261

So what happened to the DDR2 prices, which used to be so good???

 

[obsidian86]

ddr2 is getting old and will get rare as it is phased out of production

 

[hunter315]

wow, the prices on newegg seem to be fluctuating a lot lately. I have seen DDR3 ram kits go up and down in price quite a bit. But i guess newegg may have figured out that people who need ram, need ram so might as well push them to get the more expensive DDR3 motherboards too.

 

[huron]

It's been happening slowly all this year. As manufacturers shift more of their production to DDR3, the price has gone down, while DDR2 has jumped. I remember when it was dirt cheap for 4GB of DDR2.

 

[obsidian86]

yeah and how much does ddr cost now

 

[Shadow703793]

I know that DDR2 is getting phased out, but really? This quickly?!? DDR prices were still pretty decent for at least 2 years after DDR2 came out. I guess, I'll probably tell my friend to pick up the OCZ Titanium.

 

[obsidian86]

yeah we going faster from ddr2 to ddr3 then from ddr to ddr2

 

[buwish]

I concur, DDR2 is getting a bit expensive. The 5300 stuff isn't as bad though, as I bought 4GB for $50 a few months back for a build I was doing for a relative. But the 6400 stuff is outrageous! I paid roughly $260'ish for 8GB (4x2) of PNY DDR2-6400 for my current build- a bit hefty if you ask me.

 

[shubham1401]

I sold my old unused DDR 512MB ram to my friend for the same price I picked it up from the market some years ago...

 

[liquidsnake718]

Just took a look at Newegg for some DDR2 2*2GB kits for an upgrade to a P45-DS3R (to upgrade to 8GB for a friend) and the DDR2 prices are almost the same as DDR3 prices????? WTF? What happened to the $45-50 prices that were there for the DDR2 800/1066 RAM?


DDR2 Prices:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147%201052108080%201052315794&name=4GB%20%282%20x%202GB%29

DDR3 Prices:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147%201052129233%201052315794&name=4GB%20%282%20x%202GB%29

Tiger also has only these 2 DDR2 2*2GB kits under $60:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4545459&CatId=2261

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4610262&CatId=2261

So what happened to the DDR2 prices, which used to be so good???

Yes, Unfortunatly older RAm modules tend to rise in price as production lessons or is halted all together. Usually the technology is phased out in favor of newer, faster, power efficient, and larger latencies. For example the older SODIMM DDR RAM at one point was more expencive and harder to find just 2-3 years ago as DDR2 600, then 800 were coming out. If you are using an older motherboard that is either a p35-x48 then your DDR2 will still be fine. But the new and more equipped p55's and X58's only have DDR3 slots thus rendering your older DDR2 RAM useless in a new and fresh build.

Usually the mobile versions of the RAM are even more expencive and harder to find than their desktop RAm parts. I suggest you upgrade RAM now if you really need memory speed, you might as well max out your system to at least 2-4gigs unless of course you are planning to get rid of your system or sell it. RAM will get harder to find and there will be a day when you will have to get it online only as retailers will stop ordering new stocks and just get the slowly standardized DDR3 which is either 1333 or 1066. Since these are basically more efficient and cheaper to produce than the older DDR2, more people will start buying these if their motherboards are compatible.

 

[Hypertension]

Also take into consideration the value of the dollar lately. Its been fluctuating a lot. The reason ram prices fluctuate so much is because we don't produce or manufacture most of our products (anymore) and when the value of the dollar drops the companies oversee's can't just instantly change their prices.....so it takes more $ to buy the same stick of ram. I'm sure the being phased out doesn't help either....but DDR3 prices have gone up and down as well...so its not entirely the 'old tech vs new tech' kinda thing either. I was watching them in August and in June they were ~$25 cheaper than they were in Aug/Sept....for the same speed DDR (1300 and 1600MHz).

 

[wailord]

yes. I watched a 4GB pack (2x2GB sticks) of Mushkin DDR2 1066 5-5-5-15 RAM go up in price on newegg from $80 - $100 in the last week alone. That's a difference of $20, I couldn't believe it. I also saw the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 jump up $60 in price over night! ($220 - $280). I guess they are also phasing out the C2Q series processors just as fast. So much for that budget build.

 

[huron]

On a side note wailord - you can get the Q9550 at microcenter (if you live near one) for $169.99.

I'm a bit bummed by the prices rising so quickly. I'll be grabbing a few sets before they are like DDR prices.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

F-ing A.

4GB of DDR2 has gone up to $90 last time I checked...it was $40 the same time last year.

 

[AsAnAtheist]

I managed to get my Patriot g series 1066 DDR2 PC28500 4gb module kit for $109 at fry's (included Street Fighter IV PC via Steam so that eased the price increase a bit).
I was going to get some corsair XMS2 DDr2 800mhz Pc26400 but i was like bleh prices are increasing might as well make it a worth while upgrade before I have to trade in my left arm AND right leg.

Im fairly content on their performance, although I had manually set my motherboard to set it to 1066mhz since it used 800mhz default. The latency's are advertised as 7-7-7-20 but I haven't checked.


Basically the lesson is:

Get your ram NOW if your not planning on upgrading motherboards/cpus anytime soon. I only see the ddr2 price going up.

I think it will top out at $100 for 4gbs of 800 mhz (performance), and $140 for higher performance 1066mhz etc. If it goes any higher, it would be unsellable.

 

[timsmail]

Here is a good explanation of why the RAM prices have skyrocketed this year. One of the major RAM manufacturers went belly up, causing a scare and sending prices though the roof. Here is a link to a short explanation of the article. http://itnerd.wordpress.com/2009/02/03/german-ram-manufacturer-goes-titsup-ram-prices-skyrocket-wtf/

 

[huron]

Thanks for the reading timsmail - appreciate it. Hate the price of RAM now.

 

[Shadow703793]

Wow.... can one manufacture going belly up really alter prices that much?!?!???

 

[huron]

I was thinking the same thing, but it makes me worry with all to price-fixing that had happened in the past (Samsung was hit hard, I think).

 

[phatbuddha79]

We all have to step back and take a look at how things were 5+ years ago. I remember for my 2nd rig that I built, I spent $160 on a pair of 512MB (1GB) kingston ddr pc2700. When you take a look at that all of a sudden 2x2GB for $100 dont sound so bad anymore huh? I don't like the ram prices either, but luckily I invested $45 in a 2X2GB Kingston HyperX ddr800 about 6 months ago :lol: I knew they were going to go up soon as I saw that DDR3 was coming out.

 

[bytor54]

Sorry to jump on old thread here, but I was just searching for RAM today and like everyone else, am amazed at the dramatic and sudden price increase on DDR2.

It was just a few months back that I built my first system and outfitted it with 4GB (2x2GB) of Corsair XMS2 from Newegg at $50. Not to mention the combo discount I got by purchasing my Mobo (Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H) at the same time.

Now, Newegg wants $86.99 for the exact same memory kit. My question to my friends out here at tomhardware is... should I jump on this RAM now!?!? ...at a price that is 75% HIGHER than it was four months ago? ...but before it climbs even higher?

Remember, I just built this machine and I want to get as many useful years out of it as I can, without spending a lot of time or money on upgrades and such. I'm planning on upgrading to Win7 Home Premium (taking advantage of the free upgrade I got with Vista when I built the system) and I'm thinking that 8GB of RAM will probably get me through the useful life of this machine without too much trouble. Before I checked the prices, I was thinking I'd go ahead and upgrade with 8 additional gigs, getting me up to 12 total before the price of DDR2 got too high. Well, looks like I missed on that one!

The most memory intensive things I do are running a large number of windows and aps at once, with that often including video editing and burning.

As always, Thanks for any and all advice!
Rob

 

[1st duke of marlborough]

I'm in the same boat man, and have been contemplating going to 8 gigs from my current 4. As I understand it, ddr3 really isn't an improvement over ddr2 because the latencies are higher, which nullifies the increased Mhz. I don't know how far that statement goes, for instance I don't know if 1066 is really slower than 1333, but I am pretty sure 1600 is a waste of money.

Assuming prices will continue to slowly rise, they have at the moment settled back around 90, and assuming you will be keeping your ddr2 machine for the next year at least, I would go ahead an get the RAM. It is probably what I will do one of these days.

 

[False_Dmitry_II]

I'd say 4 gigs are plenty for now. It just sucked for me when I ended up with just 2 gigs of RAM and then ran the Windows 7 RC (whenever it was that that came out). I found gaming with that much wasn't really doable.

I managed to get a 2x2 for $30 after MIR. That set were promptly sold out and discontinued.

If you're going to anyway I'd suggest to look at ebay. It hasn't quite reached there. Although I guess you're paying the oldnew price for used stuff, but I think its worth it.

 

[bytor54]

Found this article elsewhere on tomshardware.com and it almost does make it seem like 4GB is enough. Perhaps you're right about that False_dmitry?

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/memory-module-upgrade,2264-8.html

I guess it just comes from years of watching memory requirements grow and grow, seemingly without end. Have we actually reached a point where that is no longer the case?

My initial thought, based on that past experience, is that you must go above and beyond what is currently recommended if you hope to keep your system viable for as long as possible. This is exactly why I was going to increase my RAM now, while the technology is both still available and at least somewhat affordable.

I've also heard (somewhere) that Win7 may not crave memory at the rate Vista does, anyone know the truth on that?

So what do y'all think... was my initial thought correct, or is it overkill to increase beyond 4GB?

 

[bignbadd]

The reason all Ram is outragious now is the earthquake and recient floods in Southeast Asia has caused a shoratge. Tsunami wiped out production facilities in those areas. You might be able to get some on e-bay, but most people research thier product first and people have adjusted thier product accordingly