By You might want to increase your PC’s memory as soon as possible if it’s an older model. As the main memory vendors gradually stop producing DDR4 DRAM in favor of DDR5 DRAM, prices for DDR4 memory are predicted to rise significantly.
The latter is the reason for alarm. Customers have reportedly received end-of-life notices from Samsung and SK Hynix regarding the depletion of DDR4 memory for PCs. Digitimes, via Tom’s Hardware, reports that Micron, the final holdout, has now followed suit.
DDR4 memory was commonly available in AMD Ryzen chips that used the AM4 socket (up to the Ryzen 5000 generation) and Intel’s older PC platforms (6th- to 10th-generation Core processors, up to Comet Lake), despite the majority of recent PC platforms using DDR5 memory. For the latter platform, whose longevity was its strength, that is bad news.
The often erratic memory market is in a frenzy due to a declining supply of DDR4 memory and concerns over tariffs. DDR4 costs for PCs are predicted to increase by 13 to 18 percent in the second quarter, according to TrendForce, a Taiwan-based analyst group that keeps an eye on both the short-term “spot” and the longer-term “contract” markets. According to TrendForce, prices may increase even more in the upcoming third quarter.
Although Micron has not announced that it is discontinuing DDR4 production, it is doubtful considering the company’s push for LPDDR5X for smartphones and tablets and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for artificial intelligence. Memory sellers typically seek out the most lucrative prospects because the memory industry is known for having low profit margins.
DDR4 memory will not entirely vanish as a result. The “big three” in the memory market are Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, but smaller firms may overtake them. It seems like Nanya and Huabang are still dedicated to DDR4. According to reports, ChangXin Storage increased DDR4 manufacturing at the end of the previous year, but it also intends to soon stop producing DDR4. The Trump administration’s duties would also apply to ChangXin because it is a Chinese producer, making its memory products too expensive for its Taiwan-based rivals.
