Samsung & SK Hynix Graphics Memory Prices Increase Over 30% In August
by Nate Oh on August 16, 2017 9:00 PM EST
In the midst of a global DRAM shortage, Digitimes reports that the market prices for graphics memory from Samsung and SK Hynix have increased by over 30% for August. This latest jump in memory prices is apparently due to the pair of DRAM manufacturers repurposing part of their VRAM production capacities for server and smartphone memories instead. As Digitimes’ sources report, this VRAM pricing is expected to increase further in September, impacting graphics card and gaming notebook manufacturers. Consumers have already felt the pain through skyrocketing DDR4 prices, and TrendForce/DRAMeXchange expects the upward trend of PC DRAM chips to continue to 2018.
Generally speaking, this production prioritization is not new. Late last year, the top three memory suppliers, Samsung (55% market share), SK Hynix (35% market share), and Micron (10% market share) shifted production capacity to prioritize servers and smartphones, causing the initial spike in PC DRAM prices. Overall, DRAMeXchange attributes the tight supply to lack of short term capacity expansion, as well as yield issues with new processes. The research firm had also noted that capacity expansion will be rather subdued as manufacturers try to keep commanding the higher margins of an undersupply environment.
In light of recent GDDR6 announcements by Micron and SK Hynix, these supply/price issues could have knock-on effects for both current and upcoming graphics cards. Additionally, as both Samsung and SK Hynix are the only HBM2 suppliers, HBM2-equipped cards may be adversely constrained by supply. Earlier this month, an SK Hynix executive stated that customers were willing to pay 2.5 times more for HBM2 over HBM1; this sentiment may soon be put to the test. The situation with Micron is a little less clear, as they not only have their unique GDDR5X memory, but also may not have raised VRAM prices. If they haven't, they may have an opportunity on their hands.
Related Reading:
- SK Hynix: Customers Willing to Pay 2.5 Times More for HBM2 Memory
- Samsung Increases Production Volumes of 8 GB HBM2 Chips Due to Growing Demand
- Micron Discusses GDDR: 16 Gbps GDDR5X, 16 nm GDDR6 and GDDR5
- SK Hynix Advances Graphics DRAM: GDDR6 Added to Catalogue, GDDR5 Gets Faster
- SK Hynix to Ship GDDR6 Memory for Graphics Cards by Early 2018
Source: Digitimes
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
55 Comments
View All Comments
nobitakun - Sunday, November 5, 2017 - link
In a nutshell, they are a bunch of thieves with no moral. There should be a regulatory company to give those companies a sweet fine enough to close an entire factory if they don't act in a right way. My wish for Samsung to die isn't becoming true, I wonder what's happening in the heaven with god, aren't you listening to me?!?eddman - Thursday, August 17, 2017 - link
"But good for you that you found a place to advertise your expertise in semiconductors in addition to impeccable logic and reasoning skills "This is your problem; attacking and insulting others out of the blue. Not once in his comment he wrote anything offensive, and simply wrote about his experience in the industry (maybe he's lying but that's beside the point).
You accuse him of advertising his expertise, yet you do it every single day here.
ddriver - Thursday, August 17, 2017 - link
Nope, I am just expressing an option, it wasn't me who claimed to have worked in the industry, implying first hand knowledge, just to make a nonsensical point.My opinion is not based on expertise, it is based on logic and common sense. But hey, maybe those skills are not valued guides in the semiconductor industry. It is possible that the industry operates on nonsense, I could not possibly know that, not having any experience in the field.
Also, I don't see any insults in that passage you quoted. All I see is irony. Maybe irony is not politically correct too now? Maybe disagreeing with the status quo is not PC either? Let's all be amazing by buying whatever the official narrative is, let's not ask questions, criticize, or disagree, and for the love of god, do not use any form of rhetorical devices or literal techniques such as irony, sarcasm, cynicism, hyperbole or analogy.
ddriver - Thursday, August 17, 2017 - link
that was supposed to be "literary techniques"eddman - Thursday, August 17, 2017 - link
Yes, you did insult him. Insults are not just formed with explicit words. That passage was 100% unnecessary, since you had already made your point but no, you just had to attack him personally, because how else can you feel superior.ddriver - Thursday, August 17, 2017 - link
So how do you get to feel superior? By being and internet volunteer morale officer? The defender against ddriver-related injustice, right? The definite authority of what is necessary and what is not. The protector of failing wannabes. The arbiter of what's offensive and inappropriate.Thanks for being there to balance out the universe, this is actually making it easier for me to be myself without worrying about throwing it off balance.
You know, fact and truth tend to get more and more offensive and insulting to a certain subset of the general population. But I genuinely do not think removing those two from the equation is what makes things right. If you have a problem with those, then the problem is in you, not in fact or truth. What I do is called "schooling" and if you still have a few brain cells that you know how to use, you will actually take a point of it and self-improve. Or alternatively, chose to stick to being a fool and feeling insulted whenever someone points that out.
ddriver - Thursday, August 17, 2017 - link
And just because it looks like you won't get the point, regardless of how many times I hint at it:I do not feel the need to pretend to be superior. Nor do I feel the need to offend others. It is a matter of psychology, which I guess is not your strong point. What I do is point out a harmful fact. A harmful way of thinking people have, a trained-in response to interpreting acts of deliberate corruption as misfortune turn of events. People are being brainwashed into it, because the ignorant mindset allows the corrupt to act completely unobstructed, because people don't even acknowledge the actual problem.
And the reason people opt to get offended is simple, and they will get offended at pointing out that inconvenient fact regardless of the manner in which it is presented. This is the trained-in protection of your ignorance regarding the source of turmoil and crisis. You'd rather see me as the villain, thus tarnishing the point I make in your own mind, than improve yourself and recognize and acknowledge the actual villains to made you and keep you into being obedient cattle, ignorant to their exploits. Because god forbid people start acknowledging it and doing something about it.
There are many people who will chose to remain passive on a subconscious level. The "reasoning" here is just as simple and obvious. You do know you are a powerless cog, therefore it you will gain nothing from troubling yourself by acknowledging the corrupt reality of the establishment, you are convinced you can't and won't do anything about it. So you can at least save yourself the distress of living with the realization that you are a powerless cog, you'd rather force yourself to believe all those are misfortune mishaps, and that eventually things will finally get better on their own.
eddman - Thursday, August 17, 2017 - link
"I do not feel the need to pretend to be superior. Nor do I feel the need to offend others."Yet you do it all the time and even did just in that comment. You cannot even see your own mental and psychological issues. Keep insulting people on random internet sites. That sure is going to fix the "evil establishment" problem.
I've seen people who can talk about corruption in very delicate and detailed ways without being vulgar or arrogant. You are not one of them.
ddriver - Friday, August 18, 2017 - link
The moment I feel urges to paint myself superior by comparing myself to people like you, I will simply donate my organs and kill myself. It would be comparable to your painting yourself superior to a toddler just because you don't go number 2 in your pants. If you see attempts at displaying superiority, then that's just your inferiority trying to protect its integrity.eddman - Friday, August 18, 2017 - link
It's quite obvious that you feel the need, else you wouldn't be attacking people personally in a comment section just because they mentioned they worked in a certain field. Mental complexes are hard to deal with.