Cooler Master and G.Skill are launching "MasterDIMM" — a new line of DDR5 memory sticks that comes enveloped in a stylishly-thick black and gold heatsink that features a blower fan. Two RGB stripes run along the top to add even more flare to a product that can't be anything other than overpriced.
Is the answer to the RAM crisis Chinese-made DRAM that's much cheaper to source since those companies aren't tied up in AI data center contracts? It's too early to say yet, but when a manufacturer as big as Corsair starts using DDR5 modules from ChangXing Memory Technologies (CXMT), that notion gains a lot of merit.
You can grab 32GB of fast DDR5-6400 Corsair Pro Overclocking RAM for just $329.99 right now. That's a $70 price drop compared to its list price and one that makes it the cheapest option on sale, turning it into an unmissable deal for a gaming PC upgrade.
DDR5 memory is overpriced right now, which might make some people desperate to get their hands on a good deal. Unfortunately, that could lead to you being taken advantage of with fake modules that are literally empty inside. A Japanese buyer warns of how this scam works and how to stay away from it.
HUDIMM is being proposed as a cheaper memory spec using only 1x 32-bit subchannel per stick instead of 2x 32-bit in order to populate less ICs. Turns out, halving the bandwidth like that actually slashes the performance in half too, alongside the expected capacity reduction. Two HUDIMMs running in dual channel perform similar to a single regular DDR5 stick.
DDR5 RAM usually has 2x 32-bit subchannels (single rank), which requires more ICs to populate a 64-bit wide bus. ASRock's new HUDIMM has just 1x 32-bit channel and can work with standard DDR5 in mix-and-matched configs as well. HUDIMM sticks are being made by TeamGroup and are supported on most LGA 1700 ASRock motherboards.
You can grab 32GB of fast DDR5-6400 Corsair Pro Overclocking RAM for just $309.99 right now. That's a massive $140 discount on its (current) list price that makes it the cheapest set of 32GB DDR5 RAM that you can buy right now in a market left in ruins by the AI boom.
You can grab 32GB of DDR5-6200 Corsair Vengeance RAM for $300.99 right now. That's a $130 discount on its (current) list price, a serious saving in a market that the AI boom has left in ruin.
German retailers' inventory saw DDR5 memory prices stabilizing for the first time in months, with some kits even miraculously seeing price cuts compared to the start of January. This doesn't indicate that the crisis is over, or even that there will be no more price hikes, but rather that the unpredictability is finally starting to wither.
DIY DDR5 is no longer just a concept, but a reality, as modder VIK-on has built his first 32GB stick from scavenged parts. The memory chips came from laptop SODIMMs, while a new PCB and cooler were acquired from China. After flashing custom firmware enabling 6400 MT/s XMP, the entire build put together cost $218.
As we face an unprecedented memory crisis, some vendors are still upping the ceiling, introducing higher capacity RAM kits for eye-gouging prices. This time, though, it's registered ECC server memory not meant for consumers, and therefore, asking the price of a borderline luxurious car is justified here.