DDR4 prices are going through the roof as older tech is seen as a cheap alternative to the overpriced DDR5.
According to Ctee, the ‘desperation’ is so bad that DDR4 spot prices have climbed 172 per cent, while DDR5 is up 76 per cent.
With memory shortages piling into Q1 2026, higher-end RAM kits are drifting out of reach for normal buyers, even before the big brands update their pricing.
The report cites Goldman Sachs analysis saying the surge is just a ‘start’, which is not what anyone wants to hear when they are speccing a PC.
So far, the consumer market has not fully reflected the spike, meaning end products still look relatively ‘cheaper’ than the underlying DRAM reality.
For “downstream customers”, securing LTAs is getting harder, while suppliers such as SK hynix and Samsung are pushing shorter deals to bake in ‘spot premiums’.
If that squeeze holds, the next few months are likely to drag module pricing into GPUs and RAM sticks, because manufacturers cannot keep swallowing these costs.
