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janrinok [soylentnews.org] writes:

https://www.techspot.com/news/110443-soaring-ddr5-prices-lead-falling-motherboard-sales-calls.html [techspot.com]

The chaotic state of RAM prices continues to impact the industry. According to a new report, motherboard sales have fallen by as much as 50% as a result of the crisis. It has also led to gamers calling for a RAM boycott in hopes of easing the situation, but the reality is that such a move is unlikely to work.

We've covered the memory-pricing crisis since it began, including this deep dive into the problem and how it's caused by demand from AI data centers that require massive amounts of DRAM.

A new report Japanese from outlet Gazlog states that out-of-control DDR5 prices are impacting motherboard sales, forcing manufacturers such as Asus, MSI, and Gigabyte to significantly lower their sales targets.

DDR5 prices are simply stupid right now. A 64GB kit is now more expensive than a PS5 console or an RTX 5070. We've even seen several stores remove fixed pricing signs from DDR5 displays, relying on market rates because costs are changing so rapidly each day.

The problem for motherboard makers is that people upgrading from DDR4 or older systems – along with first-time builders --need DDR5 to pair with their shiny new boards. But with prices so high, it's a bad time to buy.

The result is a 40-50% decrease in motherboard sales compared to the same period a year earlier, writes Gazlog, leading to a lowering of sales targets. It's expected that CPU sales will eventually experience a similar fall in sales due to the RAM situation.

In an attempt to fight back, there are now calls on Reddit for gamers to boycott RAM completely in the hope that prices will return to normal

Unfortunately, the rallying cry is likely to have very little, if any, effect. The biggest issue, as we know, is that DRAM supply and future manufacturing capacity have already been bought out by companies to support their aggressive data center-building plans, causing the shortage.

Most memory manufacturers' sales come from industry, enterprise, data-centre, and other segments that aren't consumer PCs. And while it's true that a mass boycott would have some impact on their bottom lines, there's the other issue: not everyone will take part.

As we saw during Covid with graphics cards, calling for the public to boycott something for the greater good – regardless of whether it would work anyway -- rarely succeeds when there are always people willing to pay any price. And that's not mentioning the scalpers who are always ready to take advantage of other people's misery.

The memory crisis is also affecting graphics cards. AMD looks set to raise prices by 10%, while both Lisa Su's firm and rival Nvidia are rumored to be considering axing some low- and mid-range cards.

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