Hynix, the debt-ridden Korean memory manufacturer, is to re-open its Oregon DRAM plant this week, mothballed since last summer. The factory has been rekitted to make 256Mb DRAM - previously it made 64Mb parts.

The upgrade is representative of a move by major DRAM makers to mainstream on 256Mb production, as the market moves to high-end PC production The big players are downgrading or de-emphasising 128Mb manufacture altogether, leaving this segment to Taiwan and smaller DRAM makers, according to Fechtor Detwiler, the Boston investment bank.

The upshot will be higher 128Mb prices, as supplies decrease, and the levelling of 256Mb prices, as supplies increase, Fechtor's channel sources predict.

"The wild card in this scenario will be the amount of amount of overstock OEMs will dump into the market as this transition takes place," the firm says in a research note. ®

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