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DRAM drama: cheaper than beer
Prices at 'rock bottom'?
It is cheaper to buy a DRAM chip than a beer with the way memory prices have been nosediving this month.
The spot price for 64Mb PC 100 DRAM chips has dropped eight per cent to $2.08 in the last week.
Today memory reseller Insight was offering 128Mb PC 100 DIMMs for £33.99. An Insight salesperson said prices were "at rock bottom" at the moment, but were about "to rocket".
The current price fall came at the end of a week where chip giants Intel and Broadcom warned that profits would not meet targets. Meanwhile, rival chipmeister Samsung Electronics said net income in 2001 may be lower than the previous year.
This, plus the ever more dismal outlook for PC sales growth, does not bode well for players in the DRAM industry - big or small.
Among the victims is German chip manufacturer WorkX AG, which has filed to go into receivership, news site ComputerPartner reported today.
According to figures out this week by research firm ISIS-LOR, worldwide prices continued to nosedive for the month to mid-February. The 30 day rolling averages of 128Mb DRAM from January 18 to February 16 dropped 2.2 per cent in North America to $6.07, 2.3 per cent to $6.15 in Europe, and 4.2 per cent to $6 in Asia.
IDC has also forecast that worldwide DRAM sales will drop 18 per cent to $23.8 billion in 2001 - and unit prices are expected to plummet 46 per cent.
In the UK, for the price of a 64Mb DRAM chip you can also buy:
- Six cigarettes
- Half a pint of beer
- Four Mars Bars
- Or three pints of milk
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Related Links
Computerpartner story
ISIS-LOR report via Asiabiztech
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