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MSI's $80 AMD motherboards with DDR4 support swoop in to rescue gamers amid the global RAM crisis (www.tomshardware.com)
submitted 8 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] 17 points 8 months ago (5 children)

The problem with this is that companies were winding DOWN DDR4 production before AI bought all the DDR5 RAM. So if no one can get DDR5, attention will shift to the already dwindling supply of DDR4 aaaaand... well, prices are already up and it's not going to get better.

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  • [–] 9 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (4 children)

    There is existing DDR4 in existing machines that can be scavenged that would otherwise probably just be thrown out. I understand that secondhand memory was an industry even before the surge, remember reading a recent article about some California company that would strip servers of old DIMMs and sell them, mostly to China. The CEO was being interviewed, said that sales had surged recently.

    searches

    I don't think that these guys are them, think this is a different California company doing basically the same thing, but illustrates the point:

    https://www.ramexchange.net/

    1GB–128 GB modules (DDR2 / DDR3 / DDR4 / DDR5)

    At Ram Exchange, we supply new, used, and refurbished RAM for a wide range of applications. Whether you're upgrading a personal computer, laptop, data center, or need on-board ICs for custom projects, our team is here to help.

    We also provide IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) services, dedicated to helping businesses securely and responsibly manage their end-of-life IT assets. We offer a comprehensive suite of tailored services—including certified data destruction, secure electronics recycling, remarketing, and asset redeployment—transforming IT disposal into a seamless process that maximizes value and environmental responsibility.

    Large-Scale Purchasing Power

    We buy excess memory in bulk from around the globe, including from publicly traded companies and Fortune 500 enterprises. With our extensive purchasing capabilities, no quantity is too large for us to handle.

    I mean, I've thrown out old DIMMs. Wasn't worth my time hassling with trying to resell them. But if they're worth enough due to price increases, it'll increase the number of companies who are willing to go to the effort to recoup some of the value of the DIMMs. Companies can buy them, re-certify them, and sell them.

    Obviously, that's not an unlimited supply, but the window in which it's of increased interest is probably only something like three years, so it doesn't have to last forever (or even fully offset the shortage to make sense to do, just partially-mitigate it).

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  • [–] 5 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    The scavenging is making it more difficult looking for a SFF PC on fleaBay. More and more listings say “no RAM/no SSD” and the ones that have it are barebones or far more expensive. Even laptops are heading that way. Yuck.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago*

    Yeah, honestly, if it becomes enough of an issue, maybe eBay and similar should create separate sections for machines with memory and those without. I mean, there are reasons people would want to get a system without memory too, especially if one's looking for other parts, but I do totally get that it's super-obnoxious if there isn't a way to filter those out and one is looking for one with memory.

    checks

    It doesn't look like eBay has a "0 GB" memory category, annoyingly enough, but they do have a "Not specified" category with a ton of listings. That's not absolutely the same thing, since if you filter "Not specified" out, I'm sure that it might also exclude some listings that have an unknown amount of memory, but I'd guess that that'd get you most of the way there, and I do see people clearly listing machines with no memory in that category.

    EDIT: Honestly, the rate of mis-classified listings there by users is pretty bad, even aside from eBay not providing a "0 GB" category. I was very surprised to see that there were a bunch of 512 GB listings. Looks like that's essentially all people selling machines with 512 GB SSDs and choosing the wrong option.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (1 child)

    I get where you're coming from but

    But if they're worth enough due to price increases, it'll increase the number of companies who are willing to recoup some of the value of the DIMMs.

    meaning that prices of DDR4 HAVE TO GO UP in the first place for companies to even want to try to sell their old stock. So we're still going to be suffering from increased prices as a result of AI.

    So good that now there might be a market for people to NOT throw away their sticks, but it's still going to get rough for people trying to make a new machine in 2026 and beyond.

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  • [–] 5 points 8 months ago*

    I mean, there was a pre-existing used memory market, so some scavenging was already happening, but yeah, I'm not saying that increases in scavenging will fully cover the shortage. Just reduce it, which will reduce the degree to which prices rise relative to the scenario where the only memory available is newly-manufactured.

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