Corsair Blog

Over the past few months, we’ve reached some key milestones in the technology transition from DDR2 to DDR3 memory. Both AMD and Intel have launched significant new processor platforms, AM3 and Lynnfield respectively, that both use DDR3 memory. At the same time, DDR2 pricing has come up while DDR3 has decreased—making DDR3 RAM not only higher in performance than DDR2, but also lower cost.

So, this makes it official... DDR3 is now THE memory for new builds, and DDR2 is now mainly for upgrades.

I’m sure you are wondering why the price of DDR2 memory has increased over the course of the year—the answer is actually very simple. For the past year or so, DDR2 memory has been a fantastic bargain for the consumer. In fact, at one point earlier this year, 4GB of 800MHz DDR2 memory could be had for less than $20! Unfortunately while this was great news for consumers, it turned out to be catastrophically bad news for the manufacturers. It cost far more to produce the memory than it could be sold for. Two words describe this scenario—“not sustainable”!

What we have seen over the course of 2009 are substantial changes to this unsustainable model. Some manufacturers, most notable Qimonda, simply went out of business. Most fabs were re-targeted to produce more profitable products like DDR3 or Flash. DDR2 wafer starts were cut back, and supply and demand was brought closer into balance as less DDR2 RAM was being produced. Now, at current pricing levels, we believe that IC manufacturers can finally build DDR2 DRAM and sell it for more than it cost to produce.

This does NOT mean that memory is no longer a great bargain, it's still priced at historically low levels. It's just not priced at the irrationally low, and unsustainable levels it used to be a short time ago. The party isn't over, we’ve just stopped drinking Everclear and gone back to the usual Budweiser. It feels healthier and more responsible, and the memory vendors are no longer lying passed out on the front lawn!

As you might expect, with new platforms launching, performance increasing, and price parity occurring, we are seeing a big surge in DDR3 memory demand here at Corsair. This quarter, we expect DDR3 memory to outsell DDR2 memory for the first time ever. This is a historic shift! It sends a pretty strong signal that DDR3 RAM is now the choice of system builders worldwide. Yep, it looks like there is a new sheriff in town!