For the past few months memory prices have been skyrocketing. This has been fueled by an interesting combination of extraordinary AI spending and HBM’s low gigabyte production per DRAM wafer. Given these facts, which I will explain in detail in this post, just how high will memory prices go? And, after that, how long will prices stay this high? The Memory Guy has been getting asked that Continue reading “How High Can Memory Prices Go?”
Category: Memory Markets
SK hynix’ Earnings Too Good to Keep Quiet
At some point you’ve probably felt the way that SK hynix’ executives must feel today: that there’s something so wonderfully exciting that you absolutely must share it with everyone right away.
It appears to have been in this spirit that the company issued the press release for its fourth quarter earnings a full seventeen Continue reading “SK hynix’ Earnings Too Good to Keep Quiet”
When Should DRAM Makers Adopt EUV?
An associate recently directed The Memory Guy to a short but interesting article published last March in Korea’s Chosen Daily called: Micron’s cautious EUV strategy raises questions on future DRAM edge. As the headline promises, the article questions Micron’s decision to postpone using EUV to make DRAM until its 1-gamma process node, which is now in mass production.
It’s particularly interesting to Continue reading “When Should DRAM Makers Adopt EUV?”
Some Clarity on 2025’s DDR4 Price Surge
DDR4 spot prices have been surging since March. Why is that happening, and what can we understand from it? The Memory Guy thought it might be helpful to chart what has happened with DDR4 and DDR5 spot prices to better understand that.
The chart below plots the lowest spot prices of tested DDR4 and DDR5 DRAMs of any Continue reading “Some Clarity on 2025’s DDR4 Price Surge”
AI xPUs to be Cooled by HBM
High-end xPUs (GPUs, TPUs, and other AI processors) use HBM memories to get the absolute highest memory bandwidth for training the Large Language Models (LLMs) used in today’s generative AI systems. These processors, used in the thousands by hyperscale datacenters, can consume a kilowatt each. As a result, they must dissipate a phenomenal quantity of heat. This has become a very challenging problem for these datacenters. (The Memory Guy should mention here that Objective Analysis plans soon to release a report on HBM.)
The problem has attracted the attention of Continue reading “AI xPUs to be Cooled by HBM”
3D NAND’s Impact on the Equipment Market
(The following is an update of a post that originally ran on 6 December 2013. It was republished in 2024 as a part of a series on The Memory Guy blog to honor the 3D NAND inventors who have received the 2024 FMS Lifetime Achievement Award.)
A very unusual side effect of the move to 3D NAND was Continue reading “3D NAND’s Impact on the Equipment Market”
Hyperscaler CapEx Significantly Off-Trend
One of the biggest markets fueling today’s memory growth is hyperscale computing. Not just hyperscale computing the way that it’s always been, but hyperscale computing fueled by AI spending.
The Memory Guy decided that this might be a good time to investigate whether a market anomaly might be driving this growth — something that could change at some point to cause Continue reading “Hyperscaler CapEx Significantly Off-Trend”
Why is Everyone Jumping Into the HBM Market?
All of a sudden HBM is the leading topic of conversation. Why is that? A good number of people ask the Memory Guy that question.
Sure, the recent explosion of generative AI has been the key part of that interest, but there was even more that encouraged competition into this market at an accelerated pace. The simple answer is that HBM, a DRAM used in AI applications, remained Continue reading “Why is Everyone Jumping Into the HBM Market?”
Why Do Emerging Memories Only Sell into Niches?
Every so often an investor will ask The Memory Guy: “Why does MRAM only sell into niche markets?”
These questions aren’t only about MRAM — some ask about ReRAM, FRAM, or PCM as well. It’s the same question for all of them. The answer is pretty simple: They’re expensive. All of these technologies command prices per gigabyte that are Continue reading “Why Do Emerging Memories Only Sell into Niches?”
Announcing Our New CXL Report
The Memory Guy is pleased to announce general availability of a new Objective Analysis Detailed Report: CXL Looks for the Perfect Home.
Since Compute Express Link (CXL) is so important to members of the DRAM market and the hyperscale computing community, the report focuses on those sectors, but it offers Continue reading “Announcing Our New CXL Report”