The wait-and-see group wins! DDR5 memory prices have collapsed, dropping over hundreds of yuan in a single day. Experts: Memory will continue to decline in price, and long-term shortages are unlikely.

Fast Technology March 30 news—does this count as a win for the “wait-and-see” crowd?

In late March, the continuously hot DDR5 memory market suddenly began to cool off sharply. Prices in both domestic and overseas markets fell significantly at the same time, and even domestic offline markets saw a daily plunge of more than 100 yuan. This is also the first time in months that DDR5 memory prices have clearly started to pull back, giving previously pressured PC builders users a glimpse of hope.

According to domestic media reports, “starting last Saturday, prices just collapsed.” A vendor said, “From yesterday to today, a mainstream 16GB memory stick dropped another 40 to 50 yuan. On that Saturday, it was even more exaggerated—one day it dropped over 100 yuan.”

As for the cause of this round of price declines, some vendors believe it was the result of both market supply-and-demand dynamics and hoarding sentiment. “The most fundamental reason is that demand is gone.” He said helplessly, “When prices were high, people would still buy if it was a necessity—otherwise they wouldn’t. Compared with before November last year, our sales have fallen by not less than 60%.”

Another key factor is the concentrated dumping of previously hoarded inventory. A vendor revealed: “When prices were rising last year, many people outside the industry rushed in to stock up. Now that prices have dropped, it triggers selling off, but the market’s ability to absorb it isn’t great.”

Overseas markets are also seeing a wave of price cuts. Platforms such as Amazon US and Newegg have broadly adjusted DDR5 memory pricing. The Corsair brand has the most pronounced discount. The 32GB 6400MHz model dropped from a peak of $490 to $379.99, a decrease of more than $110. The 16GB 5200MHz model also fell to $219.99.

Behind this round of price cuts, multiple factors are at play. An imbalance in supply and demand is the root cause. Overly high prices suppress consumer demand, while Google’s TurboQuant compression algorithm released on March 26 became the trigger.

This algorithm can reduce the AI model’s memory usage by at least 60% without losing accuracy. The announcement triggered wild fluctuations in global storage-sector stock prices. Micron Technology fell nearly 7%, while SanDisk’s drop exceeded 11%. Although Morgan Stanley noted that the algorithm only applies to the inference stage and will not significantly reduce overall storage demand, it still sparked panic within the industry, and some manufacturers chose to cut inventories early.

Regarding the future direction of memory prices, Pan Helin, a member of the Information and Communication Economic Expert Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said: “As production capacity gradually stabilizes, memory module prices will keep falling in the future. It’s just that the time horizon is longer, and as a technology product that iterates quickly, memory can’t be in shortage long-term. Also, the manufacturing threshold for older memory will continue to get lower.”

Overall, while memory prices have dropped significantly for now, they are still at a high level. The future trend still needs to be observed based on changes in market supply and demand, as well as the real-world application of the algorithm.