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Not only DDR5, DDR3 has also started to increase in price

    Starting from the next quarter, DDR3 will begin to face tight supply and push up prices. The world's three largest memory manufacturers, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, are all going all out to seize the two new markets of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and DDR5. All new production capacity is invested in related new products, leaving no time to take into account the niche application DDR3 specification DRAM market. Recently, AI and network communication demand have soared, DDR3 has become tight in supply, and prices have risen. Taiwanese manufacturers, Winbond (2344), fired the first shot of price increase, and the price increase is expected to be 20%. Legal persons are optimistic that Winbond's substantial increase in DDR3 prices will not only benefit Winbond's fundamentals, but also DRAM suppliers such as Etron and Epson will have the opportunity to keep up with this wave of growth and become popular at the same time. Industry insiders analyzed that AI has become the mainstream of the terminal market this year, triggering an explosion in HBM demand, and even a situation of supply exceeding demand. Due to the relatively high price and good profit, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have actively invested in HBM production, and their main production capacity is simultaneously targeting the latest DDR5 market opportunities. For relatively old specifications of DRAM such as DDR4 and DDR3, they choose to maintain the production capacity before the production reduction, and even gradually fade out of the DDR3 market. When the world's three major memory manufacturers have no time to take care of the DDR3 market, as a large number of terminal markets such as the Internet of Things, network communications and automotive use are still using old specifications of DRR3 or DDR4, but after the introduction of AI technology, terminal products also have a demand for DDR3 capacity upgrades. With the demand opening up and the manufacturer's production capacity supply not increasing, the DDR3 market has completed inventory clearance since last year. Starting from the second quarter of this year, DDR3 will begin to face tight supply and push up prices. The industry pointed out that Samsung, Micron and SK Hynix have successively called for DDR3 price increases in the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year. Recently, Winbond plans to increase DDR3 specification DRAM in the second quarter, and it will increase by 20% in one go, becoming the first memory chip supplier in Taiwan to take the lead in large-scale price increases. It is understood that DDR3 is currently a niche memory, mainly used in terminal product lines such as network communications, the Internet of Things or wearable devices. Although the demand for DDR4 is gradually rising, DDR3 is still the main application of niche memory in the market. With the recent recovery of the terminal market, it has become another major reason for the demand for DDR3 to enter a tight supply. Winbond General Manager Chen Peiming previously pointed out that it is estimated that the DDR3 market in the second or third quarter will reach a balance between supply and demand or a slight shortage of supply, which will help the price increase trend and benefit Winbond's operations, which rely on DDR3 as its main revenue.Hua Bang has announced in 2022 that it will continue to expand its DDR3 product line and expects to continue producing DDR3 for the next decade, covering LPDDR3, DDR3 from 1Gb to 4Gb, and applying them in AI accelerators, the Internet of Things, automotive, telecommunications, WiFi 6/6E, and fiber optics. Hua Bang's revenue from DRAM-related products still accounts for more than half, with DDR3 being the majority.

What are the characteristics of DDR3 and DDR5?

DDR3 is one of the most common types of memory currently, with transfer rates ranging from 800 MHz to 2133 MHz. DDR4 has improved transfer rates and bandwidth compared to DDR3, reaching up to 3200 MHz, while also achieving lower voltage and lower power consumption. DDR5 is the latest type of memory, offering higher transfer rates and bandwidth, capable of reaching 8400 MHz, while also supporting higher capacity, higher bandwidth, and higher data integrity.

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DDR3 is one of the most common types of memory currently, with transfer rates ranging from 800 MHz to 2133 MHz. DDR5 is the latest type of memory, offering higher transfer rates and bandwidth, capable of reaching 8400 MHz.

Looking at the characteristics of DDR3 and DDR5:

DDR3

- Speed and bandwidth improvement: DDR3 has significantly improved in speed and bandwidth compared to DDR2. The internal clock speed of DDR3 is higher, data transfer is faster, and bandwidth is larger, thus providing higher data transfer performance.

- Low power consumption: DDR3 operates at a lower voltage than DDR2, typically 1.5V, which helps reduce power consumption and heat generation. Low power consumption also gives DDR3 an advantage in scenarios like mobile devices and laptops where battery life and thermal management are crucial.

- High capacity support: DDR3 supports larger memory capacities, providing more storage space. This is very important for applications and tasks that require processing large amounts of data, such as graphics processing, video editing, and virtualization.

- High frequency and timing: The frequency range of DDR3 memory typically starts from 800MHz and goes up to 2133MHz, allowing for different frequencies to be chosen according to needs. Additionally, DDR3 introduces stricter timing requirements to ensure stable and reliable data transmission.Backward Compatibility: DDR3 memory slots are typically not compatible with DDR2 or DDR, but DDR3 memory modules can be used alongside earlier DDR2 or DDR slots on a DDR3-compatible motherboard. However, it should be noted that the memory modules will operate at a lower speed and timing to accommodate the lower standards.

DDR5

DDR5 memory offers higher internal clock speeds and data transfer rates compared to DDR4, thereby providing greater bandwidth. The transfer rate of DDR5 can reach over 6400MT/s, more than double the highest transfer rate of DDR4.

Higher Density and Capacity Support: DDR5 memory can support larger memory capacities and higher densities compared to DDR4. Individual chips in DDR5 memory modules have greater capacity, and support for more channels and more slot configurations can provide larger storage space.

Lower Power Consumption: DDR5 memory has lower operating voltages and higher energy efficiency compared to DDR4. The operating voltage of DDR5 is typically 1.1V, which is lower than the 1.2V of DDR4. The low power consumption characteristic helps to reduce energy usage and generate less heat.

Stricter Timing Control: DDR5 introduces stricter timing control to ensure stable and reliable data transmission. With more refined timing control, DDR5 can offer higher performance and better signal integrity.

Improved Error Correction and Reliability: DDR5 introduces new error correction and reliability features, including Row-level Error Correction (RAS) and Column-level Error Correction (CAS). These features can provide better data integrity and reliability, reducing the risk of system crashes and data corruption due to memory errors.

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