July 2004 DDR2 Pricing Update

DDR2 PC2-5300 (667MHz) Pricing:

Corsair Memory:

Corsair Memory just this month launched their XMS2 PC2-5300 memory line this month. All the current Corsair XMS2 PC2-5300 modules use Micron IC’s and come rated with memory timings of 4-4-4-12. These timings are just a tad looser than that of the Crucial Ballistix line. The Corsair XMS2 and Crucial Ballistix modules are the only DDR2 modules on the market for sale today that come with heat spreaders on the modules.

Crucial Technology:

Crucial Technology has blasted into the enthusiast memory market with their new Ballistix memory series! These DDR2 667 modules boast timings of 4-4-4-10, which happen to be the tightest on the market right now! We took a pair of our 512mb modules up to DDR2 733 with timings of 4-3-3-10 the first time we used the recently released Ballistix memory series. Crucial’s Ballistix memory series is more than a pair of their value memory with heat spreaders on them as we found that they are built on a different PCB with select IC’s!

Conclusion:

Pricing for DDR2 has finally steadied out on the market. For the first time in over three months we have started to see DDR2 pricing go up instead of coming down. This makes sense as we are getting set to enter August, which is traditionally a strong month for computer sales. In a July 13 Reuters report, Michael Sadler, Micron’s vice president of worldwide sales, said DRAM pricing has yet to peak and pricing will grow amid improved PC sales starting next month. Also take into consideration the tight DRAM supply & the recent fire at the ChipPAC packaging facility where Hynix is rumored to keep stock may also contribute to higher prices in the upcoming months for DDR2 memory.

If you are looking to jump onboard the DDR2 bandwagon with a new Intel Socket 775 platform this month looks like a great time to pick some memory up. With the launch of DDR2 667MHz memory and tighter timings the choices are getting better also!