February 21, 2026
Half-price RAM, full-blown drama
CXMT has been offering DDR4 chips at about half the prevailing market rate
Half-price RAM shocker: buyers celebrate, chip giants panic
TLDR: China’s CXMT is undercutting PC memory with half-price DDR4 as costs spike, and big brands are testing the chips. Commenters are split between cheering cheaper gear and warning of subsidy-fueled dumping, while others say Korean and Western firms invited this by chasing pricier AI-focused memory.
Bargain alert: China’s CXMT is selling older PC memory (DDR4) at about half the going rate, just as prices were shooting up. DDR4 is the everyday memory in laptops and TVs, and after months of supply pain, the community is gleeful. One camp is chanting “competition = lower prices,” posting “wallets cheering, CEOs sweating” memes. The other camp is side-eyeing Beijing, warning this could be state-backed dumping—cheap now, fewer choices later. Meanwhile, reports say HP and Dell are testing the chips, and Taiwan’s Asus and Acer are sniffing around. That’s when the popcorn came out.
Commenters are roasting the industry too. Some blame Western and Korean giants for chasing AI gold—focusing on fancy HBM (super-fast memory for data centers) while leaving the everyday stuff undefended. “Classic blunder,” says one, as DRAM prices jumped eightfold year over year. Another quips, “Awesome. Storage next,” pointing at YMTC’s rise in NAND flash—aka the stuff in your SSDs.
Then came the twist: CXMT is already converting capacity to HBM3, aiming at AI data centers next, while YMTC nabbed a 10% global share in storage chips and is building a massive new plant. Translation for the comments section: cut prices to win the crowd, use the cash to climb the ladder. Fans call it a market correction. Critics call it a Trojan horse. Either way, the drama is premium while the RAM is budget.
Key Points
- •CXMT is offering legacy DDR4 DRAM at about half the prevailing market price to gain share during a global shortage.
- •PC DRAM DDR4 8Gb contract prices rose to $11.50 at end-January, up 23.7% month-over-month and over eightfold year-over-year, per DRAMeXchange.
- •HP and Dell are testing CXMT DRAM; Asus and Acer have engaged Chinese partners, indicating traction for low-priced chips.
- •CXMT is converting roughly 20% of its output (~60,000 wafers/month) at its Shanghai plant to HBM3, with mass production targeted next year.
- •YMTC reached 10% global NAND share and is building a Wuhan fab to start next year, allocating half its capacity to DRAM with potential HBM expansion.