Memory prices tipped to fall as China starts flooding the market with DRAM and NAND chips

[DragonSlayer101]

The big picture: Chinese semiconductor firms have begun flooding the market with domestically produced DRAM and NAND chips in a move that analysts believe could drive down memory and storage prices, offering consumers some much-needed relief. Reports suggest that several leading global PC component manufacturers have already started using the chips in upcoming products.

According to screenshots posted on X by tipster @wxnod, Corsair has integrated memory chips manufactured by Chinese DRAM maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) into its next-generation memory modules. While Corsair typically sources memory chips from Micron Technology, elevated market prices have reportedly pushed the company to explore more cost-effective alternatives.

The screenshots appear to reveal details about a 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 module featuring CXMT memory chips. The module, which is part of a 32GB kit, carries the serial number CMK5X16G3E60C36A2 and features timings of 36-44-44-96. It operates at 1.35V and supports both Intel XMP and AMD EXPO overclocking profiles.

– Алексей (@wxnod) May 22, 2026

CXMT is China's largest memory chipmaker, though it only unveiled its DDR5 portfolio last year. The company holds about 7.7% of the global DRAM market and counts several major Chinese tech firms, including Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance, among its customers.

According to reports, ChangXin Memory Technologies is ramping up capacity to compete with global leaders Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. The company offers DRAM dies in 64Gb and 16Gb configurations with speeds of up to 8,000 MT/s. Other Chinese memory manufacturers, such as YMTC and Jiahe Jinwei, are also expanding capacity to produce DDR5 RDIMMs for data centers and server deployments.

Also read: DDR5 Prices Are Broken, So We Tested Cheaper Chinese RAM

With memory pricing reaching record highs, CXMT's Q1 revenue rose to 50.8 billion yuan ($7.4 billion), up 719% year over year. The company also reported net profit of 33.0 billion yuan ($4.41 billion), compared with a loss of 2.83 billion yuan ($384 million) in the same period last year. The chipmaker is now reportedly preparing for a listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, with a multi-billion-dollar IPO planned later this year.

As Chinese companies continue expanding DRAM and NAND output, some industry observers warn that the AI-driven memory boom could cool sooner than expected. According to Samsung Electronics executive adviser Kyung Kye-hyun, the memory supercycle could lose momentum by 2028, with prices potentially falling back to pre-boom levels if manufacturers scale production quickly enough.

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Memory prices tipped to fall as China starts flooding the market with DRAM and NAND chips

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Good. The fact that in less then a year they have gone from 0 to 3.1 to 7.7% of the global RAM market says a LOT about how restricted the cartel kept things.

Bring on the CXMT RAM. Bring on the YTMC SSDs.

 

[Axeia]

You know what Samsung (and others), even if you lower prices I'll buy Chinese out of spite. I hope they massively eat up market share and steal your lunch money.
RAM prices have always fluctuated but the recent high is just silly.

 

[Billybobjoey]

I'll believe it when I see it. The prices on SSD's and RAM right now is utterly ridiculous, but I don't believe they'll willingly drop prices as long as they're still selling, even if they have more supply.

 

[yRaz]

We will just make them illegal in the US/for US data centers to buy, anyway.

 

[seeprime]

You know what Samsung (and others), even if you lower prices I'll buy Chinese out of spite. I hope they massively eat up market share and steal your lunch money.
RAM prices have always fluctuated but the recent high is just silly.

Blame Sam Altman (aka Scam Altman) not Samsung.

 

[Tantor]

CXMT is wisely giving up some short term profit to expand market share and brand recognition. This is how Chinese business works. They start by offering a high quality product at a ridiculously low price. That inevitably drives out the Western manufacturers. Then the Chinese raise their prices.

We're seeing that with Lenovo now. Their new Legion tablets are extremely overpriced. But there is no decent western competition.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Good. The fact that in less then a year they have gone from 0 to 3.1 to 7.7% of the global RAM market says a LOT about how restricted the cartel kept things.

Bring on the CXMT RAM. Bring on the YTMC SSDs.

It more shows how supply and demand works. A new firm entering with a not quite as good product makes less of a splash unless demand is high. No doubt the government is subsidizing their expansions which lowers their risk to do so relative to existing companies.

The nice thing for enthusiasts is that other people buying worse RAM still reduces the overall demand which lowers the price for the good RAM too.

 

[toooooot]

It won't help. The AI's hunger is much greater than the amount all RAM makers together can make.
I also want to remind everyone about SSD prices. I just checked cheapest SP 512GB drives. 90 f*** bucks.
And 1tb goes for almost twice. PC and laptops are gonna go in price. Every computing device, in fact.
It is a huge pain. At this point, the government should do something. For example tell the makers that a certain % of their production must be reserved for consumer devices or limited purchase, 1 item per buyer or so.

 

[Hecate91]

I doubt this will help, but I'll believe it when I see RAM actually return to somewhat sane prices, SSD's need to come down in price as well.
There isn't any incentive for Chinese manufacturers, or suppliers such as Corsair to lower prices when they could join the collusion and price fixing that Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are doing.

 

[Axeia]

Blame Sam Altman (aka Scam Altman) not Samsung.

Bold of you to assume my blame knows bounds.

Even before this RAM pricing defied logic it has always gone up and down in price and often very fast. Its pricing was like nothing else in the PC market even before cryptominers/covid/AI came along. Prices have doubled (or halved) in the span of weeks before.

Heck, RAM manufacturers pleaded guilty twice to cartel charges! (1998 and 2002), nothing seems to have changed since then so I guess they're bribing the right people to prevent it from getting to court.

 

[bviktor]

Blame Sam Altman (aka Scam Altman) not Samsung.

Dude. Samsung made around $37 billion in profits in Q1 alone. Not revenue, profits. Around 25% more than for 2025. For the full year. Their profits climbed 750% YoY. No, it's not a typo. Seven hundred fifty percent increase.

At this point, it's 12% of South Korea's total GDP. I'm not kidding. They're literally printing money now.

And the best part? They refuse to raise the cap of 50% on bonuses for workers. That's what the whole strike situation is about. The unions asked for spending 15% (a fraction) of their profits on worker bonuses. But nope, they don't want to give you this "much" either... just let the poor workers remain poor, and let the rich get even richer. It's all just corporate greed, and letting Samsung execs buy their 7th yacht.

So yes, it IS Samsung, not Sam Altman.

 

[Megalomaniac]

Shortages are always solved with production fixes and leads to overproduction - which ends in prices dropping due to higher supply than demand. DDR6 is arround the corner and DDR5 will plummet further.

My only desire at this point is that storage prices continue to fall.

I bought a 4TB SSD for $199 in November 2025 and suddenly prices doubled to $399 on the same item. Had I known, I'd have bought another at the $199 price point.

I have 64GB DDR5 and can't exceed that so I am not worried about any more RAM till my next system build a decade from now.

 

[poohbear]

The Chinese to the rescue? I was listening to a podcast interview w/ Jensen Huang & he was saying the Chinese already have what we have technologically & theyre not far behind us. He's right if they can ramp up RAM production this quick! Micron, Samsung & Sk Hynix saying its gonna take years to ramp up production and the Chinese are like here hold my beer.

 

[LordVile95]

CXMT is wisely giving up some short term profit to expand market share and brand recognition. This is how Chinese business works. They start by offering a high quality product at a ridiculously low price. That inevitably drives out the Western manufacturers. Then the Chinese raise their prices.

We're seeing that with Lenovo now. Their new Legion tablets are extremely overpriced. But there is no decent western competition.

The iPad which has over 50% tablet market share? Then Samsung has 25%

 

[LordVile95]

Shortages are always solved with production fixes and leads to overproduction - which ends in prices dropping due to higher supply than demand. DDR6 is arround the corner and DDR5 will plummet further.

My only desire at this point is that storage prices continue to fall.

I bought a 4TB SSD for $199 in November 2025 and suddenly prices doubled to $399 on the same item. Had I known, I'd have bought another at the $199 price point.

I have 64GB DDR5 and can't exceed that so I am not worried about any more RAM till my next system build a decade from now.

I’m not really cared about DDR6 tbh. I have an AM5 system that I’m intending to hold on to until AM7 and an AM4 system that just sits under the TV for media and light games with a 1060 3GB GPU. With how stupid memory pricing, the longevity of AM5 and considering the price of everything else going up I don’t envision wide adoption of AM6.

 

[Hooda Thunkett]

Blame Sam Altman (aka Scam Altman) not Samsung.

Sam Altman caused all of my Samsung thumb drives to fail after a few months? My Samsung refrigerators ice maker to leak and freeze up after a few months? My Samsung microwaves turntable to flop around from time of purchase (design flaw)? My Samsung phone to have an outdated and impossible to update OS after a few months? Well, f*ck that guy!
Wait, is he here? Hey, get away from my Samsung TV! Sam! You get back here and fix that, Sam Altman! Saaaaaaam!
/S
Yeah, Samsung finally lost me as a customer. Not going back.

 

[pnntmp]

You know what Samsung (and others), even if you lower prices I'll buy Chinese out of spite. I hope they massively eat up market share and steal your lunch money.
RAM prices have always fluctuated but the recent high is just silly.

You need to revisit high school lessons about how the economy works.
Prices are not high because Samsung, Hynix etc. keep them high. Prices are what they are because that's the equilibrium between the current supply and current demand. Even if Samsung all of a sudden halves their prices, you'll not buy cheaper RAM. Resellers that buy huge volumes will resell at a huge profit. You will still pay the same, just a part of the profit will not go to the manufacturer but to someone else.

 

[pgcharlie]

In today's market.. price drop in any field is a myth.. a fairy tale

 

[Endymio]

Good. The fact that in less then a year they have gone from 0 to 3.1 to 7.7% of the global RAM market says a LOT about how restricted the cartel kept things.

Nonsense utterly at odds with reality. The "cartel" didn't restrict anything. You're forgetting that prices have surged more than four hundred percent in recent months. Do you think that perhaps persuaded new players to enter the market? Basic economics: high prices reduce demand and increase supply, forcing them eventually to equalize.

 

[havok585]

We will just make them illegal in the US/for US data centers to buy, anyway.

what? who's we?

are you afraid a memory chip has sentience and will spy on your porn stack ?

 

[Bluescreendeath]

This is how Chinese business works. They start by offering a high quality product at a ridiculously low price. That inevitably drives out the Western manufacturers. Then the Chinese raise their prices.

This is how monopolies and many modern big companies work. Uber and lyft did the same thing by subsidizing rides with angel investor money to attract consumers. After they wiped out taxi competition and needed to make a profit, they then raised prices by a lot.

This is why it is importsnt to have competition.

 

[yRaz]

what? who's we?

are you afraid a memory chip has sentience and will spy on your porn stack ?

We, as the United States. we have a history of arbitrarily banning things from China under the guise of security and then never building out our own infrastructure to replace the thing we banned. I like how car prices doubled when we banned Chinese EVs

 

[Hecate91]

The ram cartel has restricted consumer access from collusion in price fixing while a real shortage doesn't exist, and memory manufacturers have been caught for price fixing several times. But this time they must be paying off people to avoid any investigation.

And economics would dictate ram manufacturers expand production, because more production means more sales, which means higher profits in the long run. Also a more stable market when you aren't alienating the consumer market to only sell to the AI tech bros.
The real reason ram went up 4x is because scam altman and the AI bros decided to buy memory that doesn't exist with money that doesn't exist, to put into GPUs that don't exist yet, into datacenters that don't exist, to be powered with a power infrastructure that doesn't exist, all to meet a demand that was never needed, for profits that are mathematically impossible.

 

[toooooot]

We, as the United States. we have a history of arbitrarily banning things from China under the guise of security and then never building out our own infrastructure to replace the thing we banned. I like how car prices doubled when we banned Chinese EVs

Now would be a horrible time to drive a Chinese car. Due to price war, they force part suppliers to keep lowering prices. We will never know how much was sacrificed for the cheap prices that have stayed unbelievably low for years.
And one thing I learned about car crashes, many injuries never go away. A neck pain that comes and goes, random back pain at night. Car safety truly matters. And Chinese have not learned it yet.