Why are DDR2's cheaper than DDR's?

[gecko]

I've been wondering

Gecko

 

[VanguardLH]

in message

I've been wondering

Demand is lower. Rarity is higher (less production or no more
production so supplies dwindle). Prolonged storage costs due to
longer shelving for less demanded products. The pricing for older
products does not linearly degrade to complete with newer ones that
have greater capacity. Different pricing breaks based on demand and
production volume and production efficiency (i.e., pricing is not
linear across all capacities), and you are comparing old and new
products but at different pricing breaks. Because that is what the
limited and reduced market will bear.

You never mentioned just WHAT you were comparing. Lowest prices at
Newegg (based on capacity and module type, not speed or quality, and
keeping to one memory module for a somewhat similar comparison) to
obtain 512MB:

$ 9.99 (Wintec 512MB 240-pin DDR2 533MHz CAS-4 PC2-4200)
$22.99 (Kingston 512MB 184-pin DDR SDRAM 400MHz CAS-3 PC-3200)
$40.99 (Wintec 512MB 168-pin SDRAM CAS-3 PC-133)

It gets increasingly harder to get old hardware. How many memory
manufacturers do YOU think still have current production lines for the
old 168-pin modules? Unused memory from 20 years ago is just as good
and pristine as when they where in production back then but the demand
is much smaller, age hasn't reduced the initial cost of the item, they
are more rare, someone had to store them all that time, and those that
need it are locked into the market that still has some of that
dwindling and very limited supply.

 

[DaveW]

Because DDR2's are the current technology in use which means they sell in
much higher quantities than DDR's. This makes them much chepaer to produce.

 

[kony]

I've been wondering

Gecko

After most of the DRAM factories were retooled to make DDR2
instead of DDR(1) still, and after their capacity exceeding
demand, it becomes a simple matter of suppy vs demand.
Eventually the same will be true of DDR3.

 

[Paul]

I've been wondering

Gecko

Theinquirer says memory makers are using 12" wafers to make
DDR2, which has caused a glut of capacity and low low prices.
That cannot last forever. One change, may be increased production
of NAND flash, for upcoming flash devices. The quantity of DDR2
may drop, to make way for making more flash.

For DDR, we can only speculate how they are made. Maybe the
process uses the next size down on the wafer scale (from the
previous generation of fab plant).

At least the memory prices are not suggestive of this being
totally a retail scam. The prices here do show DDR as more
expensive, at the chip level.

http://www.dramexchange.com/

Paul

 

[Synapse Syndrome]

I've been wondering

You need to know about some very basic fundamentals of Economics. Read
these pages, as they are good to know about, for life.

Primarily, the answer to your question is the Supply and Demand model, but
also, on a lesser scale (if DDR memory is still in production), Economies of
Scale.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply_and_demand

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economies_of_Scale

ss.

 

[gecko]

Theinquirer says memory makers are using 12" wafers to make
DDR2, which has caused a glut of capacity and low low prices.
That cannot last forever. One change, may be increased production
of NAND flash, for upcoming flash devices. The quantity of DDR2
may drop, to make way for making more flash.

For DDR, we can only speculate how they are made. Maybe the
process uses the next size down on the wafer scale (from the
previous generation of fab plant).

At least the memory prices are not suggestive of this being
totally a retail scam. The prices here do show DDR as more
expensive, at the chip level.

http://www.dramexchange.com/

Paul

Thanks everyone

Gecko