It looks like the availability of DDR5 memory seems to be improving. Stores are now showing DDR5 memory in stock and the prices are far more reasonable than just a few months ago. Towards the end of 2021, Intel’s release of its 12th generation Alder Lake CPUs sparked a surge in demand for the new DDR5 memory platform. As a result, the availability dwindled and the cost of DDR5 modules skyrocketed.
But now, things seem to be looking better. Stock is improving and the prices have fallen dramatically. Without further guidance from memory manufacturers, it’s hard to say how long this trend will last. The hope is that prices will continue to fall slowly and eventually become competitive with the pricing for DDR4 memory in relation to performance. Global logistics conditions are subject to change regarding pricing and availability though due to the ongoing pandemic, so it’s anyone’s guess as to what could happen in the months to come.
Where to look for DDR5 memory
At the moment, there are a few places where you can find some DDR5 memory. Best Buy, for instance, is selling 32GB of Corsair Vengeance 4.8 GHz DDR5 memory kits for $299.99 USD. Relatively speaking, this is still expensive, so it’s probably best to hold off on buying some for now if your trying to save money. But this is still much cheaper than it used to be. On Amazon, Corsair’s 4.8 GHz DDR5 memory went for around $1,299.99 USD at one point. In comparison to that price, the same kit from Best Buy seems like a bargain. Best Buy also has 8GB and 16GB sticks of DDR5 memory from PNY for $199.99 USD. Again, the price is still on the expensive side, but it’s at least an improvement.
Given the release of Intel’s 12th generation CPUs, memory manufacturers are likely to increase the production rate of DDR5 memory even more. This obviously means that we should start to see more stock and lower prices as a result. The real question at the moment is whether you should upgrade to DDR5 memory right now. For the moment, DDR5 doesn’t drastically outperform DDR4 in gaming, but that isn’t to say it’s entirely pointless to get right now. For early adopters, it makes sense to grab some DDR5 while you can in preparation for future generations of hardware. The Intel Core i9-12900K is a good example of this, as it supports DDR5 memory.
At the moment, DDR4 still has the edge on pure value over DDR5 memory. However, those who want to get a better deal on DDR5 memory may want to wait for availability and pricing to improve. A lot of the signs are beginning to indicate as much.
