Aligning your DRAM selection with technical specifications, budget constraints, and future scalability is not an easy task. In this blog post, we outline how to pick the right embedded DRAM component.
In 1966, Robert Dennard was lying on his living room couch in Westchester County, New York, when he had an idea that would come to change the trajectory of computing and provide the foundation for the tech-centric world we live in today. Dennard was part of an IBM team working to reimagine the way computers store information...
The past year has been challenging for memory suppliers. Independent analysts report that customer inventory levels have been depleting while demand has been increasing. Supplier production levels and capacity investments have been cut back.
Additionally, a new post-COVID supply/demand balance has been reached with price stabilization after price declines not seen in 15 years.
The Changing Market
Industry pundits forecast that suppliers will be slow to increase capacity as they need time to recover. DDR4 supply is expected to tighten as mainstream demand shifts to DDR5. And eMMC growth is expected to continue. Price increases are projected to resume and accelerate as we enter a period of undersupply by 2024.
Now is the time to ensure your supply is stable for the period ahead. Qualify SMARTsemi DRAM, eMMC, and Flash Cards today.
The Outlook - DRAM Prices Up. Legacy Supply Tightening. Shift to Leading-Edge Generation Continues.
The top 3 DRAM suppliers and top 3 market segments shape the DRAM market.
Analysts reported that a majority of DRAM buyers endured a 10-23% DRAM price increase in Q1-2024. In Q2, the mainstream memory market is forecast to have additional DRAM price increases of as much as 8%. This is in despite of demand migrating to DDR5, which has a more cost-effective production process.
Interpreting a Complicated Forecast.
The three market segments that consume 85% of DRAMs and their generational transition, drives the supply, which is nearing the final transition from DDR4 to DDR5. If you’re not in servers, PCs, or mobile markets, you’ll likely experience supply challenges for older generation DRAMs.
To help visual the DRAM supply impact on the “Other 15%” markets, we’ve assigned a 5-level supply threat assessment indicator for DRAM availability. These markets never reach the green level (level 5) because only 15% of the supply has not already been allocated to the mainstream markets.
SMARTsemi DRAMs Serve the Underserved Markets.
The sooner a DRAM component generation is qualified, the more likely your supply with be uninterrupted. We encourage you to order qualification samples today and contact a SMART representative or distributor to help get us on your DRAM AVL, especially if you’re in one of these Other 15% market verticals that find memory sourcing and end-of-life support challenging.
SMARTsemi application and engineering experience can help you find and qualify DRAMs quickly. And our commitment to being your DRAM supply partner includes sourcing model that enables SMARTsemi to extend generational end-of-life, giving you more time to complete production runs or upgrade products to another DRAM solution.
As your supply chain partner, we understand your challenges sourcing components for long-life applications, and we’ve aligned our priorities with yours, including long term relationships and supply agreements with Tier-1 manufacturers.
SMARTsemi is a premier source of commercial, industrial, and wide/automotive temperature grade memory components. From legacy to mainstream, our DRAM and FLASH eMMC devices and SD Cards are processed for the high-reliability and quality that long-life applications need.
Our digital platform is designed to minimize your effort to search, select, and source products from our authorized stocking distributors or from us.
SMARTsemi
39870 Eureka Dr.
Newark, CA 94560
TEL: 877-794-2749
Established over 20 years ago, SMARTsemi is a Line of Business of SMART Modular Technologies, Inc. that globally manufactures and delivers millions of memory components annually for embedded medical, robotics, communications, industrial, defense, home entertainment applications and standard, ruggedized, and custom memory and storage solutions in high-growth markets. When you think memory, think SMART. When you’re sourcing memory components, select SMARTsemi.
