The hope of finding cheaper components thanks to Chinese competition seems to have hit reality. Recent listings confirm that saving money on Chinese RAM was only a short-lived dream.
DDR5 Price Increases Match Global Brands
Just a few weeks ago, many believed that memory modules made in China would become the “saviors” of gaming budgets. It was thought that companies like CXMT, which are not yet as “mainstream” as the three major global suppliers (Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix), could offer much lower prices to attract buyers. However, the retail market has proven otherwise.
One clear example is KingBank, a brand known for using CXMT DDR5 memory modules in its consumer products. According to a recent listing on the Chinese sales platform JD.com, a 32 GB DDR5 memory kit is selling for 3,629 yuan, which equals around 530 dollars at the current exchange rate. This price is almost identical to what Western brands charge for the same memory configuration.
More advanced configurations follow the same upward trend. A 64 GB DDR5-6000 kit from the same brand now goes beyond 1,000 dollars in the retail market. This means that turning to companies like CXMT as a cheaper way to build a gaming PC no longer makes sense in the current situation.
So why did this happen so quickly? The answer lies in supplier priorities. Semiconductor companies now have strong reasons to focus on business demand. The return on investment (ROI) from artificial intelligence clients is much higher than what gamers are willing to pay for consumer components. In fact, CXMT plans to shift a significant part of its DRAM capacity toward HBM3 production, a high-bandwidth memory type that is essential for AI data centers.
Even if major companies like HP, Dell, or ASUS manage to sign long-term supply agreements with these Chinese manufacturers, this does not guarantee relief for consumers. These deals only ensure that there is enough stock to build computers. Since the global gap between supply and demand remains very large, contract prices are expected to stay high.
