Memory Prices - Week of October 22, 2007

Herein we have a list of the best prices we can dig up on PC system memory, as well as the name and number of the vendor selling at each lowest price. We scour the "Price Engine" circuit to find the prices so do not be surprised if you cannot find as good a price as we do, or if you go to the vendor's web site and they have a higher price. Usually you can just tell them you saw the listed price on the Sharky Extreme Weekly Memory Prices, or on Pricewatch. If they refuse to honor the price we dug up, please give us an e-mail as we'd like to hear about it.

Memory prices change frequently and the prices we obtain and post each week are a snapshot of the memory price market for a given moment in time. Prices go up and down daily. The "Change" column lists the price difference between this week and last week.

Incidentally, the list of companies is generated by hand from our own research and Sharky Extreme does not receive any sort of advertising fee, sponsorship or other type of promotional incentive from any of the companies that appear on the list. Before you think of buying from any of the vendors listed below, we recommend you do your own research concerning a particular company's customer service and prior history. We are in no way recommending or endorsing any of these companies, we're just bringing you prices and their sources. Buyer beware.

So use the following table as a reference guide of what is available but try not to grumble if you can't find the memory of your choice at our listed price and bear in mind that the prices listed below do not include charges for shipping and/or sales tax.

SDRAM

Throughout most of September and October we have watched SDRAM prices creeping down a few dollars here and there, contributing to lower SDRAM prices in the Fall. Overall prices are starting to level out, and offer only a couple of price fluctuations on PC133 CAS3 128-MB and PC133 CAS2 128-MB, which are both down by $4 this week.

DDR / DDR2

Our last guide charted a few DDR prices worth investigating, and this week we see a similar trend. A vendor change on PC3500 512-MB brings it down $15 to $60 this week, but unfortunately, that is the only significant price change we found. PC3200 1-GB also dropped $2 to $49, but the price of PC4000 1-GB and PC4200 512-MB each went up by a dollar.

DDR2 memory was the most active category this week, offering a fair number of price drops ranging from $2 to $6. The price of DDR2-667 512-MB, DDR2-667 1-GB, and DDR2-800 512-MB all went down by $3, and DDR2-667 256-MB shaved $2 off as well. Both DDR2-533 512-MB and 1-GB offer $5 in savings, while DDR2-800 1-GB is now selling for $143, which represents a drop of $6.

RDRAM

RDRAM prices are often fluctuating, and this week is no exception. Few vendors have been stocking PC1066 512-MB (184pin), which has resulted in rather high prices in our Memory Guide price list. But this week we found a vendor listing this memory at $199, which is $51 less than our previous listing. Other RDRAM price changes include a $15 price increase on PC800 ECC 512-MB, up to $97 this week, and again representing a vendor change. PC800 128-MB is up $3 to $22 this week and the price of PC800 512-MB also increased - by $8 to $97. A price increase of $7 on PC800 ECC 256-MB rounds out the RDRAM category and consumers looking to upgrade RDRAM are faced largely with price increases this week.

Overall

If saving money is your key criteria when purchasing a memory upgrade, this week's price guide has little to offer. Overall, we charted mostly price increases, especially with RDRAM, where PC800 ECC 512-MB jumped by $15 and an extra $7 is needed to buy PC800 ECC 256-MB. The news wasn't all bad; a few SDRAM modules offer some price drops, and the vast majority of DDR2 modules show lower prices. As we head towards the end of October, it's a good practice to check with local franchise shops to see if they are willing to come close or price match Internet prices, giving you the best deal, as shipping costs won't need to be factored in.