Price Check Q3 2016: DRAM Prices Down Over 20% Since Early 2016

High Capacity and HEDT DDR4 Pricing

Now, let’s take a look at larger kits designed for HEDT systems. Due to the intracacies of the quad-channel memory controllers inside Core i7 Extreme Haswell-E and Broadwell-E processors, HEDT kits do not boast with extremely high frequencies because it is hard to run four modules at high clock-rates. Even then, at moderate frequencies such DRAM sub-systems deliver a lot of bandwidth. What memory kits for HEDT do require are sub-timings optimized for their operation in quad-channel mode since in far not all situations a pair of dual-channel kits will work fine in quad-channel mode.

Due to the fact that HEDT kits do not operate at extreme data-rates, there are a lot of options to choose from since virtually all suppliers of DRAM modules offer such kits, including Crucial, Corsair, G.Skill, Mushkin, Patriot and so on.

Crucial Ballistix Sport LT DDR4-2400/CL16 4×8 GB (BLS4K8G4D240FSC)

Crucial introduced its Ballistix Sport LT DDR4-2400/CL16 32 GB (4×8 GB) kit (BLS4K8G4D240FSC) relatively recently and back in February it used to retail for $224. Today, it is available for $139.99 at Amazon and for $139.99 at Newegg. Moreover, there are Ripjaws 4 kits from G.Skill with CL15 timings that cost $134.99 at Newegg, but which are absent at Amazon, most likely due to distribution.

Next up are 64 GB DDR4 kits for high-end desktops. Another quad-channel set of memory modules from Crucial, the Ballistix Sport LT DDR4-2400/CL16 64 GB (4×16 GB) kit (BLS4K16G4D240FSE) seems to be among the most affordable options. The product currently costs $249.99 at Amazon and the same amount of money at Newegg. When it was added to Amazon’s database in early May, it was priced at $300, but at some point later on its price declined to as low as $195 and $215.

If you want fast memory for HEDT, be ready to pay a lot for it.

Corsair’s Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200/CL16 (4×16 GB) CMK64GX4M4B3200C16

Corsair’s Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200/CL16 64 GB (4×16 GB) quad-channel kit (CMK64GX4M4B3200C16) currently costs $389.99 at Amazon and $389.99 at Newegg. Its competitor, the G.Skill TridentZ DDR4-3200/CL16 64 GB kit (F4-3200C16Q-64GTZKY) retails for $359.99 at Newegg. A good news is that prices of even such high-end kits are rapidly declining: back in February the Vengeance LPC 64 GB DDR4-3200 quad-channel kit cost $630.99.

Corsair's Dominator Platinum Quad-Channel Kits for HEDT

Meanwhile, Corsair’s top-of-the-range Dominator Platinum DDR4 modules continue to be the most expensive in the industry. The company’s Dominator Platinum DDR4-2666/CL15 64 GB (4×16 GB) quad-channel kit (CMD64GX4M4A2666C15) has MSRP of $439.99. However, its actual price at Amazon is $631.99 (up from ~$530 a month ago), hence, no changes from December 2015.

At the moment Newegg does not carry the CMD64GX4M4A2666C15 kit, but it used to cost around $430 in late June there.

By contrast, an octa-module CMD64GX4M8A2666C15 kit is priced at $540.39 (up from $475 a month ago) at Amazon, which is lower than its MSRP of $584.99.

Meanwhile, Newegg sells the Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4-2666/CL15 64 GB (8×8 GB) kit for $469.99.

It is evident that market trends have an effect on prices of even ultra-high-end memory solutions, which is why their prices are generally declining. Nonetheless, such DRAM kits are still expensive and their exact prices can depend on supply from the manufacturer or distibution rather than the price of DRAM ICs in general. We advise to keep this in mind because fluctuations in pricing can occur on a weekly basis.