How it works
Each bit in DRAM is a tiny capacitor holding a charge plus a transistor that switches it. The capacitor slowly leaks, so memory must be refreshed thousands of times a second, hence “dynamic” RAM. When power is off, the contents are lost.
Generations
- 1970Intel 1103, the first commercial DRAM chip
- 1993SDRAM synchronised with the processor
- 2000DDR, two transfers per clock
- 2014DDR4
- 2021DDR5 in mainstream computers
The 2026 memory crisis
The three companies that make almost all of the world's DRAM (Samsung, SK hynix and Micron) moved production to HBM memory for AI accelerators in data centres. It is far more profitable. Ordinary memory is therefore scarce:
- A 32 GB DDR5-6000 kit cost about 90 to 120 dollars in summer 2025 and about 400 dollars in September 2026.
- SSDs, graphics cards, consoles and handhelds became more expensive too.
- Analysts expect relief only with new factories, so not before 2027.