DRAM prices head for the toilet

THE PRICE OF DRAM, which always wibbles and wobbles like there's no tomorrow, is on a bit of a downward wobble at the moment.

Those clever folk at Gartner say the price of 512-Mbit DDR2-based chips has tumbled by 44 per cent this year, already.

And average DRAM spot prices were down to $3.67, last week, a 39 per cent since the beginning of 2007, according to the market watchers.

Firms have been pumping out DRAM chips expecting the market to chew them up to run Vista on. The over-supply has sent prices tumbling. Vendors reckon demand will kick in later this year to help prop up prices.

Gartner says the price of DRAM fell through the floor in February. Spookily, Vista went on sale to end users on January 30th. µ