Featured Image Credit: Valve / Wontairr
Topics: Steam Machine, Valve, PC, Steam
Steam Machine hopefuls have been given a brand new dose of hopium as RAM prices appear to have fallen ever so slightly in the past week.
With many people across the gaming and tech industries feeling the full brunt of the ‘RAMpocalypse’, it seems that memory supply shortages are far from over.
With the increased price of certain hardware like RAM, graphics cards, and storage affecting PC and console manufacturers, upcoming tech launches like the Steam Machine have had to quietly delay their release schedules to account for the shortages.
However, it looks like the tech industry may have been given a small dose of hope following a small drop in DDR5 RAM prices this week.
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According to Wccftech, Corsair memory units on Amazon have seen a large price drop, with the 32 GB VENGEANCE DDR5 modules dropping from $490 to around $379.99. The 16 GB variants have also dropped from an all-time high price of $260 to $219.99.
Meanwhile, the price drop also appears to have applied to Newegg as well with a similar price tag, and seems to be affecting Corsair’s stock more-so than other vendors’.
Given Valve’s silence regarding the Steam Machine’s launch window and price, I’d imagine this drop may be the first sign of welcome news for anyone anticipating the upcoming console-like PC.
As for why RAM prices appear to be dropping, Wccftech credits this to the unveiling of Google’s TurboQuant algorithm, which can apparently reduce the amount of required memory for certain AI workflows.
It’s worth noting that this may not be a permanent solution to the problem AI created. As Quilter Cheviot’s Ben Barringer told CNBC: “Memory stocks have had a very strong run and this is a highly cyclical sector, so investors were already looking for reasons to take profit.
“The Google Turboquant innovation has added to the pressure, but this is evolutionary, not revolutionary. It does not alter the industry’s long‑term demand picture. In a market primed to de‑risk, even an incremental development can be taken as a cue to lighten up.”
It sounds like a small nudge in the right direction, but it might still be years until we see RAM prices return to what they once were.