The memory industry is mid-transition. DDR5 is still the mainstream standard, DDR6 is being sampled and announced, and somehow prices are up on both. Here's the full picture.
DDR5 became mainstream in 2022 with Intel Alder Lake and AMD AM5. By 2026, it's the standard in all new platforms. But "standard" doesn't mean "cheap."
DDR6 is being manufactured by Samsung and SK Hynix, with server/workstation samples shipping. Consumer DDR6 is projected for late 2026 / early 2027.
| Spec | DDR5 | DDR6 |
|---|---|---|
| Base speed | 4800 MT/s | ~8800 MT/s |
| Max speed | 8400+ MT/s | 17600+ MT/s |
| Voltage | 1.1V | ~1.0V |
| Bank groups | 8 | 16 |
| On-die ECC | Yes | Yes |
DDR6 doubles the bandwidth. It's a significant generational leap.
The DDR5 → DDR6 transition creates a price problem:
We're in phase 2-3 right now. The worst timing to need RAM.
Building new now? → DDR5. DDR6 isn't worth waiting for.
Upgrading old PC? → DDR4 used market is a great deal right now.
Can you wait? → Late 2027 is when DDR6 hits reasonable prices.
HBM3 (used in AI accelerators like H100) and LPDDR5X (used in AI phones/laptops) are consuming fab capacity that would otherwise make DDR5 cheaper.
Every H100 cluster deployed is driving up the price of your gaming PC RAM. Wild but true.