SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics will no longer produce DDR3 memory

SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics will stop supplying DDR3 memory to the market in the second half of 2024. This has caused a recent increase in DDR3 DRAM prices, with some rising as much as 20%. Samsung Electronics has already informed its customers that it will stop supplying DDR3 memory at the end of the current quarter, while SK Hynix completed the conversion of its factory in Wuxi County and gradually reduced DDR3 production by the end of last year.

These changes are driven by the rapid growth in demand for HBM3 and the DDR5 standard. Thus, major memory manufacturers such as SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics and Micron are forced to shift their resources to more in-demand products. Intel and AMD are also planning to release a new generation of mainstream desktop platforms supporting only DDR5, further stimulating demand.

Apart from the three main players, Nanya Technology has also focused its production on DDR4 and DDR5, accepting orders only from OEM customers for DDR3. Currently, DDR3 is used in niche products such as set-top boxes, Wi-Fi routers and displays. However, companies that continue to see DDR3 as important, such as GigaDevice and Winbond Electronics, remain in the market.

DDR3 memory prices are expected to continue to rise in the second half of the year and beyond as demand for it declines and manufacturers switch to more legacy standards.