An international report states that the focus on high-capacity HBM RAM production has led to a decrease in the supply of regular DRAM, leading to an increase in prices worldwide.
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The cost of RAM (Random Access Memory) chips used in almost all modern electronic devices including computers, smartphones, digital cameras, routers, smart TVs, printers, etc. is continuously increasing. This has led to an increase in the price of the devices, which has affected consumers all over the world. Recently, the prices of gadgets have also increased in Nepal.
International media outlets have reported that the price of RAM and SSD (storage) has increased due to the high demand for artificial intelligence and the decrease in production and supply.
Currently, big tech companies around the world are building large data centers to run AI systems like ChatGPT and Gemini. These AI servers require a large amount of high-capacity RAM called ‘HBM’.
To run AI, a graphics card or GPU is required, GPU helps in speeding up complex calculations. High-speed RAM (HBM) is required to run GPU. Microsoft, Google, Amazon and others are buying this HBM RAM in large quantities for their AI servers. Due to this, the normal ‘DRAM’ used in laptops, smartphones or ordinary computers has become less available in the market. This has caused the overall price of RAM to skyrocket.
The three main companies that manufacture DRAM - Samsung, Micron and SK Hynix - are focusing on producing HBM and other high-capacity chips used in AI servers instead of regular RAM used in smartphones or laptops. This has led to a decrease in the production of regular RAM as it gives them more profit. With this, the supply has decreased but the demand has remained the same, while the prices of consumer-grade RAM, SSDs and digital devices have increased rapidly.
In Nepal, since all electronic equipment is imported from abroad, the increase in the value of the dollar has increased the cost of imports and the market price of the devices has also increased. According to foreign trade data released by the Customs Department, 47,046 laptops and notebooks worth 3.19 billion 7.464 billion rupees have been imported into Nepal as of Kartik of the current fiscal year.
