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  • YB1064 - Monday, December 2, 2019 - link

    About time somebody took down the traditional price fixing DRAM czars.
  • Adramtech - Monday, December 2, 2019 - link

    Yes, the price fixers that just allowed the price to drop the last 1.5 years out of sheer kindness.
  • Alistair - Monday, December 2, 2019 - link

    come on, 3 years later still 8GB cards, I bought 32GB memory for $110 almost a decade ago, and we're just getting back there now... DRAM pricing has been way too high for a long time, and still is (you know it is supposed to drop in price with process node, just like CPUs???)
  • ksec - Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - link

    >(you know it is supposed to drop in price with process node, just like CPUs???)

    Not it hasn't happened since post 1x nm. The cost of transistor hasn't declined as much, not to mention comparing price in era where DRAM manufacturer are losing money to an era where DRAM manufacture are selling a better version for the same cost and making money is a significant difference.
  • Adramtech - Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - link

    don't forget about the last decade of inflation being wrapped up in today's price
  • rpg1966 - Monday, December 2, 2019 - link

    Any article that's even vaguely DRAM related, and the conspiracy theorists come out of the woodwork...
  • sonny73n - Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - link

    Get your head out of the toilet and have a look at DRAM pricing history then compare that to NAND’s.

    They’re not only price fixing but price gouging at the same time. But hey, there are wicked imbeciles like you doing the same with whatever you can produce or might produce and think it’s good for the economy somehow.
  • rahvin - Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - link

    NAND prices collapsed because of a massive oversupply due to tablets. An oversupply issue that's been fixed (every producer has cut output by about 20%), by mid next year NAND prices will be back where they were before the oversupply.

    If you think a Chinese producer will fix the DRAM industries history of price fixing you're nuts. They'll join the cartel just like everyone else.
  • s.yu - Wednesday, December 4, 2019 - link

    From the looks of recent state capitalist practices of the Xi regime, they'll sell for cheap to satisfy certain domestic customers under state direction. What the "cartel" will do with the remaining smaller pie I don't have assumptions for, but its likely that this will result in stronger bargaining power of all major Chinese customers.
  • nand_guy - Monday, December 2, 2019 - link

    Could you please explain what you mean by this paragraph:
    Given recent news about certain Chinese companies potentially being involved in memory IP theft, it should be noted that CXMT has licensed IP originally designed by Qimonda. This means that it has ties with Micron, which owns that intellectual property, or just acquired it from Xi'an UniIC, which also has it. Micron's Investor Relations is involved with CXMT, so we suspect the former.

    What is Micron's involvement with CXMT? It is counter-intuitive to me that they would want a rival company to which the Chinese govt will effectively give billions of dollars to use technology that they own.
  • deeptrench - Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - link

    If I remember correctly Qimonda had a partnership with Inotera, and eventually Micron acquired Inotera ?
  • ksec - Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - link

    >It is counter-intuitive to me that they would want a rival company to which the Chinese govt will effectively give billions of dollars to use technology that they own.

    I guess you wont aware, you either do what the government flavours or want, or you dont get access to the market.
  • The_Assimilator - Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - link

    One of two things:

    1. Some exec saw an opportunity to get a massive payday by selling off IP to China, by the time it causes trouble for Micron s/he will be long gone.
    2. China informed Micron that licensing its tech to Chinese companies was the price of doing business in China.

    No reason why it can't be a combination of the two, of course.
  • s.yu - Wednesday, December 4, 2019 - link

    Makes sense.
  • Anymoore - Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - link

    They are mostly R&D in the same fab, so can't expect a lot of volume.

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