The Vergecast The Vergecast RAM Holiday Spec-Tacular
77 snips
Dec 23, 2025 
Dylan Patel, the founder of SemiAnalysis and an AI infrastructure expert, joins the conversation to dissect the complex dynamics of the RAM market. He reveals how consolidation to three main suppliers—Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung—has shaped current prices and availability. The discussion dives into the AI data-center boom's unprecedented demand for memory, its implications for consumers, and why new manufacturers are unlikely to emerge. Patel also explores the future of memory technology with insights on 3D DRAM and forecasts for price stabilization.
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What RAM Actually Is
- DRAM stores tiny electrical charges representing ones and zeros and must be constantly refreshed to retain data.
- RAM sits between the CPU and storage to provide very fast temporary data access for active computations.
Speed And Proximity Matter
- RAM remains far faster than SSDs and acts as the working set for CPUs and GPUs.
- Keeping memory physically close to processors increases bandwidth and performance.
Shared Manufacturing Limits
- RAM manufacturing uses the same silicon wafer and lithography processes as processors.
- That shared supply chain links memory shortages to broader chip capacity bottlenecks.