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Falling RAM prices mean easy speed upgrades

A sharp decrease in RAM prices because of a surplus in a low-demand market makes it easier to upgrade your current system.

Topher Kessler MacFixIt Editor
Topher, an avid Mac user for the past 15 years, has been a contributing author to MacFixIt since the spring of 2008. One of his passions is troubleshooting Mac problems and making the best use of Macs and Apple hardware at home and in the workplace.
Topher Kessler
2 min read

Apparently a shortfall in PC sales and demand has resulted in a surplus of RAM from various manufacturers like Samsung, Micron, and Nanya, and as a result the cost of RAM upgrades has been steadily falling as these surpluses have been pushed into the market. Only a few months ago an 8GB RAM upgrade for a laptop system would have cost around $100 to $150, but these days they are going for between $50 and $70. Similarly, RAM prices for desktop systems are also dropping.

What this means is if you are in the market for a RAM upgrade then now through the end of the year may be a perfect time to go ahead with the purchase. If you have a stock system and have not upgraded its RAM, then doing so may be a good way to expand its capability and speed up your system, especially if you are running the latest OS versions with less than 4GB of RAM installed.

RAM is the work space for the system, and allows the system to perform more tasks at once. The more RAM that's available, the greater capacity the system has for performing tasks, so if you increase the overall RAM in your system then the system will make very efficient use of the work space and not only get more done, but get things done faster as well.

For Mac systems many people assume they need to purchase RAM through Apple, but this is not the case, and Apple's RAM prices are ridiculously high at $400 for the same 8GB upgrade that Crucial offers for under $55. If you own a Mac and are looking to upgrade your RAM, you can easily and cheaply get a RAM upgrade from elsewhere, including Crucial and Other World Computing.



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