[rasz]

There were multiple periods in history we experienced ram price shocks.

1. Ram was relatively cheap between 1985 and 1987 hovering around $100-150 for 1MB using 256Kbit chips. Then 1987 anti dumping laws lined up with fabs upgrading to lower yielding new 1Mbit chips and things got crazy. In 1988 256Kbit chips went from $3.5 to $7 in less than a month. Some companies coped better than others. Atari was the first to offer computer shipping with 1MB below $1000 thanks to Tramiels little secret of smuggling ram from Japan and skirting anti dumping restrictions :) Even SUN Microsystems was caught buying that smuggled ram from Tramiel.

2. 4MB $150 January 1992, lowest in went would be $100 in December 1992, and back to $130 in December 1994.

3. September 1999 Jiji earthquake.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Jiji_earthquake#Economic_...

https://www.edn.com/panic-buying-sets-dram-prices-on-wild-ri...

https://www.eetimes.com/dram-prices-rise-sharply-following-t...

128MB DIMM prices: May 1997 $300. July 1998 $150. July 1999 $99. September-December 1999 $300. May 2000 $89.

Then overproduction combined with dot-com boom liquidations started flooding the market and Feb 2001 $59, by Aug 2001 _256MB_ module was $49. Feb 2002 256MB $34. Finally April 2003 hit the absolute bottom with $39 _512MB_ DIMMs

Sadly now is not like any of those times. Its like the Jiji earthquake lasted couple of years straight.