SK Hynix has reportedly warned that the global supply of commodity DRAM will remain tight until at least 2028, a situation that could translate into higher prices for consumer hardware. According to TechPowerUp, the memory maker shared this outlook during a recent internal company meeting, signalling a significant shift from how the industry has traditionally responded to demand surges.
The company expects the prolonged constraint to affect mainstream memory products such as DDR4 and DDR5 system RAM, GDDR6 and GDDR7 graphics memory, as well as LPDDR5x and LPDDR6 used in laptops and mobile devices. These DRAM types are core components for desktop PCs, notebooks, game consoles, and GPUs, placing consumers and gamers squarely in the firing line if prices continue to rise. SK Hynix reportedly does not plan to expand production capacity for these products as aggressively as it has in previous cycles, even as inventories tighten.
In contrast, the company said its most advanced memory products will avoid these supply pressures. High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and SOCAMM, which see heavy use in data centre hardware and AI accelerators, will receive additional capacity expansion. Demand for these products continues to outpace that of conventional DRAM, driven largely by AI GPUs and servers that consume significantly more memory per system.
To support this, SK Hynix has reportedly begun installing more extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tools, with reports suggesting up to 20 Low-NA EUV machines will come online over the next two years. However, this new capacity will focus almost entirely on HBM and advanced storage products, meaning consumer-grade DRAM will not benefit from the expansion.
This focus comes as the memory market itself narrows, with SK Hynix now one of only two major suppliers continuing to serve multiple sectors after Micron announced plans to stop producing memory components for Crucial next year. With AI companies willing to pay a premium for cutting-edge memory, SK Hynix is reportedly prioritising higher-margin data centre products over the consumer market, reinforcing expectations that tight DRAM supply and its pricing impact could linger for several more years.
(Source: TechPowerUp)
