DDR4 chip prices rose 24% over three months, a faster rate of increase than DDR5 recorded over the same period, according to a market report by XenoSpectrum. The persistent memory shortage continues to drive the climb.

The figure stands out because DDR4 is the previous-generation memory standard. Markets typically expect legacy parts to depreciate as newer interfaces take over volume production. This cycle has inverted that assumption.

What does the 24% jump mean?

A 24% rise in three months is a steep move for any commodity semiconductor component. For buyers of DDR4 — system integrators, industrial PC makers, networking vendors and aftermarket assemblers — it translates directly into higher bill-of-materials costs on products that have no easy path to DDR5 migration.

The increase matters for three reasons:

• It affects the older platforms that still ship in volume, where DDR4 remains the only supported memory type.
• It narrows the price gap between DDR4 and DDR5, reducing the financial incentive to stay on legacy platforms.
• It signals that the shortage is not confined to leading-edge nodes but extends across the memory product line.

The report frames the DDR4 gain against a backdrop of rising DDR5 prices as well. Both generations are climbing; the older one is simply climbing faster.

Why is legacy memory outpacing the newer standard?

The dynamic follows from how manufacturers allocate capacity during a shortage. Memory makers shift wafer allocation toward DDR5 and high-bandwidth products, which carry higher margins. That leaves DDR4 supply constrained at the exact moment demand for it persists.

Demand has not exited the DDR4 installed base. Industrial equipment, budget systems and long-lifecycle products cannot switch memory generations without redesign, so buyers absorb the price increases rather than requalify platforms.

The result: constrained supply meets inelastic demand, and prices accelerate. The 24% figure over three months captures that acceleration in a single number.

How long will the shortage persist?

The report describes the memory shortage as ongoing, with no inflection point identified in the current data. That means buyers should treat the three-month 24% rise not as a spike but as a trend line, unless supply conditions change.

For procurement teams, the practical consequences are straightforward:

• Quote DDR4 requirements early; lead times and prices both move against late orders.
• Evaluate the DDR5 crossover point, since the shrinking price gap may now favor migration where platforms support it.
• Lock in volume agreements for long-lifecycle products that cannot leave DDR4.

Every one of those decisions now carries a 24%-in-three-months data point behind it.

The shortage set the terms; DDR4 prices simply recorded the result.