DDR2 prices surge 60% as AI memory crisis deepens

DDR2 contract prices rose 55 to 60 percent in Q2 2026, with a further 35 to 40 percent increase forecast for Q3. Hardware makers are downgrading from DDR4 to DDR3 and from DDR3 to DDR2 to secure supply. Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron shifted wafer capacity to high-bandwidth memory for AI data centers, squeezing older DRAM generations.