News - OCZ quits the DRAM game

[crossy]

The DRAM game is pretty stagnant (in that it isn't growing) and Kingston pretty much rule the roost.

Kingston - who are they? I would politely suggest that the roost-ruling title probably belongs to Corsair - certainly they seem to be getting the most column inches. Just defected to them (8GB Vengeance) from Crucial (despite the latter's good customer support).

Sorry to see OCZ dive out of memory - they seemed to figure in most of the search results I got when I was shopping around. And I parted with some of my hard-earned for a Vertex 2E for a boot drive - quite impressed. Less competition in any market is not good for customers.

Think they'll want to pull out of the PSU market next - although from what I've read - pretty much everyone just slaps a badge on a PSU from one of a limited pool of builders, (Seasonic, CMT, can't remember the others).

[jim]

Kingston - who are they? I would politely suggest that the roost-ruling title probably belongs to Corsair - certainly they seem to be getting the most column inches. Just defected to them (8GB Vengeance) from Crucial (despite the latter's good customer support).

Column inches doesn't necessarily link to actual presence in the market. Kingston makes nearly half the RAM in the world.

[crossy]

Column inches doesn't necessarily link to actual presence in the market. Kingston makes nearly half the RAM in the world.

I'll agree to disagree - Kingston may make a large amount of RAM (although I would have thought if you're talking about actual chips then surely the triumvirate of Samsung, Hynix and Micron would have been bigger) - but if we're talking about bragging rights then if the majority of the sites/mags are benching with Corsair's gear, then they have good claim to the title. Okay, if this isn't the case, then I'll look sheepish and shut-up.

"Column inches = brand recognition/awareness = sales" I dimly remember from Advertising 101.

Sorry that this was

[aidanjt]

"Column inches = brand recognition/awareness = sales" I dimly remember from Advertising 101.

Quack thinking. People buying stuff = sales. In the RAM market the vast majority of RAM purchases are made by the OEMs, and column inches is utterly lost to them. All they're interested in is low cost and low faults, they might even commission their own models of sticks.

[tickedon]

Shame. I've been buying OCZ memory for as long as I can remember - always seemed to have a good price/performance balance!

[rabbid]

Probably because their CS department gets so much exercise. I've never known a RAM manufacturer to put out so many sticks which develops faults over time.

Frankly I'm not surprised they're bowing out of the RAM market, they can only compete with the likes of Corsair on price, and having to replace so much broken junk is a double impact on profit margins.

Well I had just one stick that failed (doa) of well over 100 passing through my hands and one spreader thats half unstuck. Both of those bought privately but the first claimed to be 'new oem' arrived in a home sealed anti static packet.... It cost just over £1 via royal mail recorded to RMA it overseas and in 10 days had a replacement.

Some of the early plats I had would get hot if pushed. Probably these would fail if I had not backed down the timing or voltage or added cooling. Not as hot as some of the same era crucials though, but those ballstics back then had a very high reported return rate. IMHO partly at least maybe due again to users trying to attain the high voltages and timings without regard for cooling the part.

[aidanjt]

I'm not talking about DOA's or overclocking. Just plain standard use, and they develop faults over time.