All things related to technology hardware, with a focus on computing hardware.
Some other hardware communities across Lemmy:
Rules (Click to Expand):
Follow the Lemmy.world Rules - https://mastodon.world/about
Be kind. No bullying, harassment, racism, sexism etc. against other users.
No Spam, illegal content, or NSFW content.
Please stay on topic, adjacent topics (e.g. software) are fine if they are strongly relevant to technology hardware. Another example would be business news for hardware-focused companies.
Please try and post original sources when possible (as opposed to summaries).
If posting an archived version of the article, please include a URL link to the original article in the body of the post.
Icon by "icon lauk" under CC BY 3.0
First cheap Chinese DRAM, next hopefully cheap Chinese GPUs. The arrogance of big US and Taiwanese tech companies pays off for consumers in the end.
In the short-term. Yes. Long-term though China is still a state with their own bourgeoisie. They will turn protectionist and exclusionary the moment they think it makes sense. It's nothing unique to the United States even if we are one of the biggest examples currently.
It absolutely will be nice in the short-term at least to see the cartels get their comeupance for a short time.
Isn’t most RAM produced in South Korea these days?
Yes. I was thinking of Samsung and then I said Taiwan. Brain fart
Why would you be a sicko because you like lower RAM prices?
It's from an old Kelly satirical cartoon.
It’s an ironic label. American technocrats would likely call anyone celebrating this development as sickos. OP is jokingly self-applying the label.
Aren’t we all sick of this unnecessary price inflation? 😉
Absolutely, which is why the drawing is moronic, as it labels people who want lower prices as sickos.
You are not a sicko for being sick of things that suck. Sicko means something completely different.
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sicko
A person that has mental problems. A person that is sick or has a polluted mind.
Your flailing a bit here. It's not making light of sickness or actually implying that someone is sick. It's common that conservatives call anyone that thinks we should accept gays or trans people and treat them like anyone else degenerates or sickos. The same with legalizing drugs etc.
This is taking the piss on the accusation. Showing who the actually sick people are. The ones that find joy or safety in the persecution and exploitation of the vulnerable. Whom the war on drugs and many other societal norms focus on.
So this is an American thing, which makes it no wonder I find it unfunny, because we don't have the "Republican" mental disease here to anywhere near the extend of USA. Republicans are insane, and if it's making fun of them, I can see how Americans would find that funny.
But without a special social context, it's just stupid.
It could just as well be understood as people who are happy about lower priced RAM from China, are sickos because they are happy China is selling RAM in the West. That's the context I saw.
Hardly an "American" thing. I don't know where you are. I know you have conservatives. If you're in Canada, you have that mental disease. UK, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Japan, Africa, Asia, Europe yup. The one place that's relatively free of it is the Arctic.
Any humor outside of slapstick and pratt falls requires context. You were given it. It follows basic concepts and principles of comedy that are recognized everywhere. Subversion of expectations, ridiculing those with power. It's plenty humorous. The problem lies with you not it.
It could just as well be understood as people who are happy about lower priced RAM from China, are sickos because they are happy China is selling RAM in the West.
They're litteraly the type the cartoon is ridiculing. That's the whole point of it. Many in western nations, not even remotely just the US. Will unironically 100% chastize and attack anyone expressing that sentiment. Because they are commies etc. Even though China isn't even remotely communist. Even though the semiconductor cartels absolutely deserve no sympathy or defense. If not carrying water or defending abusive semiconductor cartels makes you a sicko I will wear the moniker with pride. And I think you would too. That's all that was ever implied.
lol it’s a funny joke.
In this case, we’re watching the economy of inflated chip prices and are cheering on the number going down. We’re outside the norm for that. It’s hyperbole.
Except the actual meaning of sicko makes it not funny. Without that "detail" it would have been.
But personally I don't care much for being called a sicko.
Am I a sicko for wishing torture and death on AI technocrats?
On top of this, the ram China sells will generate profit, instead of being looped back into the perpetual no-return money hole.
Actually it will. That's what all capitalism even China's State capitalism does ultimately. Just because you or no one you know aren't profiting doesn't mean no one is. When Capital can be imaginary, intellectual property. Profits often are equally imaginary. They are absolutely 100% making line go up for themselves. Much like the monarchs Etc before them.
I hope they're right
Of course, no one predicted the AI bubble would kill off hardware companies and hand over another monopoly to Chinese industry.
I've assumed the memory shortage is more than just an unfortunate byproduct. To the extent that LLMs have any use, its a threat to the datacenter model if people realize they can be run well enough locally. Hearing stories of datacenters hoarding hardware they can't use yet make me think they want extra time for people to get used to the norm of subscribing to a service. I'd love for a reporter to ask Sam Altman if he'd be happy to see consumers get access to cheaper ram again.
its a threat to the datacenter model if people realize they can be run well enough locally
There will likely always be an advantage to running the biggest models. And you will not be able to run those on your local PC.
Sure, just like there will always be a speed advantage for the newest Ferrari or Lamborghini. Are they worth leasing though? Or do Honda Civics go fast enough for the vast majority of people?
My impression is that the current top models are muuuch bigger than what will fit on your PC. If your time is not free, for stuff like programming where a blind avenue can cost you hours, then you likely want to run Ferrari models like that.
I saw a video comparing standard CXMT ram vs high end Kingston and Crucial I think, with faster speeds etc.
Very comparable was the Chinese one.
So I think a lot of buzz (from the before times) about the higher speeds and lower latency etc was for a very small niche market of people. Everyone else including gamers wouldn’t see a difference except in capacity.
Therefore, I welcome our Chinese saviours.
even if it was significantly lower performing many folks don't have the economic situation to pay current prices and would rather have something.
I call BS. Yield on high-speed, high-capacity RAM at scale is pretty hard to manage. If it was, Chinese manufacturers would have 'flooded the market' sooner.
It'll take them years to get to the point where they can match the yield of Samsung, Hynix, Micron, or even Kingston. And those guys are all focusing on the highest margin packages.
Sorry, we're all screwed until demand drops.
Kingston doesn't make their own stuff
Tariffs in 3 2 1.
My guess is USA already has tariffs, and most of the rest of the world will not put tariffs on Chinese RAM while prices are high.