The ongoing RAMageddon is only getting worse. Following the supply issues caused by the gluttonous demands of AI datacenters, the ongoing attacks against the Middle East are also disrupting the supplies of pure helium which is used to create DRAM from unprocessed silicon wafers.
With companies like Valve publicly asking for assistance in acquiring RAM to power their upcoming suite of Steam hardware, the average consumer has been egregiously hit by price increases. Despite this, companies like Samsung are planning to raise the price of RAM even further over the next few months.
As RAM prices skyrocket, companies are now selling products that some with fake RAM sticks alongside a single stick of DDR5 memory. V-COLOR, a PC hardware manufacturer, has announced a new “1+1 Value Pack” of memory that comes with a “Filler Kit”.
Pitched at AMD Ryzen PC platforms where users may want to upgrade from a single stick of DDR5 RAM to two when they can afford it, the condescending-feeling release comes with a fake stick of RAM complete with RGB to make your PC look more expensive than it actually is.
Alongside the real RAM product, the so-called Filler Kit adds no memory capacity to your computer, but fills the slot with an identical-looking slab that lights up in all the rainbow colours real gaming RAM does. Expect all the ill-informed tech TikTokkers to whack this into their system to show off in overly-flashy, rapidly-edited videos.
V-COLOR explains that the first 1+1 RAM kits will arrive with the 16GB Manta DDR5 XSky and the 24GB Manta DDR5 Xfinity. In some diagrams, shown below, the company even suggests having a single RAM stick with three Filler Kits or two RAM sticks (woah, big spender) with two Filler Kits.
While some may feel like this is an incredible patronising idea as the average consumer gets priced out of products, the move has been pushed as a flexible way to upgrade from DDR4 to DDR5. Of course, depending on the workload, DDR5 is not as performant in single channel, and Filler Kits don’t do anything to solve that issue, so they’re not only useless, but designed to be eventual e-waste anyway. Wow!
As everyday consumers are now unable to upgrade their computers, the release of products like these does not feel like a clever solution to the problem, but more like a slap in the face. In all honesty, there is definitely a market for people who do want to package their single stick of RAM with some fancy RGB, but it’s a product that feels dishonest in a time where everyone who wants to build even an entry level PC is struggling.
