Average DRAM spot prices across all densities were down 6.5 percent for the seven-day period ended March 16, compared to the previous period, according to Gartner. Average spot prices stood at $3.67 on a 512-megabit basis for the period, down 39 percent since the beginning of 2007, according to the firm.

Prices for mainstream 512-Mbit DDR2-based chips are down 44 percent since the beginning of this year. ''Ample supply in the market and little fear of a tightening of supply gave the overall market a negative outlook,'' said Andrew Norwood, an analyst with Gartner.

At the beginning of February, the DRAM market crashed, as average selling prices (ASPs) had already fallen by 30 percent since the beginning of this year. DRAM ASPs were projected to fall by 30 percent for the entire year.

At that time, vendors insisted that the DRAM free-fall was temporary, claiming that a rebound is due in the second half of 2007, thanks in part to Microsoft's Vista operating system software.

In general, the memory market is lousy. The NAND flash market is also "brutal," according to Intel Corp. Some believe the ASPs on NAND chips will decline 65 percent this year.

By: DocMemory
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