In context: It's no secret that the cost of PC memory has skyrocketed this year. While prices have seemingly stabilized now (perhaps due to the holiday season), websites like Amazon still list the base price of a 16GB kit of Corsair's Vengeance LPX DDR4 RAM at around $190.
Speculation regarding why the prices are so high has been rampant throughout the internet. Some insist the costs are due to material shortages, while others claim that the three leading memory makers – Samsung, Micron, and Hynix – have been participating in price fixing.
It seems China's government concurs with the latter theory. According to a report from the Financial Times, country officials have been investigating the three companies for suspected anti-competitive behavior for some time now.
These investigations have born fruit if said officials are to be believed. Specifically, Chinese inspectors have reportedly found "massive evidence" that Samsung, Hynix, and Micron are indeed fixing DRAM prices.
Chinese inspectors have reportedly found "massive evidence" that Samsung, Hynix, and Micron are indeed fixing DRAM prices.
China hasn't elaborated on either of these claims just yet, and none of the alleged evidence has made its way to the public sphere. However, if the investigations are as far along as China seems to imply they are, we might learn more in the coming months.
Samsung, Micron, and Hynix, for their part, do not appear to be impeding the proceedings. The Financial Times says all three companies are cooperating fully with investigators, but it remains to be seen whether or not that agreeableness will last if more information comes to light.