Sorry, but DDR5 RAM is virtually impossible to buy right now

If you're trying to build yourself a new Intel 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" CPU, and a new Z690-based motherboard then you're going to have some trouble finding some DDR5 RAM.

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Finding DDR5 RAM is hard because of the PMICs (Power Management Integrated Circuit) are facing "severe shortages" according to 12chip. The site reports: "Currently, there is a shortage of DDR5 sticks in the market, and sources from Boardchannels say that the main reason for the shortage is that the DDR5 memory is equipped with a power management chip PMIC, which is currently in very short supply".

"Sources said that the PMIC chip is currently in very short supply, while the purchase price of the PMIC chip to be used in DDR5 memory is 10 times more expensive than the corresponding chip in D4, and the procurement cycle is at least 35 weeks".

PMICs are an ultra-important of DDR5 memory and with shortages comes something worse: price hikes. There's not much DDR5 RAM available so whatever is available, is going to cost you more. Given that the PMIC chip used in DDR5 RAM is 10x more expensive than the chip in DDR4 RAM, we're going to be in this crappy DDR5 price world for a while -- no different to GPU prices, motherboard and CPU prices, etc.

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