Global PC corporations HP and Dell are reportedly reviewing Chinese memory semiconductor corporation CXMT as an alternative as the surge in DRAM prices has made even procurement difficult. However, they are only at the stage of initiating the certification process, and because there have been almost no cases of Chinese-made DRAM being installed in products from global PC corporations, questions remain about feasibility.
According to Chinese IT outlet Kuai Keji and Nikkei Asia on the 6th, PC makers including HP and Dell, as well as Acer and Asus, are said to be considering using CXMT's DRAM. However, according to Korea's PC industry, the consensus is that adoption or supply has not been finalized and that it is at the review or qualification stage.
HP and Dell have been procuring DRAM from Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Micron. But as major memory corporations have concentrated a significant portion of their production capacity on high bandwidth memory (HBM) for data centers needed for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, the supply of commodity DRAM needed for PCs and mobile devices has been disrupted. As DRAM prices have risen sharply every month, the burden of costs has grown for PC corporations.
In CXMT's case, it only began to show a presence in the DRAM market 1 to 2 years ago, so doubts about quality persist. Most of the DRAM currently produced by CXMT is consumed in its home market, and unlike Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which use early-10-nanometer processes, it uses a late-10-nanometer legacy process.
Kuai Keji reported, "As contact points emerge between CXMT and global PC corporations such as HP and Dell, companies in China's semiconductor supply chain are also gaining momentum," adding, "CXMT's partners have received orders to expand production." However, PC makers offer a different explanation. An HP representative said, "Based on the DRAM inventory the company holds, we are watching the situation through the second half of this year," and added, "Given the tight supply-demand situation, it is appropriate to view CXMT as merely listed as a candidate supplier."
In Korea's PC industry, the reaction to installing Chinese-made DRAM in the latest PC products at the current technological level is that it would be a "downgrade." A representative of a major distribution channel said, "Considering the specifications of current PC products, putting late-10-nanometer DDR4 legacy DRAM in them is unrealistic," adding, "There are also compatibility issues not only with PCs but with platforms, including the CPU (central processing unit)."
Some interpret PC corporations as pushing CXMT to rein in DRAM prices that have been soaring without limit. According to market research firm TrendForce, the forecast for the average DRAM price increase in the first quarter of this year was recently revised up to 90%–95% from the initial 55%–60% quarter over quarter. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are also highly likely to continue raising DRAM prices this year.
As the memory semiconductor market has shifted to a seller's market, some say PC corporations are putting CXMT on the table as a card to induce price negotiations with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. A professor at a Korean university said, "Because the supply talk originated in China, it is hard to fully trust, but in terms of timing, it is true that PC corporations are suffering from severe DRAM price hikes," adding, "However, given the importance of DRAM in PCs, it will not be easy to adopt Chinese-made DRAM."