Server memory and enterprise storage are trading at multi-year highs. Here's what's driving it, what makes one module worth more than another, and how to work out what your surplus is actually worth.
The short version: AI data centers absorbed the supply. To feed AI accelerators, memory makers shifted wafer capacity toward high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which consumes several times the wafers per bit of standard DRAM — and HBM sold out for 2026. With capacity pulled away from ordinary server DRAM, prices ran hard: TrendForce put the Q1 2026 jump in DRAM contract prices at roughly 90–95% over the prior quarter, and high-capacity DDR5 modules had already climbed several times over in the back half of 2025.
This isn't a blip. Micron has signalled the squeeze will persist through 2026 and into 2027, and SK Hynix has warned the shortage could stretch past 2030. For anyone holding surplus memory, that's the backdrop: you're sitting on something the market is genuinely short of.
The counter-intuitive part is what happened to the older generation. As fabs prioritized DDR5 and HBM, Samsung and other makers cut DDR4 production — but a huge installed base of servers and platforms still runs on DDR4. Falling new supply against steady demand pushed used and new DDR4 prices up an estimated 60–80% between early 2025 and early 2026, and in some pockets DDR4 now trades at or above comparable DDR5.
If you've been sitting on pulled DDR4 DIMMs assuming they're obsolete, the opposite is true right now: legacy DDR4 is one of the more sought-after things in the channel. Don't scrap it before you price it.
Six things set what a stick of memory is worth today.
DDR5 generally commands the most and DDR3 the least — but scarcity can invert that, which is exactly what's happened to DDR4.
Server RDIMM/LRDIMM (registered, ECC) is worth more than desktop UDIMM — it can't be substituted with consumer memory, so it trades in its own market.
Higher-density modules — 64GB, 128GB, 256GB — carry a premium per stick, especially LRDIMM and 3DS parts.
Faster bins bring more: DDR4-3200 over DDR4-2666, DDR5-5600 over DDR5-4800.
Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron are the primary makers. An exact part number lets a buyer price precisely instead of discounting for uncertainty.
New/sealed tops the range, then tested pulls, then untested. Untested and mixed lots still have real value — they're just priced with an expected failure rate.
You don't need a spreadsheet to get a quote — a photo of the label works — but the fastest path to an accurate number is the part number printed on each module. It encodes the maker, capacity, speed and form factor. A few real examples of what we buy every week are on the right.
Not sure whether it's server or desktop memory? Registered/ECC server DIMMs are physically longer, carry more chips, and have a register chip in the middle. Send the part number or a clear photo and we'll sort it. Our DDR5, DDR4 and server RAM pages carry fuller part-number lists.
The same AI demand that drained DRAM is draining NAND flash. Enterprise SSD contract prices rose roughly 80% in Q1 2026, enterprise-SSD revenue jumped about 86% quarter-over-quarter as hyperscalers built out AI storage, and enterprise SSDs became the single largest NAND application — because AI servers need far more storage per box than traditional ones.
For sellers, the upshot is simple: data-center SSDs pulled from decommissioned servers and arrays — Samsung PM9A3, Intel/Solidigm P4510, Micron 7450, Optane P5800X and the like — hold real value right now, and are worth quoting separately rather than lumping in with the chassis. Every drive we buy is sanitized to NIST 800-88 before resale.
If your organization has surplus, pulled, or overstock memory or SSDs sitting in bins, this is an unusually good window to convert it to cash. A few practical notes: price DDR4 before you scrap it; keep server and desktop memory separated where you can, since they're valued differently; and don't let “untested” stop you — grading is our job, not yours. Because the market moves daily, any quote is a snapshot — get a current number rather than working from a figure you saw last month.
Bottom line: the memory market flipped, and surplus that looked like e-waste a year ago is a liquid asset today. Send a rough list or a photo and we'll price it, usually within one business day.
Yes. Manufacturers cut DDR4 production to free capacity for DDR5 and HBM, while a large installed base of servers still runs on DDR4. Falling supply against steady demand pushed used DDR4 up sharply from early 2025 — in some cases to parity with DDR5. It's worth pricing, not scrapping.
No one can promise a market top, but Micron and SK Hynix have signalled tight supply and elevated prices well into 2027. If you have surplus you don't need, pricing it now captures today's elevated market; holding is a bet on the shortage continuing.
Server memory is registered ECC (RDIMM or LRDIMM) — physically longer, more chips, a register chip mid-module — and worth more than desktop UDIMM. Send the part number or a photo and we'll identify it.
Yes. Untested lots are priced with an expected failure rate built in, but the lot as a whole is still worth pricing. We grade and test in-house, so you don't have to sort first.
Usually yes. Data-center NVMe/SAS SSDs hold strong value in the current NAND shortage and often bring more quoted on their own than bundled into a full-server sale.
Market figures cited from TrendForce, Micron, SK Hynix and industry reporting (2026). Memory prices move daily; figures are directional, not quotes.
Send whatever detail you've got. We'll follow up directly with a quote or questions.