# What makes PC SDRAM so much more expensive than the same capacity in a chip?

I'm picking a SDRAM IC for a custom embedded board and was surprised by the low prices. Was expecting orders of magnitude similar to PC ram of the same capacity.

For example H5TC8G63AMR-PBA chip costs almost 4 times less than this Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800).

Digging into the datasheet [page 4] for the RAM on chip it states that it its configuration is 512M x 16 and the speed isn't clear from the name.

• Is the speed the main reason for the difference?
• Are there other factors (like a need for a PCB) that multiply the price?
• Are you comparing one chip with a DDR stick that contains eight of the same chip? Nov 23 '16 at 16:47
• Have you calculated how much of the chips you need for the same capacity? Plus the PCB? Plus manufacturers need to make money? Nov 23 '16 at 16:48
• @pjc50 The reference for the chip states DDR3 8Gbit 512MBx16 0-70C. From that I've assumed the 8Gbit is the capacity of the chip. Nov 23 '16 at 16:51
• @Alan Correct, 8 Gbit. Which means you need 8 of them to get 8 GBytes of memory. Nov 23 '16 at 16:52
• @Andrew So it should be 512Mbx16 instead of 512MBx16? Nov 23 '16 at 16:54

To put the comments into the form of an answer so that the question can get closed...

The SDRAM part linked to is a 512Mx16 device, 512M addresses, 16 bits wide giving a total of 8Gbits.

The DIMM linked has a capacity of 8GBytes, 8 times the capacity of the individual memory chip.

The DIMM also lists its speed as PC1600 with timings of 10-10-10. For the memory chip the -PBA at the end indicates that it is PC1600 with timings of 11-11-11 (the PB) in a x16 configuration (the A).

So while the DIMM is 4 times the price you are getting 8 times the memory that can run 10% faster.