Best time to upgrade 2018 mini RAM in now(ish)

[nampramos]

Not sure if the same is happening in the US market, but here in Europe prices for Crucial's RAM for the mini 2018 have been dropping pretty much every week.

Not sure what exactly is happening, if it's just production that has increased a lot or other variables are at play. But I'm sure getting tempted to finally grab 32GB for my i5 mini with the base 8GB installed.

Anyone tempted too?

The attached screenshot shows the development of popularity vs price in Sweden.

 

[Ploki]

dang, i could've said 100e if i didnt buy the samsung drive and ram last month lol

 

[pl1984]

I've read supply for RAM and SSD chips is finally starting to increase and is expected to do so over the next year or two. This should, finally, start to drive prices down.

 

[MikesGravity]

I pad $244 for 32GB of Crucial on Amazon last week - upgrade went great.

 

[ElectronGuru]

This may be part of the larger market trend of less demand (bitcoin fever has broken) + more supply (new factories). Last i checked, it was expected to hit both ram and ssd prices through 2019.

 

[harriska2]

Wow, drop $20 over the past few days from $244 to $224 on US Amazon. Even the TR6 torx screw driver is down 13%.
[doublepost=1548553194][/doublepost]

This may be part of the larger market trend of less demand (bitcoin fever has broken) + more supply (new factories). Last i checked, it was expected to hit both ram and ssd prices through 2019.

Last year when I checked I swore the prices were just over $300.

 

[F-Train]

In November, I paid OWC/MacSales a bit under US$300 for 32GB. Tonight it’s $280: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/owc/apple-mac-mini/2018

There is a widespread view that the price of memory will come down significantly in 2019, but I’m not seeing a significant reduction yet.

 

[harriska2]

In November, I paid OWC/MacSales a bit under US$300 for 32GB. Tonight it’s $280: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/owc/apple-mac-mini/2018

There is a widespread view that the price of memory will come down significantly in 2019, but I’m not seeing a significant reduction yet.

About 8% in 1 week isn't horrible ... Fortunately people on this board posted about the bit coin thing and prices likely to come down so I went with their advice. Glad I did. Still not seeing a huge need to upgrade from 8gb but will still do it at some point.

 

[spyguy10709]

In November, I paid OWC/MacSales a bit under US$300 for 32GB. Tonight it’s $280: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/owc/apple-mac-mini/2018

There is a widespread view that the price of memory will come down significantly in 2019, but I’m not seeing a significant reduction yet.

OWC isn't where anyone would point for RAM pricing. You can get a pair of Crucial 16GB DDR4 2666 SoDIMMS on newegg for 199.99 right now.

 

[F-Train]

OWC isn't where anyone would point for RAM pricing. You can get a pair of Crucial 16GB DDR4 2666 SoDIMMS on newegg for 199.99 right now.

That depends on the purchaser. There are many participants in this forum who have purchased RAM for their mini from OWC, knowing that they are paying more than from some other sources.

There are also people who put Newegg at the bottom of the list of online vendors that they want to do business with. Personally, I don’t care what Newegg’s price is. I know its return policy, indeed I’ve discussed it with them to make sure that I understand it and what level of support I can expect, and thanks, but no thanks.

If I have a problem, between OWC and Newegg there is zero doubt about who I’d rather be dealing with.

 

[spyguy10709]

That depends on the purchaser. There are many participants in this forum who have purchased RAM for their mini from OWC, knowing that they are paying more than from some other sources.

There are also people who put Newegg at the bottom of the list of online vendors that they want to do business with. Personally, I don’t care what Newegg’s price is. I know its return policy, and thanks, but no thanks.

If I have a problem, between OWC and Newegg there is zero doubt about who I’d rather be dealing with.

I've returned things to newegg no problem, I understand buying custom OWC parts (like the retina blade SSDs or DataDoubler caddy, they engineered superior solutions to commodity products) - but for something like RAM which comes with manufacturer's warranty and clear RMA terms from Amazon, even - buying these things from OWC makes little sense regardless what the Cult of Mac says.

$229 from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-Veng...d=1548556613&sr=8-6&keywords=32gb+sodimm+ddr4

vs

$280 + $20 for 2 day shipping https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/2666DDR4S32P/

Same lifetime warranty, same 30 day no hassle guarantee, just $70 (30%!) difference

 

[F-Train]

I've returned things to newegg no problem, I understand buying custom OWC parts (like the retina blade SSDs or DataDoubler caddy, they engineered superior solutions to commodity products) - but for something like RAM which comes with manufacturer's warranty and clear RMA terms from Amazon, even - buying these things from OWC makes little sense regardless what the Cult of Mac says.

You were talking about Newegg, not Amazon. There is a huge difference between Newegg and Amazon return policies.

You may have returned items to Newegg, but that is irrelevant to what we are talking about. Newegg will not accept a return of RAM once the package is opened unless you can prove that it is defective, you must pay the postage, and even if the return is accepted they may impose their restocking fee. This assumes that the vendor is actually Newegg rather than one of the third parties that sells on Newegg, in which case Newegg’s policy doesn’t even apply.

Lots of people think that purchasing RAM from OWC makes sense. If you don’t, cool. No need for a cheap, mindless crack about “Cult of Mac”.

One reason that I bought from OWC, apart from how it does business and my experience with OWC support, is that it produced what was, and continues to be, far and away the best video on replacing mini RAM. I put a value on that. If you don’t, hey, find the cheapest price you can and be happy.

Just don’t take cheap shots at people who don’t share your values.

 

[harriska2]

OWC isn't where anyone would point for RAM pricing. You can get a pair of Crucial 16GB DDR4 2666 SoDIMMS on newegg for 199.99 right now.

I’m looking at newegg right now and find the price to be 224.99, same as amazon
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820156182&Description=Crucial ddr4 2666 260 32 gb&cm_re=Crucial_ddr4_2666_260_32_gb-_-20-156-182-_-Product

Here is Amazon’s link:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B071H38...olid=3NV1Y4NFD6T9E&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I get 5% back with a prime credit card

 

[F-Train]

I’m looking at newegg right now and find the price to be 224.99, same as amazon
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820156182&Description=Crucial ddr4 2666 260 32 gb&cm_re=Crucial_ddr4_2666_260_32_gb-_-20-156-182-_-Product

Here is Amazon’s link:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B071H38...olid=3NV1Y4NFD6T9E&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I get 5% back with a prime credit card

Buy from Amazon, of course. On that offer, Amazon itself is the vendor, 30 days to return, no debate, indeed no questions asked, no restocking fees, Amazon pays the postage.

Plus, as you say, 5% back with Prime.

Any time that Amazon comes even close to matching Newegg on price, Amazon is the obvious choice.

Unlike Amazon, Newegg doesn’t charge tax to many States, but that is changing. A few days ago, Newegg sent me an e-mail saying that it will be charging tax on sales to NY State starting this week. In any event, I think that the advantages of dealing with Amazon are worth any price difference attributable to tax.

 

[Steve686]

In November, I paid OWC/MacSales a bit under US$300 for 32GB. Tonight it’s $280: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/owc/apple-mac-mini/2018

There is a widespread view that the price of memory will come down significantly in 2019, but I’m not seeing a significant reduction yet.

You're also not seeing all of 2019, yet.


[doublepost=1548575358][/doublepost]Sooooo....

Has the price of the Apple-offerred factory upgrade come down on any RAM selections on ANY Macs, yet?

THAT...is the $1,000,000 question.

 

[F-Train]

You're also not seeing all of 2019, yet.

Gee, that just might be my point.

 

[nampramos]

I’m tempted to upgrade soon since LightRoom is a monster RAM and I always have +20 tabs open on Safari but with such substancial drops in such shorts periods, I think I’ll wait until the end of 1Q, unless a super deal comes up.

Maybe everyone could share sales/price drops on RAM when they find them on this thread?

 

[Spectrum]

UK Crucial price for 32GB is now down almost ~8% since I ordered (~2 weeks ago).
https://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/mac-mini-(2018)/CT13492047

 

[DomC]

I see the 64gb option at OWC has gone down $21 recently.
https://goo.gl/SDXi1L
Still a bit painful though.

 

[harriska2]

Buy from Amazon, of course. On that offer, Amazon itself is the vendor, 30 days to return, no debate, indeed no questions asked, no restocking fees, Amazon pays the postage.

Plus, as you say, 5% back with Prime.

Any time that Amazon comes even close to matching Newegg on price, Amazon is the obvious choice.

Unlike Amazon, Newegg doesn’t charge tax to many States, but that is changing. A few days ago, Newegg sent me an e-mail saying that it will be charging tax on sales to NY State starting this week. In any event, I think that the advantages of dealing with Amazon are worth any price difference attributable to tax.

I’m in Oregon, we don’t have sales tax . But our property tax is somewhat horrible.

 

[iwanders]

UK Crucial price for 32GB is now down almost ~8% since I ordered (~2 weeks ago).
https://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/mac-mini-(2018)/CT13492047

For those in the UK, the 32GB kit (16GB * 2) has just come back into stock for £195.97 at Amazon UK (was about £199 a few days ago and then went out of stock).

Prices do seem to be dropping almost daily, and it's difficult to know whether to wait a little bit longer, but I also had a £4 off voucher that I needed to use, so have just ordered.

 

[DomC]

OWC 64gb now down to $990 https://goo.gl/SDXi1L

 

[oneafour]

tempting to upgrade but 8gb seems fine on a 1080p screen. i just hate when i see swap is being used

 

[nampramos]

Good to see prices coming down but the 64GB kit is still silly expensive. Almost 4 times more than 32GB.

 

[DomC]

Good to see prices coming down but the 64GB kit is still silly expensive. Almost 4 times more than 32GB.

Yeah, kinda don't understand the pricing.