Valve Says Memory and Storage Crisis Is Getting Worse

The memory and storage crisis is continuing to worsen, with Valve warning that higher component costs have not yet fully reached consumer hardware prices.

Valve engineer Yazan Aldehayyat said to Bloomberg that market conditions are “still getting worse,” as manufacturers face rising prices for DRAM and storage components.

Retail prices could rise further

Current prices for SSDs, memory kits, PCs, and other devices may not show the full impact of the shortage.

Valve says retail prices can lag behind the bulk component market by three to six months. Many products available today may use inventory that manufacturers purchased before component costs increased.

As companies replace that inventory, higher production costs could lead to additional price increases across the consumer hardware market.

Supply crisis affected Steam Machine pricing

Valve encountered the shortage while preparing the Steam Machine for production.

The company originally planned to position the device as an entry-level PC. However, rising memory and storage costs made it difficult to reach the intended price.

Valve ultimately decided against subsidizing the hardware. The company says the cost of the individual components now closely matches the retail price of each system.

Valve has also confirmed that some Steam Machine configurations are using single-channel RAM.

Production remains constrained

Valve says it has sold every Steam Machine it has produced, although the company has not released shipment or sales figures.

Production remains limited by the amount of memory Valve can secure. The company says it is manufacturing as many units as available component supplies allow.

Valve also plans to release a BIOS update that will address the Steam Machine’s temperature warning issue.

The memory and storage market could stabilize if component supplies improve. However, current prices could become the new normal if shortages continue.

Valve says the supply crisis will not change its longer-term hardware roadmap.

Via VideoCardz