Cache is king and DIMMS are bling as memory prices soar

"The rising price of memory has produced an interesting phenomenon: technologists wondering if the memory they have installed in home labs, or bottom drawers, might make them rich. "Forget Crypto or Gold," wrote Broadcom staffer Tyson Then. "In 2026 VMware Cloud Foundation Home Labbers making bank. Awwww yeahhh." Then's belief he could score a payday is supported by informal analyses that suggest the price of second-hand memory has surged by 700 percent or more over the last year."

"Over on Reddit, a member named gpot97 last month claimed he recently chose to be paid for a gig in hardware, and took 34 sticks of 16GB DDR4-2400, half a dozen 7.68TB U.2 SSDs, plus a pair of 1.6TB Samsung PM1725a SSDs. "It ain't fast but with prices the way they are right now I'm not complaining," he wrote. "Can't say I've ever been paid in gold bars before.""

"Another Redditor, "elecboy," wondered if he could pay off his mortgage with the ~100 DIMMS he got his hands on to upgrade machines at his workplace. Over on Instagram user markhoward642 photographed a single DIMM and supposed "I could be a millionaire." Tyson Then gets the last word, because he finished his post by observing "Self Development ALWAYS pays off. Often in unpredictable ways." ®"

Second-hand memory prices have risen steeply, with informal analyses indicating increases around 700% over the past year. Home lab setups often contain substantial RAM; a minimal VMware Cloud Foundation single-host lab needs 194GB, and multi-host home labs can hold roughly half a terabyte. Some technologists and hobbyists are converting compensation into DIMMs and enterprise SSDs or considering selling spare modules. Reported examples include a person paid with dozens of 16GB DIMMs and multiple multi-terabyte SSDs, another estimating ~100 DIMMs could pay a mortgage, and social posts celebrating potential unexpected returns on hardware inventories.

Read at Theregister