Chinese DRAM maker CXMT has begun selling legacy DDR4 chips at roughly 50 % of current market rates. End‑January data from DRAMeXchange shows the average contract price for an 8‑Gb DDR4 module reached $11.50, a 23.7 % jump from the previous month and an eight‑fold rise over a year. The steep price climb creates room for CXMT’s discounting.

Samsung and SK Hynix, focused on mass‑producing HBM4, now face pressure in the mainstream segment. HP and Dell are already evaluating CXMT’s parts, while Asus and Acer have opened talks with Chinese suppliers. An industry source says the firm is reallocating 20 percent of its wafer output—about 60,000 wafers per month—from DDR4 to fourth‑generation HBM3 at its Shanghai fab.

Beyond DRAM, YMTC captured a 10 % share of global NAND last year, leveraging low‑cost mobile chips and a new Wuhan fab that will split capacity between legacy DRAM and future HBM production. Analysts warn that sustained under‑cutting could erode the profit base of Korean legacy lines, which still represent more than half of Samsung and SK Hynix output. CXMT’s pricing push therefore tightens the market’s margin outlook.