Re: both RAM
When I answered Anon Above, I was out and About, so let me Elaborate:
1.) In the '80s SRAM and DRAM would lose all content if power went out, meanwhile ROM, PROM, EPROM and EEPROM would keep their data for years on end without power, just like NAND/NOR Flash would do today.
1.1) ¿Do you know what else did not lose the data when the power went out? HDDs
2.) In the 80s you could modify SRAM and DRAM in 8, 16 or 32 Bits without erasing (modify in place). Nowadays, the size is 64 Bits, meanwhile EPROM and EEPROM, you needed to erase first and modify latter, and the Erase window was the whole chip's contents (and in the case of EPROMS, there was a literal quartz window involved). Meanwhile, modern QLC NAND Flash has Erase Blocks of 48~96MB and NOR Flash has Erasure Blocks of 64KB~256KB
3.) in the '80s you could read SRAM and DRAM in 8, 16 or 32 Bits, Nowadays , the size is 64 Bits. Meanwhile NAND Flash has to be read ~16KB at a time, but NOR Flash can be read 8~64Bits at a time. You know what else could be read 8~64 bits at a time, ROMs, PROMs, EPROMs and EEPROMS.
4.) ¿You know what technology in the '80s had to be read and written in large chunks (Blocks), HDDs, that's why they were called "Block Devices".
So, as you see, DRAM and SRAM are more similar to current DDR5 (or GDDR, or HBM) than they are to Flash. And Flash is more similar to ROM, PROM, EPROM and EEPROM (and to HDDs) than to DRAM or SRAM (or the modern equivalents listed).
So, in a word no. If NAND (or NOR) Flash gets more expensive, is not the fault of the RAM-Pocalypse. If HDDs get more expensive, is not the fault of the RAM-pocalypse either. If processors get more expensive, is not the Fault of the RAM-pocalypse, ditto for BMCs, Power Delivery circuits, and other stuff needed for Large servers.
Is the AI boom that is making RAM more Expensive, and that RAM-pocalypse is driving higher the prices of everything that uses RAM, but NOR and NAND Flash barely use any RAM, so their price increase is not due to the RAM-pocalypse, is due to the AI boom. So, the people criticizing the author are correct...
As per your idea of DIY RAM and SSDs, in the current climate, the cost of the actuall RAM and Flash chips is the bulk of the cost increase, the PCB and ancillary components for the (SO)DIMMs or M.2 PCBs and controllers are peanuts in comparison, so ¿Where do you plan to get cheap naked DDR or NAND Flash chips for your DIY stuff? Desoldering them from discarded (SO)DIMMs and M.2 Drives and Resoldering them DIY Style in a more dense configuration is the only way forward for that "brilliant" idea... Good luck with that.
(and yes, I am aware if the russians who designed their own DIMM PCBs for DIY RAM Sticks, maybe ask them where to get inexpensive chips)
