Insider reports suggest Colorful is preparing to restock its older DDR3 motherboards following a lack of supply. Shortages are said to be “severely” affecting the business, and reports suggest Colorful may consider limited output of H81 motherboards (designed for 4th-gen Intel Core processors) around early May this year.

PC builders have experienced the effects of RAM shortages for around six months, largely affecting DDR5 RAM prices, and DDR4 to a lesser extent. Of course, DDR3 remains irrelevant for many consumers, certainly PC gamers, but legacy platforms remain a reliance in some markets for companies with limited resources to upgrade to DDR4 or DDR5.

Short supply of DDR3 motherboards to be addressed soon

Colorful’s motherboard factory is currently experiencing a supply shortage of D3 motherboards, essentially cut off from the market. This shortage is severely impacting business. However, according to internal sources, Colorful plans to purchase D3 motherboards in the future, with delivery expected soon. Colorful has plans to pre-procure D3 motherboards, expected to arrive soon, to alleviate the current supply pressure. Around early May, they may consider producing some H81 models, but the quantitity is understood to be very limited.

Source: Channel Gate, via VideoCardz [translated]

We don’t expect this to be a revival of demand for DDR3 memory. The translated post seems to suggest that Colorful is simply topping up its stock levels rather than seriously thinking about pushing DDR3 again. And we imagine it wouldn’t make sense at all to do so for the gaming market. For more niche applications, however, there must still be some demand.

In the months since shortages began, dramatically inflated DDR5 RAM prices have caused consumers to look instead to last-gen options. Sales numbers from retailers are showing a massive amount of PC builders are sticking with DDR4 – 40% of motherboard sales were DDR4 at the large German retailer Mindfactory in early-to-mid February, for example.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.