EL SEGUNDO – DRAM pricing declined in December to its lowest point of the year, a leading research firm said.

As of Dec. 10, the contract price for a 2 GB DDR3 DRAM stood at $21, down more than 50% since last June. Prices also have plummeted in the previous generation DDR2 devices, down 45% compared to June, says iSuppli.

Prices have fallen faster for DDR3 than for other varieties of DRAM because of its high volume, accounting for more than 60% of total DRAM bits shipped during the fourth quarter, says the research firm.

The decline in prices means it has become considerably less expensive for PC OEMs to load machines with more DRAM. DRAM content per PC, which grew 24% in 2010, is expected to expand more than 33% in 2011. As long as DRAM costs equate to less than 10% of the ASP for PCs, manufacturers will continue to increase the memory content in their computers. Nonetheless, DRAM pricing appears to be reaching critical levels, and nothing is likely to stop prices from continuing their slide during the next six months, according to iSuppli.

DRAM prices will continue their descent for at least the first half of 2011, with 2GB DDR3 modules dipping to less than $15 by the end of the second quarter. After that, the balance between supply and demand is expected to be more favorable at the end of the second half of next year, which then could temporarily slow down or halt the drop in prices.