• A stick of Corsair RAM has been spotted using CXMT memory chips
• If genuine, this leak suggests Corsair is trying to shore up its chip supply lines elsewhere, away from Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix
• It aligns nicely with a prediction from earlier this week which contends that Chinese memory chip makers are cranking up production in a big way

Corsair DDR5 RAM has been spotted, which has seemingly made use of Chinese memory chips, in what could be a sign that a major RAM vendor is adapting to the current crisis by using alternative suppliers.

VideoCardz reports that leaker Wxnod on X flagged up this development, and there's photographic evidence provided of a 16GB stick of Corsair Vengeance DDR5 memory.

The CPU-Z utility identifies the RAM as having chips made by CXMT, a major player in the Chinese market.

Obviously, we must take this leak with a good deal of seasoning, but assuming it's genuine, this indicates that Corsair is at least making samples of RAM using Chinese chips, rather than its usual sources (namely, the three major chip makers outside of China: Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix).

Analysis: a major change on the horizon?

As VideoCardz observes, the serial number shown on the RAM stick ends in 'CN,' which could mean it's a sample for the Chinese market.

Whatever the case, if this leak is genuine, Corsair is seemingly experimenting with Chinese alternatives to keep its RAM production rolling and to make up for the lack of supply from Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix when it comes to consumer RAM (due to AI production being more heavily favored).

This is interesting timing, because we've heard from other sources that Chinese memory chip makers are ramping up their production to fill gaps in the market. Indeed, the ex-chief of Samsung's semiconductor business observed earlier this week how Chinese companies like CXMT are "aggressively expanding" their RAM production capacity, to the point where this could change the market as soon as the second half of 2027.

That ex-Samsung exec also forecast that the AI boom is set to cool, and with Chinese chip makers helping to boost supply to meet that falling demand more readily, he theorizes that RAMageddon may not last nearly as long as some predictions claim.

Obviously, it's way too early to jump to that conclusion, but this glimpse of Corsair DDR5 RAM certainly does nothing to dispel the notion. We'll need to keep our eyes peeled for further evidence of memory chips from China being used by major RAM vendors.

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Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).