Highly sought-after server chips from May to June! Identification of popular chip part numbers from Renesas, Infineon, and more

From May to June, server and AI-related power chips have been dominating the spot market. Prices of Smart Power Stage (SPS) chips, represented by Renesas ISL99390 and Infineon TDA21490, have surged collectively. However, some models that were once red-hot have already turned downward, with prices retreating. We have selected a few chips that have recently seen increased attention or price rises for your reference (popularity and price references are from third-party websites; this article does not constitute any trading advice):

1. Server power chip that soared then fell: `ISL99390FRZ-TR5935`  
2. Server chip whose price has fallen back to its origin: `TDA21490` 
3. A device once again attracting market attention: `ICM-42688-P`  
4. DDR3 riding the wave: `MT41K256M16TW-107:P`  
5. Soaring FPGA: `5CEFA9F23I7N`  
6. Amplifier with a sudden surge in popularity: `AD8221ARMZ-R7`

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NO.1 Suddenly Hot Server Chip ISL99390FRZ-TR5935: Price Has Declined

The `ISL99390FRZ-TR5935` experienced a wild surge in May. In April, its price was still around $10–19, but in May it skyrocketed to $40–50. Some distributors have said that previously nobody wanted it even at $0.30, but now the price has shot up to 300–400 RMB. Currently, however, the price has fallen back to around $30, and some distributors report that demand has decreased.

The `ISL99390FRZ-TR5935` is a 90A Smart Power Stage (SPS) module from Renesas, integrating high-precision current and temperature monitors. Its application areas include: accelerators (GPU, ASIC, AI), core/graphics/memory voltage regulators (VR) for microprocessors, high-density voltage regulators for servers/networks/cloud computing, point-of-load (POL) DC/DC converters, and video game consoles.

NO.2 Similarly Hot Server Chip TDA21490: Price Has Already Fallen Back

The `TDA21490` has a similar price trajectory to the `ISL99390FRZ-TR5935`. According to third-party websites, its price in April was still around 30 RMB, then it surged to as high as 130 RMB in May, and has now fallen back to 50 RMB, slightly above the pre-surge price.

The `TDA21490` is a 90A Integrated Smart Power Stage chip from Infineon, supporting the design of robust and reliable voltage regulators for high-performance xPUs, ASICs, and SoCs. It belongs to the same product category as the Renesas ISL99390. Main application areas include: data center power solutions, mid-voltage IBCs, edge computing, automotive body electronics, telecommunications infrastructure, and more.

The datasheet mentions that the TDA21490 is optimized for CPU core power supply in server applications. Its ability to meet the stringent requirements of the server market also makes the TDA21490 very suitable for powering GPUs and DDR memory.

NO.3 Once-Viral Internet-Famous Component ICM-42688-P: Price Rising Again

Quotes for the internet-famous component `ICM-42688-P` were between 35–40 RMB in April. In May, the price rebounded and has now risen to around 70 RMB.

This chip is a six-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) from TDK’s InvenSense, integrating a three-axis gyroscope and a three-axis accelerometer. It is aimed at applications that require high motion precision, such as wearables, AR/VR, robotics, and drone flight control.

According to information from the tech community Oscar Liang, FPV drone gyroscope solutions have gone through multiple iterations. Starting in 2023, the ICM-42688-P gradually replaced previous generations due to its advantages in price, supply, and performance. After early design defects were traced back to circuit issues on the flight controller boards, it received an official recommendation from Betaflight and quickly became the new industry standard.

This chip has been an internet-famous component on the spot market since last year. Looking back at its price history: from September last year, the ICM-42688-P began to heat up from its normal price of 9 RMB. By November, the price had doubled to 23–28 RMB. In March of this year, it peaked at 70–100 RMB. Afterwards, due to news of supply releases from the original manufacturer, the price dropped to 35–40 RMB in April.

Recently, however, this component has become popular once again, with increased discussion in industry groups and a clear price rise. The future development of this internet-famous component is still worth watching.

NO.4 DDR3 Riding the Wave: MT41K256M16TW-107:P – Price Doubled Within a Month

`MT41K256M16TW-107:P` is a fairly well-known DDR3 chip on the spot market. Its price was relatively stable, but after the May Day holiday, it surged from around $6 to currently about $12.

This is a 4Gb DDR3L SDRAM memory chip from Micron, using an FBGA-96 package. It is suitable for industrial-grade applications (0°C to 95°C), supports a clock frequency of 933MHz (1866MT/s effective), and has a typical operating voltage of 1.35V.

From January to March this year, the price of `MT41K256M16TW-107:P` did not change much, hovering around $4–6. In April, it remained around $6, even briefly dropping below $6. After the May Day holiday, it began to surge to about $12, nearly doubling.

NO.5 Soaring FPGA: 5CEFA9F23I7N – Price Multiplied Several Times

`5CEFA9F23I7N` has been rising sharply since March. In February, it was still around 600 RMB; by March, it had risen to over 900 RMB; in April, it was just over 1000 RMB; and in May, it surged to over 2000 RMB.

The `5CEFA9F23I7N` is an FPGA from Altera, belonging to the Cyclone V E (enhanced) series. Cyclone V devices integrate transceivers and hard memory controllers, making them suitable for a variety of applications in industrial, wireless and wired communications, military, and automotive markets. The Cyclone V E (enhanced) series targets broad general logic and DSP applications, optimized for the lowest system cost and power requirements.

NO.6 Amplifier with a Sudden Surge in Popularity: AD8221ARMZ-R7 – Price Stable

The `AD8221ARMZ-R7` saw a sudden rise in popularity in May, with significantly increased search volume on several websites. However, according to third-party websites, its price has not changed much and remains around 16 RMB.

The `AD8221` is a programmable-gain, high-performance instrumentation amplifier from Analog Devices. Possible applications include precision data acquisition, biomedical analysis, and aerospace instrumentation.