[rrrix1]

An alternative interpretation is that the maximum RAM capacity for an individual node has drastically increased over the last couple of decades.

A simplistic example, if a given node was limited to 16GB of RAM 20 years ago, I would need 256 nodes to have 4TB of RAM for my system (not including overhead for each OS).

Compared to today, where a single node can have that entire 4TB all in one chassis.

The total cost of RAM chips themselves may not have changed, but the actual cost of using that RAM in a physical system has dropped dramatically.