diff --git a/src/mem/simple_dram.cc b/src/mem/simple_dram.cc
--- a/src/mem/simple_dram.cc
+++ b/src/mem/simple_dram.cc
@@ -583,8 +583,8 @@
                     merged = true;
                     // the existing queue item needs to be adjusted with
                     // respect to both address and size
+                    (*w)->size = (*w)->addr + (*w)->size - addr;
                     (*w)->addr = addr;
-                    (*w)->size = (*w)->addr + (*w)->size - addr;
                 }
             } else {
                 // the new one starts after the current one, figure