Hi wily; My opinion of the engineering of Rambus has sunk as I have learned more about the corners they cut. I would guess that John Walliker feels differently, it is quite a technical feat. Suffice it to say that they really pushed the limits quite a long ways.
I don't know cr@p about the AGP4X or HDD, but I would think that it would be a matter of the chip set more than anything else. I admit I am unfamiliar with Jdassoc's arguments on it, I think it is a peripheral issue of no great importance.
Would it be that the superior bandwidth and bus availability of Rambus would provide a more efficient burst transfer of data?
The bandwidth advantage of Rambus, as compared to alternative technologies, has been steadily decreasing as newer, faster, alternative technologies show up. In addition, the real bandwidth advantage (as any memory designer knows) isn't bandwidth per chip, or bandwidth per pin, or even bandwidth per system. It is bandwidth per buck, and that is where Rambus really has trouble.
Speaking of costs, by the way, there was a post on the thread some time ago to the effect that the cost of using an 840 chip instead of an 820 chip was something like $25 per system. The estimate was way off. The guy didn't include the costs of the following stuff:
Two extra RIMM connectors.
One extra RIMM continuity board.
Having to split the desired amount of memory into two RIMM modules. (Extra heat sink, extra RIMM PCB, reduced granularity, etc.)
Adding termination for the second RDRAM channel.
Adding clock driving &c. for the second RDRAM channel (if this isn't included in the 840 chip...)
Added costs of soldering together all the above.
In addition, the extra parts and production costs do not increase the price to the consumer on a dollar per dollar basis. My guess is that the extra costs will have to be multiplied by at least a factor of two. This is for profit margins &c.
So a low end 840 system will cost at least $100 more than a similar 820 system. This may not seem like a lot, but take a look at how much profit margin DELL has on a low end system...
By the way, educate me, a little, (a man, after all, has to know his limitations), on AGP4X and the HDD.
-- Carl |
