Sure, Sly. Rambus memory is allegedly good for graphics, and before the botched Camino launch, that's all that a search for Rambus would turn up on pricewatch. Not a lot of graphics cards, but a few.
Want to try to find a Rambus graphics card now? Have you tried doing a search for DDR on pricewatch? Ever look at the Dell Rambus systems, and see how much DDR memory they end up getting shipped with? You could compare that with the Dell non-Rambus systems, which contain 1/2 as much DDR memory, and 0/2 as much Rambus memory, and are a lot cheaper and probably just as fast. Dell's top-line Dimension systems have 64mb DDR graphics controllers, the midline has 32mb DDR. If Dell sells twice as many midline systems as top-line Rambus systems (quite probable, I'd say), and not many people spring for the $400 for 128 mb RDRAM memory upgrade, Dell ships about as much DDR as Rambus. Odds are, they sell way more than twice as many midline systems. And Dell probably has a better RDRAM/DDR ratio than anybody else.
Then, there's the savior Willy. Given the triple-sized die, the dual-channel chipset, and all the associated costs implied by those two, Intel is going to have to take quite a hit on those legendary fat margins to launch that one in volume at a competitive price. Will they do that, just to make the money for nothing people look good? |
