Manufacturers Propose Alternative Fast RAM Standard
DDR Technology To Cost Less Than Intel-Backed Rambus Spec
By Megan Loncto, Computer Shopper
June, 1998
Memory manufacturers agree that the Double Data Rate (DDR) standard for dynamic RAM chips ratified in March will be used in high-end servers and workstations, but are divided on whether the technology will find a home in mainstream PCs. The deciding factor may be Intel Corp.'s stated preference for Rambus' forthcoming Direct Rambus DRAM (D-RDRAM) design.
DDR, which doubles the data transfer rate between a system's processor and its memory, is due to ship in the third quarter. Vendors predict DDR memory will cost only 4 or 5 percent more than today's SDRAM. By contrast, when it is released in 1999, D-RDRAM could be up to 35 percent more expensive.
Jack Konrath, director of strategic marketing of memory products at Fujitsu Microelectronics, says DDR is a natural candidate for the booming sub-$1,000 PC market: "DDR is here today, and it is a less expensive solution. It's a logical choice to replace SDRAM."
But Gerd Schauss, senior product marketing manager for NEC Electronics' memory division, disagrees: "There may be some exotic PCs using DDR, but it won't be the memory of choice. Intel has a clear road map, and we're in sync with Intel."
That map starts with today's move to PC100 SDRAM (for the 100MHz system bus of 350MHz and faster Pentium II processors) and continues with a migration to D-RDRAM in 1999. Intel says its chip-set products will not support DDR because it sees several obstacles, including slower performance, to DDR's chances of becoming a mainstream memory solution.
Still, Bruce Bonner, principal analyst at Dataquest, claims that it's a question of when, not if, DDR will be successful--because unlike D-RDRAM, DDR is an open standard.
"People don't want to pay Rambus royalties," Bonner says. "So they'll put a lot of work into an alternative solution, be it blessed by Intel or not."
For its part, Rambus claims royalties are just part of the DRAM business. "Intel's support is huge," says Rambus spokesperson Michelle Clark. "Since Intel supplies chip sets to more than half of the market, Direct RDRAM is well on its way to becoming the de facto standard."
|
