Stitch, wasn't it hard to upgrade now, when you could have Rambus memory in 6 months? This memory looks like it will make a big difference in system performance. I guess in 6 months we'll be looking at desk tops with 600 mhtz processors and at least 512M Direct Rambus DRAM with 2 gig options.
Are we going to miss the 64 bit Merced at this point? Will the Alpha fill a gap, or is 64 bit a server issue that won't effect the desktop for a couple more years?
I guess graphics cards will all be using at least 64M, or is this totally unnecessary?
Interesting thing is we'll see these systems coming out about the same time NT 5.0 is available and year 2000 6 to 9 months around the corner. Would be a compelling point for a corporate upgrade. Anything less than a pentium will have to go and maybe even pentiums under 200 mhtz will be totally obsolete.
Will we see an inlection point? Surely these systems are going to have the power to do things we've not seen yet. Will the applications step in to fill the gap?
I think we will also see an entirely new internet in 1 year. If we get a big movement to higher speed bandwidth followed by some of the new directions Microsoft has talked about, beefed up versions of html, we should maybe see some of our worries this year of a failing pc market as a short term blip.
So, who is looking at Rambus as a serious investment?
Regards,
Mark
Intel Starts Testing Toshiba, LG Semicon Rambus DRAMs June 24, 1998 (SAN FRANCISCO) -- Toshiba Corp. and LG Semicon Co., Ltd. said that Intel Corp. is conducting system tests of functional Direct Rambus dynamic random access memory chips. Those chips feature high-bandwidth interface technology.
Toshiba's 64Mb and 72Mb Rambus microchips completed functional tests including pipelined read/write operations at a speed of 800MHz (or 1.6GB per second) as well as initialization procedures and power management operations.
LG Semicon's 64Mb and 72Mb Direct RDRAM microchips are undergoing a series of engineering tests at Rambus Inc. and LG Semicon. Rambus is a microchip technology design company based in Mountain View, Calif.
The Direct Rambus interface features a major performance improvement for memory devices. It was developed in conjunction with Intel as well as makers of DRAMs and other IC products.
Toshiba is among the initial licensees of the Rambus RDRAM technology, and the first Japanese licensee, according to Rambus.
"We're proud of the speed with which we integrated the Direct Rambus interface and our DRAM core," said Kouichi Suzuki, vice president of Toshiba and group executive of its Semiconductor Group. "Based on our process road map and up front technology investments, we're confident we can ramp production to meet the industry's needs in 19 99."
"This is yet another example of how we're responding to our PC customers' requirements with leading edge technology," said Bob Brown, president and CEO of Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc., which is based in Irvine, Calif.
LG Semicon is the first Korean semiconductor company to license Rambus technology.
"We expect Direct RDRAMs to be the highest volume next generation DRAM technology," said B.J. Koo, president of LG Semicon. "Our strategy is to align our fab production according to the industry's product ramp. This year we have already shipped over one million concurrent RDRAMs and foresee no issues ramping Direct RDRAM production."
Personal computer industry giants Compaq Computer Corp. and Dell Computer Corp. said they intend to ship PCs using Direct Rambus technology for main memory in 1999.
"It is exciting to see the first Direct RDRAM silicon," said Peter MacWilliams, Intel fellow and director of platform architecture for Intel Architecture Labs. "We expect to see several more vendors delivering Direct RDRAM silicon in the next quarter, and we believe the industry is still on track to ship Direct RDRAM memory technology in PC platforms in 1999."
This testing schedule is on track with the technology development program calling for Intel platforms to use Direct Rambus memory devices starting in 1999. In February, Rambus completed the Direct RDRAM interface design and distributed the technology to all of its DRAM licensees.
"The Direct Rambus program represents the primary technological thrust for system memory in 1999," said Jay Bell, a vice president at Dell Computer. "We also support the Direct RDRAM because memory compatibility is a critical customer issue that Rambus technology is addressing. The decision to make Direct RDRAMs compatible by design gives us and after-market customers the ability to swap memory modules from different manufacturers without problems."
Direct RDRAM devices utilize standard DRAM cores, silicon fabrication techniques and memory modules. Direct Rambus memory modules, called RIMM modules, use standard industry assemblies similar to those of dual in-line memory modules, according to Rambus. Also, a Direct Rambus memory system fits within the same physical, power and thermal profiles of a similarly configured 10 0MHz synchronous DRAM memory system.
"While Direct Rambus DRAMs are targeted for mainstream system memory applications, they are, in addition, a natural fit for computer multimedia and graphics systems, and single-DRAM consumer products through multiple-gigabyte enterprise computing systems," said Geoff Tate, president and CEO of Rambus Inc.
Rambus designs and licenses high-speed chip-to-chip communications technology that enables IC memory devices to keep pace with increasingly speedy generations of microprocessors and controllers. Companies that provide Rambus-based ICs include the world's top makers of DRAMs, ASICs and PC controllers.
"The speed with which Toshiba and LG Semicon were able to produce working first silicon on this device underscores the important role Rambus plays as a central design house," said Stephen Cullen, an analyst at In-Stat, a market research group.
(Neil Davis, Asia BizTech Correspondent) |
