Here's the article:
Rambus Shortens Speed Gap
Between Memory, Processors
Date: 7/22/98
Author: Nick Turner
Constant innovation has made microprocessors, the main
chips in PCs, ever faster. But other computer components
are huffing and puffing to catch up.
Take memory chips. They provide storage space for PC
information, but aren't always able to transfer data fast
enough to meet the needs of microprocessors. Thus,
putting a snazzy new processor in a PC won't necessarily
boost performance.
But a new way for memory chips to communicate with
microprocessors should change that.
Rambus Inc., a small company in Mountain View, Calif.,
is gathering support for its Direct Rambus memory
technology.
The technology lets dynamic random access memory
(DRAM) chips transfer data at 1.6 gigabytes per second.
That's equivalent to a microprocessor's speed of 800
megahertz -roughly three times faster than today's typical
processors.
''Moore's Law tells us that microprocessor performance
and PC performance double every 18 months,'' said
Subodh Toprani, general manager of logic products at
Rambus. He refers to the famous dictum from Intel Corp.
co-founder Gordon Moore. ''We've got to get memory on
that kind of treadmill.''
With the storage capacity of memory chips also growing
fast, the need to move information on and off the chips
quickly is more pressing.
Intel, eager to see other PC memory chips catch up with
the speed of its processing chips, has endorsed the Direct
Rambus specifications. The largest chipmaker plans to
use Direct Rambus with its new products starting next
year. The two largest sellers of PCs in the U.S. - Compaq
Computer Corp. and Dell Computer Corp. - announced
late last month that they would use the technology.
All this has been great news for Rambus. The stock
closed Tuesday at 56 5/8, up from a 52- week low of 35
3/4 on June 3. The company's initial public stock offering
in May '97 was one of the most successful ever. Starting
at 12, the stock reached 86 3/4 in August. The stock then
started sliding, as analysts worried that Rambus would
be slow to deliver its technology.
Though it will be a few more years before lower-end
PCs are equipped with the Rambus technology, PCs will
need to boost memory speed.
And Rambus isn't alone in the quest. Some DRAM
makers are developing competing technology that they
say could be more cost-effective than Direct Rambus.
Chipmakers such as Hyundai Electronics Co. , Fujitsu
Ltd. and Micron Technology Inc. are supporting a
technology called synchronous-link DRAM. SLDRAM
differs from Direct Rambus in that it's an open standard.
Where Rambus licenses its technology, manufacturers
don't need to pay royalties to use SLDRAM.
That's a selling point for DRAM makers that are tired of
being forced to buy licenses, says Jim Handy, an analyst
at Dataquest Inc. in San Jose, Calif.
''They view Rambus as just another company that's going
to soak them,'' he said.
Also, SLDRAM is easier for chipmakers to use than
Direct Rambus, says Farhad Tabrizi, president of
SLDRAM Inc., a nonprofit organization founded to
advance the technology. Makers won't have to change
their packaging or architecture to use SLDRAM as they
will with Direct Rambus, Tabrizi says.
''That's important, because right now the DRAM industry
is going through severe cash problems,'' Tabrizi said.
''There is no money to invest in new infrastructure.''
But SLDRAM is slower than Direct Rambus. Analysts
say it's unlikely to become an industry standard.
There is another rival technology, called
double-data-rate DRAM. But it also lacks the
performance of Direct Rambus, analysts say.
So the Rambus technology may be the only real choice
for DRAM makers. Rambus already has licensed the
technology to eight of the world's 10 largest chipmakers,
Toprani says. The Intel partnership may be the most
significant.
''That all leads to us having the best shot at becoming an
industry standard,'' Toprani said.
Even if Direct Rambus is quickly accepted by the
industry, it will take time to find its way into mainstream
PCs. It may be '00 or '01 before typical home and
small-business users need memory chips equipped with
Direct Rambus, analysts say.
So far, Compaq has announced plans to use Direct
Rambus only in its high-end AlphaServer computers.
The speed at which Direct Rambus or rival technologies
will be adopted depends largely on software developers.
They must create applications for increasingly powerful
hardware. For years, software has been trying to catch up
to hardware. Even low-end PCs can run most of today's
software.
But Toprani sees plenty of new applications on the
horizon. He says 3- D graphics and better audio and
video will require powerful PCs.
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