November 02, 1998, Issue: 814
Section: Sourcing
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Servers And Workstations Are Likely Niches -- DDR quietly making inroads
Amber Howle
Irvine, Calif. -- While industry support swells for the Direct Rambus memory systems expected to be rolled out next year, a competing technology has already made its quiet debut.
Some vendors currently are shipping samples of Double Data Rate (DDR) SDRAM to PC OEMs, with volume shipments expected to reach the VAR channel by the end of next year.
DDR SDRAM essentially doubles the data-transfer rate from a DRAM chip to the main processor. While Direct RDRAM, developed by Rambus Inc., Mountain View, Calif., and Intel Corp., Santa Clara, Calif., requires a whole new architecture, DDR SDRAM is scalable with the current generation of SDRAM.
Both technologies offer comparable performance, but DDR SDRAM most likely will find a niche in the server and workstation segments over the next two years, said analysts and vendors.
"DDR [SDRAM] is a pretty good fit for large servers and workstations that need a large number of DRAMs and can support wider data buses," said Steve Cullen, analyst at Cahners In-Stat Group, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Direct Rambus technology supports a 16-bit-wide bus transferring data at 800 bits per second (bps) per pin. Although DDR will only operate at 200 bps per pin, it will support a 64-bit bus, resulting in speed comparable to that of Direct Rambus. Any data path under 32 bits will be a good candidate for Direct RDRAM, while DDR SDRAM is suitable for data paths over 64 bits, Cullen said.
The competing technologies are pretty close in terms of performance, said Sherry Garber, senior vice president at Semico Research Corp., Phoenix. "The most attractive thing about DDR [SDRAM] is that it's a more evolutionary solution . . . and can go out there at prices comparable to current SDRAM," she said.
Samsung Semiconductor Inc., San Jose, Calif., was the first to ship DDR SDRAM samples to OEMs, doing so in August. It was followed by, in order of appearance, Mitsubishi Electronics America Inc., Micron Technology Inc., Hitachi Semiconductor America Inc. and Fujitsu Microelectronics Inc. All of these vendors have signed up for Direct Rambus support as well.
DDR SDRAM will find its place in the memory industry, said Keith Horn, director of product marketing at Fujitsu, San Jose, Calif. "I think Direct RDRAM and DDR SDRAM can coexist, and our [OEM] customers are telling us that by requesting both technologies for different segments of their markets."
Intel's involvement enhances Direct Rambus' potential of surpassing DDR SDRAM in market share because more than 70 percent of the DRAM industry supports Intel products, Garber said. "But despite all the gearing up for Direct RDRAM, we believe there will be a tremendous shortfall in production," she said. That might help DDR SDRAM.
Cost issues with Direct Rambus and a likely DRAM shortage next year will open the door for competing technologies such as DDR and a third memory technology, SLDRAM, said Cecil Conkle, assistant vice president of DRAM marketing at Mitsubishi, Sunnyvale, Calif. Customers will need something available to secure bids quickly, he said.
VARs next year are likely to stick with what they know: SDRAM. But by 2001, industry observers said, DDR SDRAM and Direct RDRAM will have significant shares of the market.
Copyright ® 1998 CMP Media Inc.
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