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Technology Stocks : Rambus (RMBS) - Eagle or Penguin
RMBS 93.92-1.6%2:15 PM EST
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To: Chas who wrote (15942)2/19/1999 12:05:00 PM
From: Dave B  Read Replies (1) of 93625
 
Chas (and mindmeld),

As someone posted yesterday, the 300Mhz product is 600MHz Rambus because Rambus uses both edges of the clock (rising and falling). Traditionally, memories have used only one edge of the clock (DDR DRAM uses both edges as well).

The 600Mhz transfer rate applies to 1 bit of data. If your data path is one byte wide, then you'd get 600 megabytes per second (MBs) transfer rate. Rambus uses a two-byte wide path, so you get 1,200MBs, or 1.2 gigabytes per second (GBs).

A 133MHz SDRAM system would not use both edges of the clock. So it would transfer 133 megabytes per second. PCs use a 4-byte wide path, so you get 533 MBs, or about half that of the Rambus transfer rate. And 800Mhz Rambus would be 1.6GBs, or about 3 times that.

And keep in mind that with a narrower data path, you have fewer pins on your chips (both logic and memory) which saves some of the costs.

The only downside is that the memory and processor have to both be some multiple of a central clock. You couldn't use 600MHz Rambus memory with a 533Mhz PIII (533 is 4x133, 600 isn't divisible by 133). So Intel has to tie their processor speeds to the available Rambus speeds.

Hopefully I haven't misstated anything. Anyone else have any corrections to what I've said?

Dave B
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