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Technology Stocks : Rambus (RMBS) - Eagle or Penguin -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: richard surckla who wrote (26069)	7/30/1999 11:55:00 PM
From: richard surckla	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

Paul Trueman's Individual Investor Network for the Long Term Investor. RAMBUS SHORTENS SPEED GAP BETWEEN MEMORY, PROCESSORS Investor's Business Daily, Wednesday, July 22, 1998 By Nick Turner Constant innovation has made microprocessors, the main chips in PC's (386, 486, Pentium, etc), 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 gigahertz per second. That's equivalent to a microprocessor's speed of 800 megahertz - roughly three times faster than today's typical processors. ...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 chip maker plans to use Direct Rambus with its new products starting next year. The two largest sellers of PCs in the U.S.- Compaq Computer and Dell Computer - announced late last month that they would use the technology. All of this has been great news for Rambus. The stock closed Tuesday (July 21st, 1998) at 56, up from a 52 week low of 36 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 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, (lower-end) PCs will need (Rambus Technology) 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. ....Hyundai Electronics, Fujitsu an Micron Technology are supporting a (competing) technology called synchronous-link DRAM (SLDRAM).... ...But SLDRAM is slower thatn 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 (Rambus spokesman). 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 PC's. 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 (Rambus spokesperson) sees plenty of new applications on the horizon. He says 3-D graphic and better audio and video will require powerful PCs. kdi.com