Intel Corporation
by Joy Aiken
Memory is on
everyone's mind today
as global geekdom
converges on Las Vegas for über-computer tradeshow
Comdex. The industry's preoccupation with memory
has little to do with aging baby boomers and lots to do
with computer games and the much-anticipated release
of Microsoft's Windows 2000 operating system. It
seems that computer memory needs some
cyber-ginkgo.
That's because over the last decade, semiconductor
czar Intel has accelerated microprocessor speeds by a
factor of 200. But a computer's speed is also
dependent on memory — especially main memory, the
hard drive's data and instruction storage area (and the
particular focus of industry angst).
Currently most PCs use 64-bit DRAM (dynamic
random access memory). But plain old DRAM no
longer cuts the processing mustard, and several new
technologies have emerged to vie for market share.
Intel is expected to use Comdex to introduce Camino,
its chipset (an electronic bridge between a PC's
microprocessor and main memory) that supports a new
memory architecture called Rambus DRAM (RDRAM).
Rambus memory was invented by a company also
called Rambus, which licenses the technology. This
architecture — a subsystem combining a memory chip
and controller — seems to have the most backing as
the next memory standard. In fact, some analysts
predict that Rambus will have 50% of the DRAM
market by 2001.
Rambus memory, designed to work with Intel's
Pentium and new Coppermine 733 MHz
microprocessors, is superfast, reaching speeds of up
to 1.6 billion bytes a second. And having Intel and top
PC makers such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard in its
corner puts Rambus ahead of the pack. Oki Electric
Industry is among the more than 30 companies that
license Rambus interface technology for use, for
example, in system-on-a-chip products (which combine
a microprocessor with memory and logic chips in a
single unit). But Rambus is more expensive than
DRAM, and it requires a new chipset and different
connector modules on the motherboard. To bring
Rambus chips to market, chip makers have had to
invest in new equipment, and PC makers have had to
invest in new product designs.
But in September, just as Intel was about to release
the Camino chipset, a technological problem was
discovered when a third memory slot was used (new
Rambus motherboards contain only two slots). The
glitch sent chills through the PC and chip industries.
Samsung, NEC, and Oki quickly halted Rambus
memory production, and Rambus-based PCs,
expected in October, were delayed. Some PC makers
had to sacrifice motherboards that needed a Rambus
chip. Dell and Toshiba stuck by Rambus, but IBM
turned to Intel rival VIA Technologies for alternative
chipsets. Intel's $500 million investment in Micron
Technology and a $100 million investment in Samsung,
however, helped ensure industry support.
Still, the rumble over Rambus revved up industry
interest in two competing technologies.
PC133 SDRAM (SDRAM is synchronized with a
microprocessor's optimal clock speed), while not as
fast as Rambus, has won some major backing. IBM is
basing its desktop PC line on the PC133, and Dell has
chosen the chip for some of its servers. This memory
chip is cheaper than Rambus, is readily available, and
doesn't require a special chipset. Companies that offer
chipsets that support PC133 SDRAM include VIA
Technologies and Acer. The PC133 SDRAM is also
expected to have chipset support that will enable it to
work with Advanced Micro Devices' K7 Athlon
microprocessors.
A third memory technology — Double Data Rate
SDRAM, or DDR SDRAM — may prove to be Rambus'
bigger challenger. Some independent tests have shown
that DDR SDRAM is as much as 30% faster than
Rambus. Nintendo's next-generation game console will
use one of NEC's DDR SDRAMs. IBM is expected to
choose this faster chip for its new server line.
So while Rambus looks like the memory chip for the
new millennium, most companies are hedging their
bets. For example, NEC is investing facilities to
produce both Rambus and SDRAM, and IBM will use
both memories in its PC lines. Even Intel has bowed to
the market, announcing a PC133 SDRAM chipset (the
Solano, due out early next year), with a DDR SDRAM
chipset expected to follow.
Intel's shares ended the week at $75.50, down $3.94
following a downgrade by Merrill Lynch. Rambus closed
Friday at $88, down 75 cents.
Joy Aiken is a writer for Hoover's editorial staff.
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