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To: blake_paterson who wrote (41353)	5/4/2000 5:42:00 PM
From: Bilow	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 93625

Hi blake paterson; Re: Currently all of the videocards that are successfully using DDR are using 12 Layer boards. While I don't have evidence to the contrary directly in front of me, I believe that this statement is silly in the extreme. The layer count on this kind of board is dominated by what are called "escape" requirements. Basically, a given package will require a certain number of layers to get signals out from under the most dense (in terms of pins) chip, in this case the controller chip. In addition to the package, the number of layers is dependent on the drill size, whether blind vias are allowed, and the trace/space specification for the copper board. But in any case, 12 layers is a silly exaggeration, and would be believed only by mom and pop. Certainly not by anyone with much experience with modern PCB practice. If anyone doubts this, I suggest that they take a look at the IBM specifications for escape paths on their ASICs. -- Carl

To: blake_paterson who wrote (41353)	5/4/2000 6:38:00 PM
From: Cirruslvr	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

Blake - RE: "Right now there are millions of KX-133 Athlon motherboards out there using only sdram." There are probably 2-3M KX133 motherboards out there, MAX, and that guess is on the higher side. "All of the users who will upgraded to the Thunderbird will now have to buy a new motherboard in 5-6 months - when RDRAM enabled Athlon motherboards will be on the market - giving RDRAM anthor shot at the only group they had been cut off from." AMD and their partners have no plans for DRDRAM support in their chipsets this year.

To: blake_paterson who wrote (41353)	5/5/2000 9:12:00 AM
From: gnuman	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 93625

RDRAM volumes. Ignoring DDR as a factor in the discussion, it seem's the cost's of RDRAM implementation, (chip's, PCB's, RIMM's, mobo's, test and QA), currently are limiting factors to volume production of RDRAM. The only effective way to decrease costs is to generate large volumes of platforms using RAMBUS. But beyond the 820 and 840 for high end pc's and W/S's, the platforms coming out now are SDRAM based. (For example, the 810 and 815 chip set platforms. And the BX chip set apparently will have a longer life than anticipated). Even Timna, which has an rdram bus, appears to be initially supported by Intel mobo's with an SDRAM hub. (What's the message to third party mobo suppliers?) Of course Willamette will be RDRAM based, but significant volumes are at least a year away. Considering the large expenditures made to create RDRAM as the industry standard memory going forward, why not RDRAM in every platform? The answer probably lies in the ramp of RDRAM. (A chicken/egg situation if there ever was one). <g> Major shifts in technology that require significant changes to legacy design, manufacture and test aren't easy. JMHO's