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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (14330)	4/14/2005 3:51:39 PM
From: etchmeister	Respond to of 25522

Samsung is pushing DDR2 Spot prices for 512Mbit DDR2 chips drop below US$6 Printer friendly Related stories Comments Email to a friend Latest news Hans Wu, Taipei; Carrie Yu, DigiTimes.com [Thursday 14 April 2005] Some DRAM makers have cut their spot prices for 512Mbit DDR2 533MHz chips to as low as US$5.99, while the average spot price dropped to US$7.20 yesterday, down from US$7.66 earlier in the week, as makers anticipate recent Intel policies may provide makers with an opportunity to promote the adoption of DDR2, sources stated. Intel has told several major clients that it has decided to aggressively migrate its desktop chipset business to the 915 platform starting this quarter, sources indicated. According to a March 30 article, Intel plans to begin phasing out its 845 chipsets starting in the second quarter with the part being completely phased out by the end of the third quarter. According to Intel’s website, first-tier DRAM makers, including Elpida, Infineon Technologies, Hynix Semiconductor, Micron Technology and Nanya Technology, have gained validation for their 512Mbit DDR2 chips. However, the 915 platform supports both DDR and DDR2, and the price difference between the two memories has hindered DDR2’s adoption on the 915 platform. Therefore, Taiwan-based DRAM makers have started lowering their quotes for 512Mbit DDR2 chips recently, sources at a financial firm indicated. With 512Mbit DDR2 chip prices falling, the segment stands a good chance of overtaking DDR to become the mainstream, an analyst pointed out. In addition, prices for the segment also fell because DRAM makers are improving yields at 0.11-micron process production and packaging and testing capacity is expanding, according to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News. Frank Huang, chairman of Taiwan's leading DRAM vendor, Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation (PSC), was also quoted by the paper as saying that PSC plans to see DDR2 account for 40% of its total DRAM production by next quarter.

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (14330)	4/14/2005 4:15:44 PM
From: etchmeister	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25522

By Tony Smith 13 Apr 2005 12:50 Infineon to sample DDR 3 'in 2006' Infineon expects to sample DDR 3 memory chips in 18 months' time, the memory maker said at Intel Developer Forum Taiwan this week. It may not be the first to do so. Samsung has already claimed to have produced the world's first DDR 3 part, a 512Mb chip, so is likely to be the first company to sample the next generation of double data-rate memory. In February, it pledged to ship the chip early 2006. In any case, sampling and shipping in commercial quantities are not the same thing, not least because the DIMMs the chips will be mounted on have to have compatible motherboards to slot into. With DDR 2, compatible chipsets didn't emerge for 12-18 months after DDR 2 chips began sampling. The DDR 3 ramp could be faster, but it's unlikely to emerge as a viable platform until 2007 or 2008. Indeed, at its launch Samsung pointed to a forecast from market watcher IDC that DDR 3 won't become mainstream until the end of the decade. According to IDC, DDR 3 will account for 65 per cent of DRAM shipments in 2009. Samsung's DDR 3 part operates at 1.5V, down from DDR 2's 1.8V, and can be clocked to 1066MHz. The chip incorporates self-calibration and data synchronisation circuitry which contribute to a data rate double that of today's DDR 2 systems. ® Related stories Rambus offers to quadruple DRAM data access speeds Elpida samples 256Mb 800MHz DDR 2 chips Infineon and Rambus kiss and make up Samsung shows 'world's first' DDR 3 chip Rambus sues four for GDDR 'infringement' Samsung ships 256Mb XDR chips