RDRAM makes a comeback...DDR2 on the way!!

[n3xu5]

Rambus will make one more play early this year (2004) when SiS releases the R659, its anxiously awaited, long-delayed quad channel RDRAM chipset. R659 will run pc800, pc1066, and pc1200. Steady now-these arent foo-foo bandwidth numbers like the ones used to describe ddr modules, kids. These are real clock speeds, Thus the R659 will run a pair of dual-channel RDRAM moduales at 1200mhz for a total of 9.6GB/s of bandwidth.

SiS has also taken some steps to reduce the latency that RDRAM was criticized for. While we've been looking forward to the R659 for months, it probably wont be enough to displace the move toward DDR2. If you think intel will suddenly rekindle it love-fest with Rambus, know this: Intel just made a $450 million investment in Micron, a company that doesnt fab RDRAM at all....

My prediction....
why would they make a $450 million dollar investment into a company that produces DDR?? i think its because they are using it as a backup plan if you will LOL those guys know it might not stand a chance against what DDR2 has to offer.

On the otherhand, DDR2 itself will operate at a lower voltage of 1.8 volts versus 2.5 volt DDR RAM, and will use ball-grid array memory similar to that used on high-performance videocards. The DIMM will have 240 pins versus DDR's 184 pins. While we will still use the clock speed designation, the industry nomenclature will identify a DDR2-400 moduale as PC2-3200, a DDR2-533 part will be called PC2-4300. DDR2 also increases potential bandwidth by prefetching twice as much data as DDR does. Thus, a DDR2 400 module could in the right situation offer twice the theoretical bandwidth as DDR400.

Even though this might sound like i'm putting RDRAM down i must say this for my own personal moral value...you know what they say afterall...dont believe everything you hear and only believe half of what you see...




Here are some DDR2 related sources:

ZDNET Article
Infineon Specs
Micron Website Direct Link

 

[n3xu5]

i guess no one is interested lol, oh well i tried.

 

[Drisler]

On the otherhand, DDR2 itself will operate at a lower voltage of 1.8 volts versus 2.5 volt DDR RAM, and will use ball-grid array memory similar to that used on high-performance videocards. The DIMM will have 240 pins versus DDR's 184 pins. While we will still use the clock speed designation, the industry nomenclature will identify a DDR2-400 moduale as PC2-3200, a DDR2-533 part will be called PC2-4300. DDR2 also increases potential bandwidth by prefetching twice as much data as DDR does. Thus, a DDR2 400 module could in the right situation offer twice the theoretical bandwidth as DDR400.

Yeah but DDR2 suffers from nearly twice the latency.

 

[FIZZ3]

That SiS chipset has been postponed once too often, and SiS isn't exactly a company known to provide a lot of fully stable, tweakable, high performance products. Maybe they will create thunder under a clear sky though, there is always a chance.

What is more interesting is the rumours about DDR2 sacrificing latency for bandwidth. If this turns out to be a reality, then the transfer to DDR2 won't be much of a speed boost initially at least. Coupled with higher than DDR1 pricing, it could make the introduction of the technology long and painful. Nobody benefits from that.

 

[mrnuke]

ddr2 looks nice on paper, but it doesn't have the timings near as good as those of reg ddr. Sure it will be faster, but i still love my 2,2,2,5 timings and don't want to lose those!

 

[Ritalin]

Yey, i get to recylcle my rdram...

 

[FIZZ3]

Yey, i get to recylcle my rdram...

Heheh the thought crossed my mind too... if this Asus r659 ever materializes, gets at least ok reviews and is cheap as a SiS board should be I may have a go at it somewhere down the road to see how it fares.
On the other hand, it's far more likely that my trusty 850E system will find a quiet place as the new secondary system in the house, providing the 'eternal hunting grounds' for the RDRAM in it.
I just hope the next upgrade, whatever it is, provides some real speed, and not a bandwidth-for-latency-is-plus-2%-overall kind of boost.