Samsung cranks up 1066 RDRAM

Yesterday, Samsung pumped up DDR-II, an upcoming competitor to RDRAM. Today, the DRAM maker is displaying its memory-agnostic laurels by promoting Rambus RDRAM.

The company is to ramp up production of new 1066MHz RDRAM RIMM modules, to satisfy "surging demand" from makers of PC, workstations and serious gaming machines. Intel has not validated the new Rambus 1066MHz device - because it's "stretched too thin", EBN's Jack Robertson reports.

Samsung does not reveal how far it's ramping up production for the 1066 Mbps device, merely saying that it will ensure that OEM customers will receive "ample supplies... in a timely manner". Major PC mobo makers are already receiving "rapidly increasing" quantities of 1066 RDRAM RIMMs for incorporation in motherboards using Intel's new 850e chipset.

Samsung reckons there will be plenty of demand: "As CPU speeds advance beyond 2GHz, RDRAM will become the high-speed system memory of choice due to its clear-cut performance advantage".

This is a welcome shot in the arm for Rambus, the pugnacious memory designer. Intel, once its key supporter, appears to be shutting the company out of most areas - except for high performance desktop PCs, and, maybe, workstations. Electronics News has an interesting piece exploring the increasing lock-out.

Samsung claims market leadership for RDRAM, with 60 per cent share of sales. ®

Samsung RDRAM page (The 1066 news is not on the site yet)