Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/1999/07/29/rambus_to_win_memory_war/

Rambus to win memory war

Neat technology and Intel muscle will seize the day

By Drew Cullen

Posted in On-Prem, 29th July 1999 09:48 GMT

PC133 may be winning the memory battle, but it certainly won't win the war against Rambus, according to Cahners In-Stat Group. The market research firm predicts Rambus will "capture the leading market share over the next several years". It forecasts 60 per cent market share, but then sits on a couple of fences with some scenarios under which competing architectures could "capture sockets currently forecasted for RDRAM". This could see RDRAM end up with anything between 33 and 73 per cent of the memory market. Steve Cullen, principal DRAM analyst for Cahners, says: "Contrary to what other firms are saying, we believe it is not a question of whether Rambus will be successful, but rather when. RDRAM has a significant advantage in bandwidth per pin that helps to satisfy processors' insatiable appetite for data. Rambus will be a major factor in differentiating first-tier DRAM suppliers from the rest of the pack. DRAM suppliers that do not adopt Rambus will see shrinking market share for PC DRAM and suffer overall dropping unit volumes." Intel is bankrolling Rambus to the tune of $1 billion and its marketing and distribution muscle will ensure a big take-up for the technology, according to Cahners. See also Rambus real loser in PC133 wars What do Micron, Samsung and Rambus have in common? PC-133 wins the day in old Taipei What the hell is Camino and Rambus all about?