Pretec will begin mass production, in August, of a 4 GB SD card. The device is based on two 16 Gb SLC NAND Flash chips fabbed at 65 nm. It is compatible with the SD 1.1 specification, offering access speed of up to 20 MB/s, and is able to work with SD 1.0, but with a drop in performance to 10 MB/s. The price of such a huge capacity is high: USD 699.
OCZ has further extended its lineup of memories with the release of a new DDR500 product aimed at gamers. The PC-4000 1 GB Gold Edition runs with 3-4-4-8 timings and operates at 2.8 volts (users can tweak it to 3 volts without invalidating lifetime warranty). The new memory, which feature gold layered copper heatspreader, is available in 1 GB modules and 2 GB dual channel kits (2 x 1 GB).
OCZ has launched a DDR600 memory utilizing TCCD chips from Samsung. The DDR PC-4800 Platinum Elite Edition (EE) will run at 400 MHz with 2-2-2-5 timings and at 600 MHz with 2.5-4-4-10. The company guarantees the modules, which have mirrored platinum copper heatspreaders, to handle up to 3 volts without invalidating its warranty. The new memory is available only in 1 GB dual channel kits (2 x 512 MB).
SanDisk claims to be the first company to offer a 512 MB microSD card. The format, aimed at mobile phones and devices, has been officially adopted by the SD Card Association (SDA). The company also released a 256 MB version and expects to launch a 1 GB card by the end of the year and a 2 GB one in 2006. The 512 MB microSD, to be available in August, will sell for USD 70, while the 256 MB is priced at USD 45.
Rambus has announced a new version of its XDR memory technology capable of reaching 8 GHz. That would make it five times faster than current GDDR products. XDR2 incorporates a set of new technologies such as micro-threading, which provides more data bandwidth to memory controllers, and adaptive timing, a speed enhancement that compensates for voltage and temperature variations. Products based on the new standard should be available in 2007.
GeIL added new DDR400 memory modules to its ONE series with record latency timings: 1.5-2-2-5. According to the company, they will also run at 600 MHz, with 2.5-4-4-7 settings. The memories, based on TCCD chips from Samsung, have platinum copper heatspreaders, run at 2.55 to 2.95 volts and are available in 512 MB modules as well as 512 MB (2 x 256 MB) and 1 GB (2 x 512 MB) dual channel kits.
Japanese Elpida announced that it has completed the development of a 2 Gb DDR2 SDRAM device using 80 nm process technology. It is expected to enable volume support of high-speed DDR2 such as DDR2-800. The chip is also suitable for incorporation onto the FB-DIMM format. Volume production is expected to begin by the end of the fiscal year.
IBM has signed a new license agreement to use Rambus' XDR memory controller interface cell called XIO. This macro cell provides a wide on-chip CMOS level signalling interface to the memory controller logic and a high speed differential Rambus signalling level (DRSL) interface to the XDR memory system.
OCZ promises to add low latencies to low pricing with its new PC-3500 Gold GX memory aimed at gamers. The DDR433 modules have 2-2-2-5 latency settings and run at 2.8 volts. It includes gold layered copper heatspreader and features Extended Voltage Protection (EVP) and Ultra Low Noise (ULN) technology. The 1 GB dual channel kit (2 x 512 MB) is expected to sell for USD 190.
Samsung has begun production of NAND flash memories with 4 Gb capacity in a 70 nm process. The company already offers 8 Gb devices, but it says the new units will offer more capacity and lower prices. The 4 Gb memories sport writing speeds of up to 16 MB/s and allow real-time storage of high-definition video. Production will be further boosted by the end of the year.
Corsair has announced new Secure Digital (SD) and Compact Flash (CF) Type I memory cards rated at 60x (9 MB/s) and 80x (12MB/s). The company now also uses the rating system in which 1x equals to 150 KB per second. The new 60X SD and 80X CF, backed by Corsair’s lifetime warranty, are available immediately.
PQI has also reached the 1 GHz mark with its latest DDR2 product. The company has tested its TurboMemory DDR2-1000 on a Gigabyte GA-8I955NXP motherboard and has achieved speeds “over 1000 MHz”. The 512 MB module though is only certified to work at 1 GHz with 5-5-5-15 latency settings – same as the recently launched PC2-8000 Platinum Enhanced Latency from OCZ.
Industry’s first DDR2 modules clocked at 1 GHz could be available soon. OCZ claims to have achieved the speed using “premium modules” and an experimental P5WD2 ASUS board based on the i955X chipset. Currently, the company offers PC2-6400 parts guaranteed to work at 800 MHz with 4-3-3-8 latencies. There is no specific timetable to the release of PC2-8000 products.
Micron reclaimed its place as the number two DRAM supplier in the first quarter, raising its shipments by more than 20% and guaranteeing a share of 16.8% of the market, ahead of rival Hynix, which had 16.5%. Samsung kept the first place with 31.1%, but had revenues of USD 2.04 billion, a 7% decrease from the previous quarter. The numbers are from research firm iSuppli. The overall DRAM market amounted to USD 6.56 billion, down 10% sequentially.
OCZ has released yet another DDR2-800 module, as part of its Platinum Enhanced Bandwidth series, this time offering even lower latency timings: 4-3-3-8. The memory runs at 2.1 volts, but tolerates up to 2.2 volts. It includes platinum mirrored copper heatspreader and is available only in 1 GB (2 x 512 MB) dual channel kits.
