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Demand for DDR3 spikes
DEMAND FOR the next generation DRAM chip, DDR3 has spiked recently despite claims that it is only marginally better than DDR2.
DDR3 prices have jumped to between $1.50 to $1.70 per 1Gb chip, and prices will likely continue to rise in July, according to DRAMeXchange Technology.
Analysts and other people we chat with down the pub think that demand for DDR3 chips could boost their share of the market to as much as 30 per cent by the end of this year.
They claim that DDR3 could replace DDR2 as the mainstream market standard sometime next year.
It seems that if this is true, many are believing press releases that say the chips use up to 60 per cent less power than their predecessors while offering almost twice the bandwidth.
However this is not really born out by the benchmarks. It seems that most performance gains are marginal at best.
Computerworld however quotes Samsung as seeing DDR3 knocking DDR2 out of first place in the DRAM market by the end of next year's first quarter with over a 50 per cent share.
The chipmakers point out that DDR3 is already cheap, and the faster production increases, the quicker prices for the chips will come down even more. This is counter-intuitive though, as DDR3 is being seen as the saviour of an industry that cannot make money out of DDR2 and is hoping that higher prices for newer technology will give it some profits again.
At the moment DDR2 has fallen to $1.00 per 1Gb chip, from $1.34 in May. Performance and power claims from the memory manufacturers alone might not be enough for budget conscious firms trying to save cash.
If DDR3 fails to live up to the chipmakers' claims then buyers will be clamouring for cheaper chips and DDR2 could remain the dominant memory standard longer than expected.
Some analysts deny that the upcoming Windows 7 launch will be the saviour of the memory chip industry. Low end versions of Windows 7 work well enough with only half a gigabyte of RAM, which is not enough to trigger massive demand for memory.
It is also unlikely that most users will notice much difference between DDR2 and DDR3 anyway. µ
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But consumer also know they did not get much benefits with sticks more RAM above 4 GB for they everyday applications even 2GB is good enough for browsing.
When DDR2 came out it was the same thing: DDR had similar speeds as DDR2, but without the latency hit and price premium. And look where we are today. Just wait for the second generation of DDR3 processors/chipsets to come out and it'll firmly supplant DDR2.
Stay thirsty my friends.
My 2005 spec DDR500 ram at 225Mhz (450Mhz) still holds up well in the benchies with the faster DDR2/3 ram.
Rather dissapointing really.
Cough Cough Cough..What?
Is that not a good reason, whether we like it on not DDR2 will be history in a year or two at the latest, i've just purchased 6gb and was it twice the price no...it's cheap..65 squid for 6gb of patriot viper
why is that a bad deal...oh yeh the boards are expensive...
But that's life when one has a monopoly
AMD's DDR3 board are not cheap either
Every So Often in Yore, Some Marketeer Looks UP Market in Terms of Need. Like nO Choice, DDR3 is going to sell as MAD O'c People hit in Millions. Price Wise, Its NO Brainer. why discuss anything else.
Directron.com has special on DDR#, mentioned after Independence day. $89 or $15 per gb, in triple channel. Yeah eary adapters new two. 12 Gb For unlocking 12 core merchantil sold as 6 core. have fun both 710/20 series with back & ofrth testee' delight of ddr2/3, then theres thri. Mega, 1600 & just staring UP. sCheap power under 'd toe. BUY Your DDR3 Sillies. It Should fit Your SATA III USB3 SuperSpeedo make Waster of blu theatre sytem. thats 1080P kind. Do Hold out for 32"make that 33
Want to save in desktop. Asus rebate of late has put bunch of monitors, one of latest sybly, saves you $120 off list, or 40%. Hoak sale seeloff for July''9.20,000:1 Contrast. same 55 watt tronics as Asus 2.64H at $340.(Pure point Pun Credit)Just made at same time,1" & 1/2 shorter.NOV''8. Of Full Fare: Chalie Paid for 2/3 of IT.mies, other 1/3, for good nights lodging, splendor 1,2-5,3&4.Reason for Change:Greater BOOT Sensitiveity.
vondrashek
Look out for the Gigabyte UD3P based on 770 + 710 chipset, was only a few dollars more expensive than the AM2+ version, and that at AUD$135 (US~$100?) is a reasonably well priced DDR3 mobo, good value too
You talk about if people believe the claims on power and performance... and then your link to an article that DOES NOT MEASURE POWER and says there was ~5% performance gain.
So are you disputing the power reduction of DDR3 or do you just choose to ignore it as it doesn't fit your article's conclusion?
I thought you only slant articles when they are about Apple, now I'm beginning to realize you have the conclusion pre-defined in most cases and simply write the story around it and force the facts to fit, and omit those that don't fit.
Since you don't believe the DDR3 claims - what did your substantial research show about the power claims of DDR2 vs DDR3?
What is a Gb? Is that a GB (gigabyte) or Gbit (gigabit)? Seriously, I want to understand what you are writing. Otherwise this site would be a waste of time.
Is it just me or is it possible people are only buying DDR3 becasue it's needed for i7??? Is there another way to upgrade with DDR2 that I am unfamilar with? Article should be titled DEMAND FOR i7 SPIKES !