Samsung mass produces 667MHz DDR 2 chips
Samsung has begun shipping 667MHz DDR 2 SDRAM chips, and claimed it was the first memory maker to mass-produce this type of memory.
The South Korean giant is offering 256Mb and 512Mb devices now, with a 1Gb part due later this year. The chips are fabbed at 90nm, it said.
According to market watcher iSuppli, DDR 2 sales accounted for 17.2 per cent of the global memory market in Q1, the company said yesterday. It expects that figure to rise to 49 per cent by Q4, thanks to the diminished price premium over regular DDR memory.
Indeed, on the DRAM spot market, 512Mb DDR 2 parts are on average cheaper than 512Mb DDR chips, according to DRAMeXchange. Contract and spot DDR prices are on the rise, while DDR 2 pricing remains stable, the organisation noted today.
Samsung's announcement comes just over a month after Rambus began legal proceedings against the company, accusing it of violating 25 patents Rambus holds relating to DDR 2 technology. Samsung promptly countersued Rambus, which in turn added Samsung to an existing complaint filed earlier this year in which it accuses a number of memory makers of conspiring against it.
Samsung has begun shipping 667MHz DDR 2 SDRAM chips, and claimed it was the first memory maker to mass-produce this type of memory.
The South Korean giant is offering 256Mb and 512Mb devices now, with a 1Gb part due later this year. The chips are fabbed at 90nm, it said.
According to market watcher iSuppli, DDR 2 sales accounted for 17.2 per cent of the global memory market in Q1, the company said yesterday. It expects that figure to rise to 49 per cent by Q4, thanks to the diminished price premium over regular DDR memory.
Indeed, on the DRAM spot market, 512Mb DDR 2 parts are on average cheaper than 512Mb DDR chips, according to DRAMeXchange. Contract and spot DDR prices are on the rise, while DDR 2 pricing remains stable, the organisation noted today.
Samsung's announcement comes just over a month after Rambus began legal proceedings against the company, accusing it of violating 25 patents Rambus holds relating to DDR 2 technology. Samsung promptly countersued Rambus, which in turn added Samsung to an existing complaint filed earlier this year in which it accuses a number of memory makers of conspiring against it.
