DDR3 available in Q4?

[DrMrLordX]

Anandtech's own Computex 2006 article indicates that "the majority of memory suppliers will have DDR3 capable modules ready for sale by Q4 of this year."

http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2777&p=7

Check under the Geil header.

What exactly this means for AM2's projected lifespan is anybody's guess. Will there be a rapid move towards AM3 for AMD's high-end CPUs? Will Intel be jumping on the DDR3 bandwagon ASAP?

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: DrMrLordX
Anandtech's own Computex 2006 article indicates that "the majority of memory suppliers will have DDR3 capable modules ready for sale by Q4 of this year."

http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2777&p=7

Check under the Geil header.

What exactly this means for AM2's projected lifespan is anybody's guess. Will there be a rapid move towards AM3 for AMD's high-end CPUs? Will Intel be jumping on the DDR3 bandwagon ASAP?

Intel says chipsets that can use DDR3 will debut Q1 '07.

 

[DrMrLordX]

That answers one of my questions. Will AM2 support DDR3 at some point?

 

[Cooler]

Intels Bearlake 1333 FSB coming next year will support DDR3 as well. No the road map for amd shows that a new cpu the k8L or the next gen will support DDR3 not am2.

 

[hardwareking]

won't the dudes who make the ram wan't to reap some profits off ddr2 memory before going to ddr3?
I doubt it'll be selling by Q4 2006.I think it'll be around Q2 2007.

 

[Furen]

I wouldn't expect a new socket out of AMD until Q1 2008 at the earliest. Remember that DDR3 will be deliciously expensive for at least a year and I doubt Intel will push DDR3 quite as hard as it did DDR2 (because the market resisted this last push).

 

[the Chase]

The new AMD socket M2 due out mid-2007 will support DDR3 (or the CPU that runs in that socket will to be precise). We may see DDR3 running on socket AM2 yet also if AMD has revision G's memory controller tweaked for that. I think DDR3 has the same physical connect as DDR2 so it would be possible. By mid-2007 I think both companies will have transitioned.

 

[secretanchitman]

haha nice...a yellow colored RAM module!

DDR3 already? this will be really slow for everyone to jump on it, im willing to bet...

 

[zephyrprime]

How unexciting is this? DDR2 hardly offers any performance improvement. What will ddr3 offer? Except for maybe lower power consumption for notebooks, how will we benefit from this?

 

[Noubourne]

Yeah, AM2 proved without a doubt that desktops don't need more bandwidth. This, like upgrading from 939 to AM2, is a solution in search of a problem.

 

[DrMrLordX]

DDR3 will supposedly offer as much, if not more bandwidth than DDR2 at lower latencies. That'll be very useful for both AMD and Intel. Power consumption will be lower as well (1.5vdimm on DDR3 vs 1.8vdimm on DDR2).

 

[Furen]

Originally posted by: the Chase
The new AMD socket M2 due out mid-2007 will support DDR3 (or the CPU that runs in that socket will to be precise). We may see DDR3 running on socket AM2 yet also if AMD has revision G's memory controller tweaked for that. I think DDR3 has the same physical connect as DDR2 so it would be possible. By mid-2007 I think both companies will have transitioned.

Huh? What the heck are you talking about? M2 is AM2's old name. AMD changed it in order to avoid possible trademark disputes. If you look at an AM2 motherboard you'll see that the socket is actually labeled "Socket M2". What I've heard of DDR3 ranges from it being socket-compatible to it having aditional pins for the extra functionality while maintaining pin-compatibility with the rest of its pins. This could mean, for example, that a DDR3 memory controller could drive either DDR2 or DDR3 (but probably no the other way around) because the pins needed to drive DDR2 would be part of the DDR3 spec as well.

 

[Acanthus]

Dont forget guys that in '07 we will have quad core CPUs available.

They CAN and WILL use the bandwidth.

 

[BrownTown]

yes, DDR3 will provide more bandwidth at higher latentcies, when you get quad cores you need more bandwidth, and DDR3 will help in that area. However, it will not be a commonly used thing for a very long time now, there is no use for it for a long time.

 

[the Chase]

Originally posted by: Furen

Originally posted by: the Chase
The new AMD socket M2 due out mid-2007 will support DDR3 (or the CPU that runs in that socket will to be precise). We may see DDR3 running on socket AM2 yet also if AMD has revision G's memory controller tweaked for that. I think DDR3 has the same physical connect as DDR2 so it would be possible. By mid-2007 I think both companies will have transitioned.

Huh? What the heck are you talking about? M2 is AM2's old name. AMD changed it in order to avoid possible trademark disputes. If you look at an AM2 motherboard you'll see that the socket is actually labeled "Socket M2". What I've heard of DDR3 ranges from it being socket-compatible to it having aditional pins for the extra functionality while maintaining pin-compatibility with the rest of its pins. This could mean, for example, that a DDR3 memory controller could drive either DDR2 or DDR3 (but probably no the other way around) because the pins needed to drive DDR2 would be part of the DDR3 spec as well.

Well I don't work for AMD so I could be wrong on this, but several peeps "in the know" are saying that the next desktop socket coming is called M2. I know the history so this sounds weird and heck maybe the retail name will be different but apparently M2 is coming 1st half of 2007 and most likely will support both DDR2/DDR3.

Edit- also the new CPU's do benefit from more bandwidth even with worse timings to get that bandwidth. The improvement isn't a lot but it is there, which suprised me. Even going from CAS 3 to CAS 5 at the same memory speed made no difference in performance.(According to OC Workbench's tests.)

 

[DrMrLordX]

Originally posted by: BrownTown
yes, DDR3 will provide more bandwidth at higher latentcies, when you get quad cores you need more bandwidth, and DDR3 will help in that area. However, it will not be a commonly used thing for a very long time now, there is no use for it for a long time.

Eh? I was under the impression that DDR3 wil provide more bandwidth at lower latencies, not higher latencies.

And yes, quad-core setups will probably be able to make use of the extra bandwidth.

 

[thestain]

just a thought, but.. from what I have read, the current memory controller from AMD was designed for both ddr2 and ddr3.. question is whether it is enabled for ddr3 in current chips.. and motherboard chipsets or not..

anyone take a look at how much room the new am2s grew compared to their 939 brothers? sure got bigger..

 

[the Chase]

Originally posted by: thestain
just a thought, but.. from what I have read, the current memory controller from AMD was designed for both ddr2 and ddr3.. question is whether it is enabled for ddr3 in current chips.. and motherboard chipsets or not..

anyone take a look at how much room the new am2s grew compared to their 939 brothers? sure got bigger..

Heh- I have been speculating ever since I read the line "memory makers are running a couple of months behind on the production of memory for the AM2 CPU's". But.....It's only DDR2 right? The stuff that you can buy anywhere right now and Intel has used for 2+ years? Who knows- didn't want to bring it up for fear of being run out of the CPU forum in a silicon straightjacket.

 

[Alaa]

dont you think that companies only want money? all co. release a new product for every tiny step in tech. they just want $$.

 

[atom]

Originally posted by: DrMrLordX

Originally posted by: BrownTown
yes, DDR3 will provide more bandwidth at higher latentcies, when you get quad cores you need more bandwidth, and DDR3 will help in that area. However, it will not be a commonly used thing for a very long time now, there is no use for it for a long time.

Eh? I was under the impression that DDR3 wil provide more bandwidth at lower latencies, not higher latencies.

And yes, quad-core setups will probably be able to make use of the extra bandwidth.

DDR3 was shown at computex and I think it was CL7 which was supposed to be an "average" speed for a DDR3 module.

I dunno about your assumption about quad core, bandwidth is more of a function of the applications you are running. Server, yes more bandwidth is always good. Desktop, kinda iffy.....

 

[Furen]

DDR has a prefetch of 2 (hence the DDR thing), DDR2 has a prefetch of 4, DDR3 will have a prefetch of 8. This, by itself, leads to higher latencies as the prefetch increases, since the DRAM cells are working at 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8 the "effective" clock. These new generations also include various tweaks to lower the latency but, for the most part, we'll be seeing higher latencies as we progress to newer technologies this way. Instead of seeing a steady rise in clocks we're seeing a halving in clock speeds every couple of years, which leads to much better yields and lower power consumption, so in DDR1 200MHz DRAM cells will give you an effective DDR400 speed, in DDR2 you'll get DDR2 800 in cells at the same clock and with DDR3 we'll see DDR3 1600 for 200MHz cells.

 

[the cobbler]

Originally posted by: the Chase

Originally posted by: Furen

Originally posted by: the Chase
The new AMD socket M2 due out mid-2007 will support DDR3 (or the CPU that runs in that socket will to be precise). We may see DDR3 running on socket AM2 yet also if AMD has revision G's memory controller tweaked for that. I think DDR3 has the same physical connect as DDR2 so it would be possible. By mid-2007 I think both companies will have transitioned.

Huh? What the heck are you talking about? M2 is AM2's old name. AMD changed it in order to avoid possible trademark disputes. If you look at an AM2 motherboard you'll see that the socket is actually labeled "Socket M2". What I've heard of DDR3 ranges from it being socket-compatible to it having aditional pins for the extra functionality while maintaining pin-compatibility with the rest of its pins. This could mean, for example, that a DDR3 memory controller could drive either DDR2 or DDR3 (but probably no the other way around) because the pins needed to drive DDR2 would be part of the DDR3 spec as well.

Well I don't work for AMD so I could be wrong on this, but several peeps "in the know" are saying that the next desktop socket coming is called M2. I know the history so this sounds weird and heck maybe the retail name will be different but apparently M2 is coming 1st half of 2007 and most likely will support both DDR2/DDR

no it isn't. AM2=M2 = sorry but it's already here, released in retail form. it supports BOTH DDR2 and DDR3 already.

there is ZERO support for DDR1 from this point forward, as both CPU companies' "modern" platforms don't even use it....at all.

maybe you're thinking of AM3= K8L ?

 

[the Chase]

Originally posted by: the cobbler

Originally posted by: the Chase

Originally posted by: Furen

Originally posted by: the Chase
The new AMD socket M2 due out mid-2007 will support DDR3 (or the CPU that runs in that socket will to be precise). We may see DDR3 running on socket AM2 yet also if AMD has revision G's memory controller tweaked for that. I think DDR3 has the same physical connect as DDR2 so it would be possible. By mid-2007 I think both companies will have transitioned.

Huh? What the heck are you talking about? M2 is AM2's old name. AMD changed it in order to avoid possible trademark disputes. If you look at an AM2 motherboard you'll see that the socket is actually labeled "Socket M2". What I've heard of DDR3 ranges from it being socket-compatible to it having aditional pins for the extra functionality while maintaining pin-compatibility with the rest of its pins. This could mean, for example, that a DDR3 memory controller could drive either DDR2 or DDR3 (but probably no the other way around) because the pins needed to drive DDR2 would be part of the DDR3 spec as well.

Well I don't work for AMD so I could be wrong on this, but several peeps "in the know" are saying that the next desktop socket coming is called M2. I know the history so this sounds weird and heck maybe the retail name will be different but apparently M2 is coming 1st half of 2007 and most likely will support both DDR2/DDR

no it isn't. AM2=M2 = sorry but it's already here, released in retail form. it supports BOTH DDR2 and DDR3 already.

there is ZERO support for DDR1 from this point forward, as both CPU companies' "modern" platforms don't even use it....at all.

maybe you're thinking of AM3= K8L ?

No- no AM3 coming that anyone has mentioned yet. New socket for K8L=M2.

You lopped off the "3" on my DDR3 somehow when quoting me- never said DDR.

I know it's weird that AMD is calling the new socket M2 when that was going to be the name of the current socket. If I end up wrong on it I'll eat some crow and hang thy head for an hour or two- But until then- I can't wait until socket M2 arrives!!

 

[Noubourne]

Is "M2" supposedly the new name for the 1207 pin socket coming with the quad-core FX chip later this year that supposedly will compete with Conroe in the uber-high end market?

IIRC, M2 was the name of AM2 before some sort of legal dispute that forced AMD to change the name of the current AM2 sockets to AM2. I would be surprised if they used it to name their next socket.

I don't have time to look it up now, but I seem to recall hearing that the socket for the quad-core AMD chip later this year would be called Socket F, have 1207 pins, and be pin-compatible with K8L when it came out in '07. Could be wrong on the K8L compatible part though...

 

[DrMrLordX]

Originally posted by: atom

DDR3 was shown at computex and I think it was CL7 which was supposed to be an "average" speed for a DDR3 module.

I dunno about your assumption about quad core, bandwidth is more of a function of the applications you are running. Server, yes more bandwidth is always good. Desktop, kinda iffy.....

CL7? That's not good for anyone.