I know everyone hates rambus the company, but is their product, rdram, going to be the future? I keep reading about how a parallel interface has its limitations and serial is the way to go in the future. That's why you are seeing serial ata and the like. Is this the same for ram? Let's say 5 years down the road, will rdram be the way to go with its serial interface? Just wondering.
Is rdram the ram of the future? or will it be ddr/qdr?
- Thread starter bigshooter
- Start date
I will do all I can, buy avoiding RDRAM in any way, shape an form, to prevent it from having a bright future. But that's me.
Fast. Cheap. Long-life. That's what I look for in memory. At this time, I'm waiting to see how DDR mainboards fare with Intel chips before fully committing to DDR but things look goot so far.
Fast. Cheap. Long-life. That's what I look for in memory. At this time, I'm waiting to see how DDR mainboards fare with Intel chips before fully committing to DDR but things look goot so far.
I wouldn't be surprised if RDRAM plays a large part in the future of computing. However I, like JellyBaby, will do all that I can to make their marketshare as low as possible.
Unless things change dramatically RDRAM doesn't stand a chance, in my opinion at least. For the next year anyway DDR SDRAM will be the memory of choice for high end computers.
The future? We will look back at DRAM, SDRAM, RDRAM, DDR, etc as being vintage, outdated technology.
What does the future hold?
FCRAM Fast Cycle RAM, to be used on Matreox G800
eDRAM putting DRAM directly on the processor, requiring significant infrastructure changes - but personally I'd rather have SRAM, so it would be like a phat L1 cache and nothing else...well maybe you could add more SRAM or DRAM off the processor when the next bloated OS arrives
MRAM Magnetic RAM being developed by IBM, similar technologies being developed by other companies...maybe five or so years away
Single molecular memory the ultimate microminaturization
Holographic storage use light instead of electricity. And IBM is working on this too
Haven't you learned yet that you'll NEVER future-proof your computer?
What does the future hold?
FCRAM Fast Cycle RAM, to be used on Matreox G800
eDRAM putting DRAM directly on the processor, requiring significant infrastructure changes - but personally I'd rather have SRAM, so it would be like a phat L1 cache and nothing else...well maybe you could add more SRAM or DRAM off the processor when the next bloated OS arrives
MRAM Magnetic RAM being developed by IBM, similar technologies being developed by other companies...maybe five or so years away
Single molecular memory the ultimate microminaturization
Holographic storage use light instead of electricity. And IBM is working on this too
Haven't you learned yet that you'll NEVER future-proof your computer?
Actually most of the fuss over RDRAM was that it cost too much. Now it doesnt cost very much, and you guy still bash it. Also when it first came out for the p3 it was limited to the 133mhz 64bit bus which is something like 800mb/sec while rambus can do 1600mb/sec at p800. Now they have a platform that can run it at it full potential which is the p4 with its 400mhz 64bit bus, which is what 3200 mb/sec , which is why they use dual channel on the p4. So... its actually a pretty good technology now, and considering 128mb pc800 cheapest on pricewatch is $170, its not horribly expensive, a couple weeks ago a 128mb pc800 stick could be had for $150. Sure a cas2 pc133 128mb stick is around $100, so its not a huge premium, and ddr pc2100 will cost around $140. So its not like it costs 8 times as much anymore, so it is actually a viable competitor now. The only bad thing about rambus now, is its got a SLIGHTLY higher price,and the business ethics of RMBS are horrible
DDR is good.
RDRAM is slow, expansive and is gonna die. With Intel, if P4 keeps on beeing THAT slow.
RDRAM is slow, expansive and is gonna die. With Intel, if P4 keeps on beeing THAT slow.
RDRAM is not all that expensive anymore... A few months ago, you'd pay that much for SDRAM. And on the P4's boards, it will haul ass.
People main problem with RDRAM is it USED to not be faster and it USED to be really expensive. But now neither it true. I think we are looking at more of a Beta/VHS kind of thing. One might be a little better, but they are pretty closely matched.
People main problem with RDRAM is it USED to not be faster and it USED to be really expensive. But now neither it true. I think we are looking at more of a Beta/VHS kind of thing. One might be a little better, but they are pretty closely matched.
What happened to Rambutt's...er, RDRAM's latency problems? Have they fixed that, too? I remember that being the biggest technical criticism of that type of RAM.
RDRAM has some good design ideas, the problem is that they are mixed in with
some really bad design decisions. Some on RAMBUS' part, and some due
to Intel's missed opportunities.
Serial interfaces are simpler to build and can offer appreciable speed, but
the RAMBUS design forces board makers to keep the trace length to memory all
the same, which can make the design costs just as expensive as if they
had stayed with a parallel layout.
Other issues with RDRAM that have not been addressed are the higher latency
that it has over DDR SDRAM, and issues with non-linear memory accesses.
The claims are that in the future, the RDRAM design will take advantage of
the 64-bit OSes and applications, but we know that most users will still want
to be able to run their old games and programs and hope that the performance
in memory will be at least as good as it was on thier older computers.
I suspect that within 5 years time, someone will attempt a hybrid design that
tries to apply some of the serial interface designs onto a parallel layout;
allowing for a less complex memory structure, that can still manage the
bandwidth wanted to keep up with the 2-3GHz platforms that should be coming
around that time.
some really bad design decisions. Some on RAMBUS' part, and some due
to Intel's missed opportunities.
Serial interfaces are simpler to build and can offer appreciable speed, but
the RAMBUS design forces board makers to keep the trace length to memory all
the same, which can make the design costs just as expensive as if they
had stayed with a parallel layout.
Other issues with RDRAM that have not been addressed are the higher latency
that it has over DDR SDRAM, and issues with non-linear memory accesses.
The claims are that in the future, the RDRAM design will take advantage of
the 64-bit OSes and applications, but we know that most users will still want
to be able to run their old games and programs and hope that the performance
in memory will be at least as good as it was on thier older computers.
I suspect that within 5 years time, someone will attempt a hybrid design that
tries to apply some of the serial interface designs onto a parallel layout;
allowing for a less complex memory structure, that can still manage the
bandwidth wanted to keep up with the 2-3GHz platforms that should be coming
around that time.
First lets get two things clear:
[*]QDR would be cool..SDRAM that transferred 4 times / clock, but it doesn't look likely to happen
[*]DDR-II is going to be the successor to DDR, and contrary to popular belief this is most likely going to be a Serial memory technology very similar to Rambus, not QDR SDRAM.
<< What happened to Rambutt's...er, RDRAM's latency problems? Have they fixed that, too? I remember that being the biggest technical criticism of that type of RAM. >>
I believe the big insanely fast L2 cache (1.5Ghz 256bit is rather fast access) on the P4 helps cover the latency. And besides, now it can actually use it's bandwidth so that might outweight the latency issues. And if you put 2 RIMMs on a channel it does add to latency still but most people use a pair of 64s or a pair of 128s and don't have 4 RIMM modules in the system.
I think that between Rambus (who blows goats as a company but has some decent tech) and DDR-II which is probably also going to be Serial, that Serial memory will play a big role in the future.
USB is Serial, as is IEEE1394 (aka Firewire aka i.Link), and Serial ATA is coming, Ethernet is Serial (ok it's old, but it's still popular), there is a definate trend towards high speed serial devices.
As for the general question; well I think Xeon Tux said it best:
<< Haven't you learned yet that you'll NEVER future-proof your computer? >>
I find it difficult to believe with DDR and it's diriviatives, and Rambus now in the market that either will hold sway over the entire market like SDRAM did for so long. In the near future, with AMD and Via (making chipsets for both sides) both making good headway in the public eye lately, and Rambus being in such a negative light that it's more likely that DDR will be prevelant over Rambus, but I don't think DDR will hold sway like SDRAM did (does?).
[*]QDR would be cool..SDRAM that transferred 4 times / clock, but it doesn't look likely to happen
[*]DDR-II is going to be the successor to DDR, and contrary to popular belief this is most likely going to be a Serial memory technology very similar to Rambus, not QDR SDRAM.
<< What happened to Rambutt's...er, RDRAM's latency problems? Have they fixed that, too? I remember that being the biggest technical criticism of that type of RAM. >>
I believe the big insanely fast L2 cache (1.5Ghz 256bit is rather fast access) on the P4 helps cover the latency. And besides, now it can actually use it's bandwidth so that might outweight the latency issues. And if you put 2 RIMMs on a channel it does add to latency still but most people use a pair of 64s or a pair of 128s and don't have 4 RIMM modules in the system.
I think that between Rambus (who blows goats as a company but has some decent tech) and DDR-II which is probably also going to be Serial, that Serial memory will play a big role in the future.
USB is Serial, as is IEEE1394 (aka Firewire aka i.Link), and Serial ATA is coming, Ethernet is Serial (ok it's old, but it's still popular), there is a definate trend towards high speed serial devices.
As for the general question; well I think Xeon Tux said it best:
<< Haven't you learned yet that you'll NEVER future-proof your computer? >>
I find it difficult to believe with DDR and it's diriviatives, and Rambus now in the market that either will hold sway over the entire market like SDRAM did for so long. In the near future, with AMD and Via (making chipsets for both sides) both making good headway in the public eye lately, and Rambus being in such a negative light that it's more likely that DDR will be prevelant over Rambus, but I don't think DDR will hold sway like SDRAM did (does?).
Hans007, you better check Pricewatch again. You can get 256 MB of generic PC133 memory for $91, but you were correct in saying that 128 MB of PC800 RDRAM is $171. So, for $80 less you can get double the amount of memory. Sure, it's a little slower, but the high cost is still very hard to stomach for most people.
The only thing that is keeping the company RAMBUS alive is its legal matters in collecting loyalties from its memory competitors--this is keeping their stocks inflated. Otherwise, their stocks would be in the drains now... DDR/QDR should be the memory of the future.
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