New Technology The DRAM industry continues to improve and change at a rapid rate. Increased processor speeds are a key factor driving the need for faster memory. Today's fastest Pentium systems are running at bus speeds of 100 MHz, which is near the operating limit of current SDRAM. Future PCs are expected to run at bus speeds of 200 MHz and up. Faster memory technologies will be required, since SDRAM does not support these higher speeds. There are several new technologies that will be introduced this year in the DRAM marketplace: Double Data Rate SDRAM, SyncLink DRAM, and RAMBUS.

Double Data Rate SDRAM
Double Data Rate (DDR) is a variant of current SDRAM technology. As the name states, this technology doubles the rate at which data is made available. Data is clocked on both rising and falling clock edges. Currently, only the rising edge signals an event to occur, so the DDR SDRAM design can effectively double the speed of operation up to a minimum of 200MHz. DDR SDRAM can theoretically support bus speeds of up to 143MHz.
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RAMBUS
Intel is concentrating their efforts on promoting a proprietary memory design developed by Rambus, Inc. as the next DRAM standard. This looks to be a very fast solution for system memory, operating at speeds up to 800MHz. The higher speeds require short wire lengths and additional shielding to prevent problems with EMI. Manufacturers implementing a solution with DRDRAM must pay a royalty to Rambus, Inc. which will increase manufacturing costs.
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DRAM Memory Links:
DRAM Technology Overview from PC Guide
ZDNet Article on next generation DRAM
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