Taiwan memory module makers underscore high bandwidth and low power consumption in their bid to accelerate DDR3 module sales in H1 2008. The global PC market is ripening for DDR3 penetration as average memory per PC continues on its uptrend. Intel’s H1 2007 launch of the P35 chipset (Bear Lake), the world’s first chipset to support DDR3, paved the way for the product’s penetration.

As of H2 2007, standard PC memory had jumped up to 1GB from 512MB, according to DRAMExchange. The trend is being driven by the ever-increasing array of multimedia and gaming applications in the consumer PC market, and massive processing requirements in the enterprise market. Nonetheless, iSuppli predicts that DDR3 shipments will take a couple of years before they overtake DDR2 shipments.

Supply in the meantime will continue to be dominated by DDR2 modules. R&D in this category is currently focused on optimizing performance, particularly in column address selection (CAS) latency, on die termination (ODT) and off-chip driver (OCD) calibration.

Taiwan makers are still coping with the effects of the DRAM IC price slump in the past months. In 2006, production of memory modules was centered on developing NAND flash, prompting shortage in supply. As a result, and in anticipation of the release of Windows Vista and its required high memory capacity, makers expanded DRAM IC production. Growth in 2007 due to Windows Vista, however, was not as strong as projected. This contributed to a DRAM IC oversupply situation and a price drop of about 10 percent. Many suppliers of DRAM ICs suffered investment loss.

Nonetheless, makers are optimistic the market will pick up in H2 2008 when Windows Vista fully takes off and demand for high-capacity modules heightens. Suppliers expect that computers that integrate Windows Vista will account for 60 to 70 percent of the DRAM market.

Taiwan’s Industrial Economics & Knowledge Center (IEK) projects that mainstream PC memory capacity will reach 2GB by 2010, and 3GB by 2012.

By: DocMemory
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