Samsung pushing DDR2 memory into PC mainstream

IDG News Service - Samsung Electronics Co. said today that the global shift to a speedier computer memory chip, DDR2 (double data rate, second generation), is accelerating, with the chips now accounting for the majority of its factory output of dynamic RAM.
The DDR2 chips were expected to take over as the world's most widely used PC memory chip last year, but high prices, the marginal performance boost they offer compared with existing DDR chips and other factors caused that time frame to be pushed back, analysts said. In the interim, the original DDR chips running at 400 MHz, or DDR-400, have remained popular for PCs.
Industry attention to the Flash memory market also held back DDR2. Flash memory chips stole the spotlight this year because people have been snapping up the main products they end up in -- digital cameras and MP3 players, Min-Liang Chen, chairman of ProMOS Technologies Inc., a Taiwanese memory chip maker, said during a news conference last week.
"DDR2 won't be that big this quarter," Chen said. "It won't become the mainstream chip until the fourth quarter at the earliest."
Consumer appetite for laptop computers this year has helped prod the industry shift to DDR2 despite higher costs. Although early versions of DDR2 are only slightly faster than DDR-400, the newer chips consume less battery power, an important consideration for laptop users. The chips have also moved into servers already, as well as PCs for gamers and other users who want the best components available.
Samsung's push also helps. As the world's largest memory-chip maker, it can encourage the market to move in the direction of DDR2. The company said its production of DDR2 outpaced DDR for the first time last month, with 40% of its total output in DDR2 and 30% in DDR.
There has also been an upsurge in interest in DDR2 from systems makers including PC builders that will continue into 2006, Samsung said.
The company is producing 256MB, 512MB and 1GB versions of DDR2 chips that run at 533 MHz, plus 256MB and 512MB versions of its new DDR2 that run at 667 MHz. The speedier DDR2-667 memory provides a more significant performance boost in terms of speed over DDR-400, analysts said.
DDR2 sales are projected to grow to $6.5 billion this year from $1.5 billion in 2004 and are expected to take off in 2006 with global sales valued at $18 billion, according to De Dios and Associates, a memory-chip market-research firm.

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