DDR2 performance issues caused delay in Socket AM2

  • Thread starter Thread starter YKhan
  • Start date Start date
: Looks like they found that they had to respin the DDR2 memory
: controller circuitry, because it wasn't performing too well. That's
: why it's now slated to be released by June 6, 2006 (6-6-6, btw),
: instead of earlier.
:
: Geek.com Geek News - DDR2 issue causes Socket AM2 delay
: http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2006Jan/bch20060220034869.htm
:

Is this the replacement (ie, AM2) for socket 939? I ask because I would
like to build a new system within the next six months or so, and am a
little confused with all the changes of late. My Asus A7V333 is getting a
little long in the tooth, and since I do lots of Photoshop work and lots
of MP3 and video encoding, the thought of a dual-core AMD platform is
becoming more and more of "a need" for me. :-)

G7
 
Gary said:
Is this the replacement (ie, AM2) for socket 939? I ask because I would
like to build a new system within the next six months or so, and am a
little confused with all the changes of late. My Asus A7V333 is getting a
little long in the tooth, and since I do lots of Photoshop work and lots
of MP3 and video encoding, the thought of a dual-core AMD platform is
becoming more and more of "a need" for me. :-)
Click to expand...

Yes, it's socket that AMD is going to be using to support DDR2 (and
apparently also DDR3, but we'll have to wait to see that).

Yousuf Khan
 
George said:
Hmm, I wonder if this why they signed up for the Rambus license?... to get
some engineering help?
Click to expand...

It's likely whatever problems they were having was based on their own
designs, so they'll have to fix their own bugs. Rambus might be there
for future revisions the DDR controller. Hell, it might even be there to
help out with the ZRAM controller. :-)

Yousuf Khan
 
: George Macdonald wrote:
:: Hmm, I wonder if this why they signed up for the Rambus
:: license?... to get some engineering help?
::
:
: It's likely whatever problems they were having was based on their
: own designs, so they'll have to fix their own bugs. Rambus might be
: there for future revisions the DDR controller. Hell, it might even
: be there to help out with the ZRAM controller. :-)

Rambus? Is this the **same** Rambus from just a few years ago that was
running around sueing the pants off everybody and their grandmother? Why
o why in god's name would AMD want to get involved with those vultures?
:-(

G7
 
: George Macdonald wrote:
:: Hmm, I wonder if this why they signed up for the Rambus
:: license?... to get some engineering help?
::
:
: It's likely whatever problems they were having was based on their
: own designs, so they'll have to fix their own bugs. Rambus might be
: there for future revisions the DDR controller. Hell, it might even
: be there to help out with the ZRAM controller. :-)

Rambus? Is this the **same** Rambus from just a few years ago that was
running around sueing the pants off everybody and their grandmother? Why
o why in god's name would AMD want to get involved with those vultures?
:-(

G7
Click to expand...

AMD can't afford anyone/anything else.

AMD inked a 5 year patent license agreement with Rambus Inc. that grants
AMD a license to Rambus patents used in the design of DDR2, DDR3,
FB-DIMM, PCI Express and XDR controllers along with other current and
future high-speed memory and logic controller interfaces for $75
million.
 
Yousuf said:
It's likely whatever problems they were having was based on their own
designs, so they'll have to fix their own bugs. Rambus might be there
for future revisions the DDR controller.
Click to expand...

I suspect it was for engineering help as George put it. A lot of guys
have used Rambus to design fast memory controllers/subsystems, since
they have lots of expertise in the area.
Hell, it might even be there to
help out with the ZRAM controller. :-)
Click to expand...

Yousuf, you're a very funny person.

DK
 
Hmm, I wonder if this why they signed up for the Rambus license?... to get
some engineering help?
Click to expand...

LOL! Interesting theory, but I really doubt it. My reading of it is
that it's just a performance-related issue with the layout of the
circuits. This sort of thing does happen, and while it's not
particularly good news for AMD, it sounds like something that they'll
be able to sort out on their own without too much of a delay. The
good news for AMD is that if it's *just* a performance related issue
then it shouldn't affect platform development at all. Chipset and
motherboard makers should be just fine with the pre-production
samples, albeit with somewhat reduced levels of performance.
 
It's likely whatever problems they were having was based on their own
designs, so they'll have to fix their own bugs. Rambus might be there
for future revisions the DDR controller. Hell, it might even be there to
help out with the ZRAM controller. :-)
Click to expand...

What could have been been wrong with a DDR2 controller? Since they'd
already done DDR, I'd guess the PHY - IOW a "cell" which Rambus could pull
off the shelf and AMD could slot in. You have to figure that AMD has umm,
collaborated with the likes of Micron to get it working right first...
before the excrement hit the blades.
 
Gary said:
Rambus? Is this the **same** Rambus from just a few years ago that was
running around sueing the pants off everybody and their grandmother? Why
o why in god's name would AMD want to get involved with those vultures?
:-(
Click to expand...

Yup same guys. Why is AMD getting involved with them? Apparently they
want to pay them for their IP rights to some technology they invented
called "DDR".

I don't know, lately I've been seeing AMD ambushing and just forcing
people to take money. It started out with Patriot Scientific, then it
was Rambus, and most recently it was Innovative Silicon for their ZRAM.
It seems to be blessing from the Pope for these companies' stock
prices, because they start running up the day after the announcement is
made.

Yousuf Khan
 
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