AMD Radeon DDR3 RAM (first seen in Japan)

entropy13

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Well-known x86 chip designer AMD seems to be expanding its business, the new area of interest for the company being memory. That's right, AMD is apparently making DDR3 memory modules now, and it's branding them 'Radeon' to make sure that they get the attention of buyers.

TCMagazine article

Original Source (Akiba)
 
Seems like a silly move considering the DRAM business has such small margins
 
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i'm guessing it has to do with marketing for Llano and zacate.. because DDR3 1600 @ 11-11-11 timing blows.
 
Interesting but it is kind of weird like others have said dram market aint the greatest right now. I had a xbox 1 modchip back in the day that had amd flash memory.
 
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It doesn't make sense for AMD to offer its Radeon DDR3 memory modules only in 2GB sticks (and single-ranked sticks at that). AMD should have offered a 4GB module option in addition to the 2GB module currently available.

Also, AMD does not currently want to sell memory rated for more than 1.5V because its OEM producers have to adhere strictly to the official JEDEC specification. Nonetheless, its DDR3-1600 "UltraPRO Gaming" kit's 11-11-11 timings are a bit looser than the loosest JEDEC-standard of 10-10-10 at that speed class. These modules likely do not have any Intel XMP profiles at all, so only the officially supported speeds could be used if these modules are used on Intel platforms (e.g. up to only DDR3-1066 on an X58 platform or DDR3-1333 on a Sandy Bridge platform).
 
It doesn't make sense for AMD to offer its Radeon DDR3 memory modules only in 2GB sticks (and single-ranked sticks at that). AMD should have offered a 4GB module option in addition to the 2GB module currently available.

Also, AMD does not currently want to sell memory rated for more than 1.5V because its OEM producers have to adhere strictly to the official JEDEC specification. Nonetheless, its DDR3-1600 "UltraPRO Gaming" kit's 11-11-11 timings are a bit looser than the loosest JEDEC-standard of 10-10-10 at that speed class. These modules likely do not have any Intel XMP profiles at all, so only the officially supported speeds could be used if these modules are used on Intel platforms (e.g. up to only DDR3-1066 on an X58 platform or DDR3-1333 on a Sandy Bridge platform).

You don't have to have XMP profiles... there are such things as manual settings, which, from my experience, are a lot better to use then the lame XMP settings.
 
You don't have to have XMP profiles... there are such things as manual settings, which, from my experience, are a lot better to use then the lame XMP settings.

I was only speaking to those whose manual settings are poorly implemented or nonexistent. Some systems will not run stably at any memory speed other than the fail-safe DDR3-800 and extremely loose 15-15-15 timings with any manual settings whatsoever. And some systems offer no manual settings whatsoever.
 
AMD makes a ton of semiconductor-based products, such as EEPROM, flash memory, etc, so it is not a surprise to me that they finally entered the DRAM arena. As a matter of fact, I believe I have some DIP-28 AMD-branded flash memory in a drawer at home. Oh, homebrew NES cartridges, how I miss you.
 
Ever since AMD bought ATi and renamed the 6000 series im no longer on intels side. I also find myself drifting towards AMD cards because of there price. There motherboards kick ass for a great price, now memory! Wheres the AMD power supplies!?
 
I wonder if amd is looking into the future for this one. As it stands now it doesn't make much sense, but if they can start producing all in one drop in upgrade mobo/cpu/gpu/ram combos it could really shine in certain demographics. Mainly people who have an aging computer who can work a connector who are afraid to build their own system. They won't need to worry about the margins on any single hardware as long as they can bundle it all.

The only obstacle to overcome would be having an OS that could handle a major hardware switch like that. AMD may need to find a way to automate the process. For instance having a program that uninstalls old drivers and reinstalls new ones. windows 7 is pretty lenient on major upgrades causing too many issues. While I always do a fresh install with new major components I know a couple people who are using an old 7 install with new hardware with new drivers. If AMD can streamline it they may be on to something.
 
I'll note this again...

AMD has been making DDR2, DDR3, and GDDR5 (mostly courtesy of ATi division, not AMD prime) for a while, now...
 
why not... obvious possible reasons above, sell large to the OEM market, likely why they only have specific items for now...
 
I'll note this again...

AMD has been making DDR2, DDR3, and GDDR5 (mostly courtesy of ATi division, not AMD prime) for a while, now...
Yeah, its nice to see them provide a way for the consumer to get AMD branded modules if they so choose.
 
i'm guessing it has to do with marketing for Llano and zacate.. because DDR3 1600 @ 11-11-11 timing blows.

That would be my guess as well. Getting the speed up on the RAM ups the graphics speed a ton, but having bad timings makes the entire systems unstable at this point. If AMD makes high-freq RAM with timing that Llano etc can work well with right out of the box, they'll have a market niche.
 
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