A few months and DDR2 is the lord

There may be several significant market events in the first quarter of next year that will permanently free up DDR2 memories.

Although some manufacturers are already able to provide their DDR2 modules cheaper than traditional DDRs because using a newer model does not cause significant acceleration in an average system, even most Intel-based systems still use older memories where there is a possibility.

However, early next year, all desktop AMD processors, from Semprons to Athlon 64 FXs, as well as the Opteron 100 series for single-processor workstations, will also fit into the new Socket M2 slot, which is clearly expected to accompany DDR2 memories. As we know, AMD has been waiting for the introduction of DDR2 primarily because the memory controller built into the processor responds much better to the lower latency of traditional DDR than to the higher bandwidth of DDR2. However, as promised, with the proliferation of 667 MHz modules, they will also switch, as this is the limit where it is clearly better to choose higher bandwidth, especially for dual-core processors.

The other major twist is that the i945 chipset series is pretty slowly entering the entry-level solutions market as well, giving DDR2 another huge boost. Thanks to the upcoming i945PL-based products, the i945 series could account for 15 percent of Intel’s total chipset release by the end of this year, a significant increase from the current 10 percent. At the beginning of next year, this could grow even further, giving way permanently to previous solutions such as the i865 series.