Arthur Sainio, product marketing manager of Smart Modular Technologies, Fremont, Calif., which validates DDR modules for AMD and VIA Technologies, said twenty PC2100 units were waiting in line to be tested. He told the DDR meeting that module makers had asked the firm to test the lower speed PC1600 modules first, because of immediate demand from server OEMs.

The module testing official believed most of the waiting PC2100 modules would pass validation by the end of March.

He conceded that the initial validation checks turned up "distinct issues" that had to be solved. "This is normal for any new technology. Most of the issues for eight module suppliers have been solved. In fact, the industry is moving more quickly on validating DDR modules than in the transition to PC133 (the last memory generation) modules," he said.

Several more vendors have validated their PC2100 modules in the latest industry report card, the DDR forum heard. This included Acer Laboratories Inc. validating three Micron PC2100 unbuffered modules for desktops, and VIA Technologies approving PC2100 units from Hyundai Electronics Industries Co. and also from Smart Modular Earlier it was reported that Samsung Electronics and Infineon Technologies had PC2100 modules validated.

Jeff Mailloux, Micron Technology director of DRAM marketing, said his firm has among the smallest DDR die size, which is less costly to produce but more challenging to meet PC2100 parameters. He said Micron's PC2100 module is now starting to pass multiple validation tests and will ramp up production quickly in Q2 '01.

Mailloux said the small die size then will be a major cost benefit, allowing Micron to sell DDR modules at parity with single data rate PC133 DIMMs.

He said the DDR price parity may cause Micron to skip making single data rate 512-megabit SDRAMs and go solely to a DDR version. "If there is no penalty to buy DDR, then customers will likely only want the (double data rate) 512-Megabit chip," he said.

A 13-member industry panel agreed that PC desktops with DDR memory will be coming to mrket starting in Q2 '01 with a major rampup in the second half. Once DDR reaches price parity with single data rate SDRAM, the value PC segment will quickly shift to the new higher speed memory, especially for UMA (unified memory architecture) integrated graphic chip set models, panelists concurred.

While the Taiwan session focused mainly on the current DDR memory, Samsung Electronics said it has working silicon for the next generation DDR-II. Jon Kang, senior vice president of the Samsung Memory division, said a prototype 128-Mbit chip demonstrates that the new generation chip can be built. The final DDR-II standard has not yet been completed by JEDEC (Joint Electron Devices Engineering Council), although enough preliminary portions of the industry spec have been released that Samsung said it could fabricate a working technology demonstration chip.