The new DDR memories offer 333-Mbit/second data rates, which are 2.5 times faster than PC133 SDRAM and 25 percent faster than DDR266 devices. Nanya said it will raise production of DDR333 until it represents about 20 percent of its total production by year's end, in hopes of riding out the industry downturn with higher-margin products.

Prices for DRAM chips have slumped more than 90 percent from last year, forcing chip makers to sell below cost, analysts said. Last week, a senior executive at Nanya said he suspected a slight rebound in DRAM pricing could happen in October, but did not offer specifics on market drivers. He noted that demand was picking up among module makers, but OEMs were still remaining cool.

Nanya is targeting the new 256-Mbit chips at high-performance servers, desktop computers and notebook PCs with central processors operating at 1.5 GHz and higher frequencies. The company said it also hopes to win makers of game consoles, digital TVs and set-top boxes as customers.