Intel dropping Rambus for workstations

SAN JOSE, Calif.--Intel will no longer include support for memory based on designs for Rambus DRAM technology in new workstation chipsets, although it will continue to update its desktop chipsets to work with RDRAM, company executives said at the Intel Developer Forum here. The shift is a response to the increasing popularity of Double Data Rate DRAM, a type of memory based around a royalty-free design. By contrast, Rambus charges memory makers royalties on its RDRAM designs.

"We're moving our workstations to DDR," said Lisa Hambrick, director of enterprise processor marketing at Intel. "We are moving strongly down the DDR path." DDR will also become the predominant type of memory for Intel's desktop computers, added Pat Gelsinger, the company's chief technology officer. Nonetheless, Rambus memory provides overall better performance, so Intel will continue to support it--including 1066MHz RDRAM--in its desktops. --Michael Kanellos, Special to ZDNet News