Elpida 70nm samples are reaching RAM manufacturers.

[alexio]

I just had word from Tom, better known as Duonger around here, that Mushkin will get the Elpida 70nm DDR2 IC samples very soon. He told me it is possible that they have arrived already. It's very likely that other manufacturers of high-end RAM will receive the samples soon, and they might have already.

This is the news report from Elpida: http://www.elpida.com/en/news/2006/12-25d.html

These new ICs are factory binned up to DDR2-1000, which is 200mhz above any other DDR2 IC out know, including the current DDR2 IC king, D9GKX. Tom couldn't tell me more about the timings. Even 6-6-6 would be impressive as they are binned at 1.7v (1.8v +-0.1v) at an ambient temperature of 85C, 95C extended. Under these conditions the ICs easily run 120C+.

I'm trying to get more info ASAP about price and timings. Fabrication and testing takes a while so there is no info yet which products will feature these ICs. No doubt these ICs look very interesting. Elpida is known for making relatively cheap ICs and it's a very good thing that Micron now has some real competition in the ultra high-end market. D9GKX costs over $14/IC ATM. That's the reason why RAM with this IC runs over $400 for a 2GB pair.

Alex

[nn_step]

ooh, please god may this be the return of BH-5

[EnJoY]

D9GKX is more than $14 per IC right now, and no signs of slowing down.

Mushkin ain't the only ones testing these babies out I can assure you. We'll all just have to wait and see what everyone can get out of these.

[alexio]

ooh, please god may this be the return of BH-5

Probably more like TCCD. Seeing that current Elpida ICs don't like high voltage and prefer high timings.

D9GKX is more than $14 per IC right now, and no signs of slowing down.

Edited And WOW the price is rising fast.

[Omastar]

D9GKX is more than $14 per IC right now, and no signs of slowing down.

Mushkin ain't the only ones testing these babies out I can assure you. We'll all just have to wait and see what everyone can get out of these.

$448 for a 2GB kit of D9GKX sounds about right. Amazing.

(That's $14*16[number of ICs on one stick]*2 for the less mathematically inclined )

[ziddey]

The price of d9's is just insane. I remember when I was seeing buffalo firestix using gkx that weren't too expensive. Then it got to when they became d9gmh but were still fair. They started going up in price and I knew I had to jump. I got in at around 230 for my pair of gmh's. I think they went up to around 270 before selling out.

Looking forward to these elpidas. Might need to jump ship and look to break even or maybe cash in a little more if these turn out to be a gem

[alucasa]

Whatever happens, ram price needs to drop... It is getting insane.

[xlink]

all i know is I glad I got my DDR2 kit for 160...

long live elpida though

competition = pricewars

[nn_step]

all i know is I glad I got my DDR2 kit for 160...

long live elpida though

competition = pricewars

well you can still get a 2x1GB kit for $180 these days, they just aren't uberclockers but they work wonderfully