Samsung has recently made a very curious press-release claiming that their DDR333 memory modules with the capacity of 128, 256 and 512MB based on 256Mbit chips have passed all tests in Intel.

Of course, I got very much interested not in the fact that Samsung managed to stand this test successfully, as I have never doubted the quality of their products. There is another interesting thing about it: Intel is testing DDR333 memory modules. At present the Santa-Clara micro-processor giant doesn’t offer a single DDR333 chipset that is why it doesn’t make much sense to me testing the stability of these memory modules. However, the company prefers to be well prepared in advance for the new solutions to come.

DDR333 is expected to become the major memory type for Intel’s platforms all next year. Intel’s desktop plans we managed to see indicate that the first chipsets from Intel supporting DDR333 memory are to appear this October. This will be an updated version of the today’s i845G, aka i845GE and its version without the integrated graphics core aka i845PE. However, these products will not play the major role next year. The No.1 will be a solution known as Springdale-G and Springdale-P. Both chipsets will support dual-channel DDR333 but will differ by the integrated graphics core or its absence. Note that Springdale-G and Springdale-P will be pin compatible. The official launch is planned for Q2 2003.

I would also like to point out that DDR333 SDRAM will not be the only alternative in 2003. It appeared that i850E will turn out surprisingly enduring and will last all next year. Moreover, together with the launching of the first DDR333 SDRAM chipsets, Intel will also announce PC1066 support in its i850E. So, RDRAM also has another chance to show its best.

The chipsets will cost as follows for Intel’s partners:

• i850E - $40;
• i845E - $28;
• i845G - $35;
• i845GE - $37;
• i845PE - $32.

This way even despite the introduction of DDR333 SDRAM support, the chipsets will be positioned the same way and i850E will still be targeted for high-performance systems and workstations.