Lexar Announces Crucial Mobile DDR3 Modules

[Rob Williams]

From our front-page news:

DDR3 first launched on the desktop last May, and since then adoption has been slow. It's no surprise, however, due to high cost of ownership, whereas DDR2 is so inexpensive, it can cost a mere $300 to have 8GB of RAM in your rig. So why pay multiple hundreds for DDR3? Well, DDR3 prices are going down fast, and it's a good thing too. Now a very good 2GB kit can be had for $200, so we are going in the right direction.

The notebook has nothing to fear, though, as it's not being left behind. Lexar has just announced mobile parts, and yes... they are expensive. Clocked at the rather loose speed of PC3-8500 (DDR3-1066), the modules carry a CAS latency of 7. By comparison, CL7 is popular for DDR3-1333 desktop parts, so like mobile DDR2, DDR3 SODIMM's will lag behind in overall performance.

Lexar is offering both single modules and a kit of two, but the kit won't save you a dime. The single 1GB module retails for $135, while a 2GB module can be had for a very expensive $370. Kits are $270 and $740, respectively. You can expect high-end boutiques to be the first to pick up on the new memory.

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Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today announced the immediate availability of Crucial DDR3-1066 (PC3-8500) 204-pin SODIMM memory modules. The new DDR3-1066 modules feature enhanced performance, reduced power consumption and produce less heat compared to equivalent DDR2 modules, and are available now in 1GB and 2GB densities at www.crucial.com, www.crucial.com/uk and www.crucial.com/eu.

Source: Lexar Press Release
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[Kougar]

Ouch @ those prices... gotta start somewhere though, and they'll only be going down now.

 

[Merlin]

Yeah, Notebooks would really benefit from this ram.
We just need better batteries to last...oh say 2 hrs instead of one.5 hrs.

:techgage::techgage: Merlin :techgage::techgage:

 

[Kougar]

You've seen current batteries catch fire and explode... now imagine a battery with 4x the "boom" in YOUR laptop! There is a real issue with scaling up batteries, the safety issues actually grow as you add more cells together. This was a huge reason Toyota still doesn't use Lithium-ion batteries in their Prius, imagine what would happen if a Prius's Li-Ion battery pack went up... Cars are subjected to levels of heat a laptop battery never face, including constant vibration and shaking...

Of course, this is why I have very excited about Intel's Atom... Combine Atom with a integrated GPU built into the CPU, and battery life could litterally take off on mid-size laptops.

 

[Merlin]

Of course, this is why I have very excited about Intel's Atom... Combine Atom with a integrated GPU built into the CPU, and battery life could litterally take off on mid-size laptops.

I watched the movie from Intel about the atom proccessor
First I have heard of it, but the guy made too many mistakes in his presentation.
I would be interested in seeing a review of that chip.
( I don't think I would take it out and put it in my pocket, though )

:techgage::techgage: Merlin :techgage::techgage:

 

[Kougar]

You should read Anandtech's article on Atom. It does not even need a heatsink to run. The surface temp without a heatsink stayed at or below 35c. http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=3276

Also:

1.6GHz Atom is around 20% faster than an 800MHz Pentium M (90nm Dothan). As you can expect, a 900MHz Atom is slower than the 800MHz Pentium M as it needs clock speed to make up for the low IPC of the in-order core.