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Micron DDR3 memory aims at Centrino 2

Company is sampling DDR3 memory modules, targeting notebook PCs based on Intel's Centrino 2 processor.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Brooke Crothers
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Micron Technology announced that it is sampling 4 gigabyte (GB) memory modules based on high-speed DDR3 technology and said the memory has been validated by Intel to run on its upcoming Centrino 2 mobile processor.

Micron DDR3 memory module
Micron DDR3 memory module Micron

DDR3 SDRAM or double-data-rate three synchronous dynamic random access memory is expected to be faster than DDR2 SDRAM--now used widely in systems--though this will depend on the speed rating of the DDR3 memory and on what type of DDR2 memory it is tested against.

Micron's DDR3 modules support data rates of up to 1333 megabits per second, enabling better system and graphics performance. DDR3 supply voltage operates at 1.5-volts in comparison to DDR2's 1.8-volts, reducing power consumption by up to 30 percent, Micron said.

Micron said it has received Intel's validation on 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB DDR3 notebook modules for the upcoming Intel Centrino 2 processor technology mobile platform. The 4GB DDR3 notebook modules are still going through the validation process. Centrino 2 processors--formerly known by the code name "Montevina"--are due this summer.

The modules are designed using 2 gigabit (Gb) components, providing high-density DDR3 modules for notebook computers, such as those that would use the Cetrino 2 processor. High-density memory modules with large capacities are becoming increasingly important for notebook computers as graphic-intensive operating systems and other content heavy applications continue to make their way onto the market, Micron said.

DDR3 memory products that support Intel's high-performance desktop, workstation, server, and mobile platforms in 2008 are also being developed.

Micron's 512MB, 1GB and 2GB modules are in mass production now, with its 2Gb-based DDR3 4GB modules expected to be in mass production in Q2 2008.