FEATURE/PCs and Other Electronic Devices Need to Investigate New DRAM Architectures.

SEBASTOPOL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE FEATURES)--June 18, 1996-- Currently, worldwide Dynamic RAM (DRAM) sales exceed $30 billion per year.

In the last six months, DRAM prices plummeted by over 75% as the market adjusts to increased production capacity, high inventories, and diminished rate of growth in computer markets. This turmoil on the financial front is mirrored by a rapid transformation in the structure of the DRAM marketplace.

This transformation is being caused by dramatic increases in microprocessor performance and the ever growing DRAM size.

After 20 years of few choices and small, predictable changes in DRAM architecture, DRAM designers and DRAM users are today faced with a large number of new interfaces and new device types: Synchronous DRAMs (SDRAMs), Rambus DRAMs (RDRAMs), Burst EDO (BEDO) DRAMs, Enhanced DRAMs (EDRAMs), Cache DRAMs (CDRAMs), to name just a few.

This dramatic shift away from the traditional interfaces and the fragmenting the DRAM marketplace is creating many opportunities for winners and losers.

To clarify the situation, MicroDesign Resources is pleased to announce the second edition of the definitive technical study "New DRAM Technologies: A Comprehensive Analysis of the New Architectures." This book, by noted DRAM consultant Dr. Steven Przybylski, describes the technical and market forces at work in DRAM, the DRAM industry, and catalogs and comparatively analyzes the current DRAM designs and architectures for main memory.

It is an invaluable resource to any engineer who designs or uses DRAMs, and provides invaluable insight on the fundamental forces driving the DRAM marketplace for anyone with a stake in this pivotal sector of the electronics industry.

"The report not only describes the new DRAM architectures in detail, but shows how each architecture compares with the competition and where it fits in the marketplace.

"With its introduction of the Fill Frequency -- a new metric for the evaluation and comparison of system requirements and DRAM capabilities -- this report for the first time pinpoints which devices are fundamentally unsuitable for specific systems; now and into the future," said Michael Slater, Editorial Director of Microprocessor Report.

"The report is an invaluable guide as companies consider the plethora of conventional, evolutionary and revolutionary DRAM alternatives. It provides the information and analysis needed by people at all levels in the organization: broad-brush, big-picture overview for corporate managers, business analysis for product managers and detailed, quantitative comparative technical analysis for engineers and engineering managers," he continued.

"Few people truly understand why the DRAM industry is undergoing this tremendous change now. One of the strengths of the fill frequency is that it explains simply and concretely why the traditional narrow fast-page-mode devices ran out of gas at the 16-Mbit density, and the magn itude of the challenges ahead as DRAMs push towards 256-Mbit and 1-Gbit devices," said Przybylski.

"By recognizing that system bandwidth and granularity requirements can also be expressed as an FF (fill frequency), Przybylski developed a metric for evaluating the applicability of individual DRAM architectures to specific application domains. If the systems' FF requirement is greater than a DRAM's FF, that DRAM cannot meet the system's performance requirements," said Markus Levy, EDN magazine editor.

The 800+ page report has 300+ pages of comparative data sheets and 160 tables and illustrations. It also includes an acronyms list, glossary, index, executive summary, and a DRAM vendor listing. Completely revised for 1996 and reviewed by industry experts, the report is the most comprehensive, unbiased source of information and analysis about new and old DRAM architectures for main memory available anywhere.

"New DRAM Technologies" is available now, and is priced at $1,995 until Aug. 15, 1996. After Aug. 15, the price will be $2,695. Multiple copy discounts are available. A comprehensive brochure is available on request, plus you may view the full Table of Contents, outline and excerpts at http://www.chipanalyst. com/tech_lib/dram.html.

MicroDesign Resources is the leading provider of technical analysis and insight to the PC and microprocessor industries. Through its flagship publication, Microprocessor Report, and its two conferences, PC Tech Forum and Microprocessor Forum, MicroDesign Resources provides vital information to engineers, engineering management, technical marketing, and strategic planners in both large and small firms.

Other reports released this year include "Selecting a High-Performance Embedded Processor" and "Intel Microprocessor Forecast-Product Roadmap, Volumes, Costs and Prices." Further information on MicroDesign Resources may be found at http://www.chipanalyst.com or contact [e-mail].

CONTACT: MicroDesign Resources, Sebastopol

Donna Schaffer, 707/824-4025