Going in a different direction
Rambus is a name we haven't heard in some time, though it's one we certainly remember. The company has made numerous headlines over the years, many of which were related to litigation over IP disputes. That's because the Rambus of old built a business around licensing DRAM technology and accusing firms of patent infringement.
The Rambus of new is going in a different direction. For the first time in the company's 25-year history, Rambus is going to design and sell its own brand chips, starting with a new DDR4 server memory chipset, the RB26. It's the introductory offering of the company's new family of R+ chips.
"At Rambus, we have a rich history of innovation and expertise in high-speed memory interface design – the introduction of this chipset is a natural progression that enables us to deliver maximum value to the industry," said Dr. Ron Black, president and chief executive officer at Rambus. "Expanding our offer beyond IP into chips with standards-based offerings that feature leading-edge performance and advanced functionality amplifies our growth strategy and furthers our engagement with the market."
The RB26 is JEDEC DDR4 compliant. It will consist of Registered DIMMs (RDIMMS) and Load Reduced DIMMS (LRDIMMS) for servers and will include a DDR4 Register Clock Driver (RCD). Rambus will also produce data buffer chips for LRDIMMs.
As a fabless player, Rambus won't manufacture its chips. Given the high costs associated with producing chips, that's not an usual move. Nvidia, for example, is fabless, and so is AMD, which joined the fabless fray when it spun off its chip manufacturing business in 2009 (Globalfoundries).
Rambus said it's currently sampling RB26 to potential customers and will demonstrate its server DIMM chipset at IDF later this week.
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