Short for Extreme Data Rate, the XDR DRAM architecture is based on a limited number of very high-speed signals used for address, data, and control information. While DDR and DDR2 SDRAM are expected to remain popular in everyday PCs, XDR DRAM is targeted at high-performance systems such as network servers, game platforms, and consumer electronics.

The Samsung 256Mb XDR has an Octal Data Rate process that transfers data at eight bits per clock cycle, while cranking up the transfer speed to an industry-leading eight gigabytes per second. That speed is 10 times faster than DDR 400 memory and five times faster than RDRAM (PC800). To transfer data in a stable manner at the extremely high speeds, Samsung is using Differential Rambus(R) Signal Level (DRSL) technology.

"XDR technology has tremendous potential to become a leading memory solution for today's highest-performance multimedia applications and we're quite enthusiastic about its prospects," said Mueez Deen, marketing director, graphics memory, Samsung Semiconductor.

Samsung plans to introduce a 512Mb XDR DRAM, capable of transferring data as fast as 12.8 gigabytes per second, during the first half of this year. With the introduction of yet another leading edge DRAM technology, the company adds to its leadership position in the high-performance DRAM market.

The market analysis firm, IDC, predicts that the XDR DRAM market will grow steadily, beginning in 2005, with global shipments exceeding 800 million 256Mbit-equivalent units by 2009.

Samsung Electronics has been the world's foremost producer of DRAMs for the past 13 years. The company produces a diverse memory portfolio that spans DDR2, graphics DRAM, mobile DRAM and, now, the next-generation, super-fast XDR DRAM.