We used to mention that Kentron failed to win the chipset makers’ hearts and persuade them to implement QBM technology support in the existing chipsets. The company’s officials sound still optimistic, however. They hope to find common language with the manufacturers this year. According to Robert Goodman, Kentron CEO, the first products with QBM support are to become available by the end of the year. He has also confirmed the info about QMB DIMM modules to start shipping in the Q’1 of 2002. We wonder whom they’ll be shipped to. : -) Neither VIA nor SIS yet plan to produce chipsets with QBM support, but they are going to make chipsets supporting regular dual-channel access o PC2700 DDR SDRAM.
Then why using the QBM technology at all? Dual-channel PC2700 DDR SDRAM will have enough bandwidth (5.4GB/sec) for Quad Pumped Bus 533MHz (4.2GB/sec).
By the way, at the presently held Platform Conference Mr. Goodman said that Kentron positioned QBM SDRAM as a competitor to RDRAM, but not DDR SDRAM. Of course they do QBM modules are manufactured on the basis of standard DDR SDRAM DIMMs, and RDRAM DIMMs are an absolutely different story, which seems to have a happy end this year.