Even though DDR is still a strong choice and isn’t expected to decline much until AMD adopts the DDR2 standard, it looks like DDR3 modules are on the horizon as well. Manufacturers are finally being optimistic about DDR2 sales, and DDR2 has been through various speed steps to actually be a worthwhile standard with Intel platform with 1066MHz system bus. Although the market appears to be optimistic, DDR2 sales aren’t nearly anywhere close to what manufacturers might expect and from what it seems the market is about get crowded a lot more in late 2006.

According to information provided by an industry insider, the production samples of desktop DDR3 modules have been sent over to Intel labs to prepare the upcoming platform that will take advantage of such modules. The insider confirmed that Intel has working samples of the modules on chipsets currently unknown. The source further added that users could expect to see retail DDR3 modules hitting store shelves sometime in 2006, though the general time frame is somewhere around 12 months.

Similar to DDR2, don’t expect DDR3 to be groundbreaking at the beginning. The memory modules will be compatible with high speeds on the Pentium architecture. Logically, they will also have relaxed timings, and operate at much higher speeds. Is DDR2 short lived? We are not sure. As much as the memory industry seems point forward, it in fact is not. Quite frankly, this has left us with many unanswered questions. We will be working with our sources throughout the industry to gather as much information as possible.