Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, announced today that it has made a significant advancement in the push for higher volume memory chips by developing the world's first four gigabit (Gb) DDR3 DRAM chip, using 50 nanometer (nm) process technology.

With more and more data centers seeking a reduction in the number of servers they use, the development of low-power 4Gb DDR3 has become critical in reducing data center costs, improving server time management and increasing overall efficiency.

For the new generation of "green" servers, the 4Gb DDR3's high density combined with its lower level of power consumption will not only provide a reduction in electricity bills, but also a cutback in installment fees, maintenance fees and repair fees involving power suppliers and heat-emitting equipment.

"We have leveraged our strength in innovation to develop the first 4Gb DDR3, in leading the industry to higher DRAM densities," said Kevin Lee, vice president, technical marketing, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. "By designing our 4Gb DDR3 using state-of-the-art 50-nm class technology, weour 4Gb DDR3 using state-of-the-art 50-nm class technology, we are setting the stage for what ultimately will result in significant cost-savings, for servers and for the overall computing market," he added.

The 4Gb DDR3 can be produced in 16 gigabyte (GB) registered dual in-line memory modules (RDIMM) for servers, as well as 8GB unbuffered DIMM (UDIMM) for workstations and desktop PCs, and 8GB small outline DIMM (SODIMM) for laptops. By applying dual-die package technology, this new device can deliver modules of up to 32GB - offering twice as much capacity as memory modules based on the previous highest chip density of 2Gb.

Designed to be low-powered, the 4Gb DDR3 DRAM operates at 1.35 volts (V), therein improving its throughput by 20 percent over a 1.5V DDR3. Its maximum speed is 1.6 gigabits per second (Gbps).

In 16GB module configurations, 4Gb DDR3 can consume 40 percent less power than 2Gb DDR3 because of its higher density and because it uses only half the DRAM (32 vs. 64 chips).

With an aggressive conversion to 50nm-class production for higher density DDR3, Samsung intends to remain the clear leader in high-volume/high-performance DRAM.

In September 2008, Samsung announced its development of the world's first 50 nm-class 2Gb DDR3 DRAM. Now, just five months after, it has established the industry's broadest line-up of high-performance DDR3 products using 50 nm-class process technology (4Gb, 2Gb, 1Gb).

As forecasts have the amount of memory per server doubling every two years, the development of high-density DRAM is expected to keep pace, expanding to other applications such as notebooks and desktop PCs.

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), a market research and analysis firm, the worldwide DDR3 DRAM market will account for 29 percent of the total DRAM market in 2009 and 75 percent in 2011. In addition, IDC estimates that 2Gb-or-higher DDR3 DRAM will make up three percent of the total DRAM market in 2009 and 33 percent in 2011 (units in bits).

Social networking site Facebook finds itself needing to update its data center infrastructure to support new media applications, and Intel will be the one to help them do it. The two companies on Thursday announced a joint agreement that will see Facebook use "thousands" of Xeon 5400 quad-core processors built on a 45nm manufacturing process.

More than just hardware support, Intel will also work with Facebook to optimize its software for use with the bevy of Xeon chips, giving extra focus to making the software take advantage of the additional processor cores. Moreover, Intel will look to send a message that its microarchitecture can support the massive data centers that will support cloud-computing infrastructures."It's a big win for Intel in the general category of web infrastructure and by that I mean categories like cloud computing," said John Spooner, an analyst with Technology Business Research. "Facebook has a large computing infrastructure that delivers these types of web services on demand and it requires the same level of service and infrastructure as a cloud-computing provider."

Facebook wouldn't comment on which OEMs would build the new servers, but according to eWeek, multiple sources have confirmed Dell and HP would be involved.

Most of you are aware by now of the problems with AMD's quad-core Phenom processors. As we have chronicled closely, the chips were late to market and debuted with unexpectedly low clock frequencies. As a result, their performance was underwhelming compared to Intel's Core 2 offerings. Worse yet, shortly before its release, AMD discovered a bug in the Phenom that could cause a system hang in certain, very specific circumstances. This so called "TLB erratum" caused AMD to cease shipments of the Phenom's server-oriented counterpart, the Opteron 2300 series, but the firm went ahead with its plans to sell Phenoms in consumer PCs. For those systems, AMD offered a workaround in the form of a BIOS update, but the cure was arguably worse than the affliction, causing substantial performance hit in many applications.

During our coverage of the unfolding TLB erratum story, AMD told us it planned to deliver a new revision of its quad-core silicon in "mid-to-late Q1" of this year. This revision, dubbed B3, would include a proper chip-level fix for the TLB erratum. Since then, we've been waiting impatiently for these new chips to arrive while agitating for AMD to provide consumers with more information about whether and how they might disable the TLB workaround on existing Phenoms.Fortunately, today, the wait appears to be over. Like a tired cliché rising from the keyboard of a website author, the Phenom has been resurrected in the form of silicon revision B3. Accordingly, AMD is announcing a whole new lineup of Phenom processors that should be available for purchase almost immediately. Even better, AMD seems to have found some additional clock frequency headroom in the B3 chips, so that lineup extends to new territory in the form of the Phenom X4 9750 and 9850 Black Edition processors.As expected, AMD's new Phenom lineup includes a number of "xx50" model numbers intended to denote the presence of B3 silicon and a proper hardware fix for the TLB erratum. For instance, the Phenom 9550 replaces the Phenom 9500. Aside from the silicon rev and the TLB fix, the two products are essentially the same: both have four cores, a 2.2GHz core clock, 2MB of L3 cache, and all the rest. Of course, the Phenom 9550 should be faster in a default configuration because it doesn't suffer the performance penalty caused by the TLB workaround.

The new Phenom line includes a number of surprises, though. Here's a look at the whole list, with vitals for each model.Perhaps the biggest surprise for the pedantic little man inside of 98.2% of geeks is the addition of "X3" and "X4" indicators in the new Phenom model names, whose numbers correspond to the number of active processing cores on each chip. This naming scheme harkens back to the Athlon 64 X2, of course. We saw the "Phenom X4" name bandied about prior to the Phenom's initial release, but then AMD canned it and went with straight model numbers. Apparently, that didn't take. AMD says its customers liked the Xs, and so they're back—this time, presumably, for good.

Once you're over the shock of that nomenclature recalibration, you'll probably notice the "X3" Phenoms in the list. Yep, these are the vaunted triple-core variants of the Phenom we've expected for some time; they're official now, but only for large PC makers known as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Over half the new Phenom lineup is intended only for OEMs, in fact, and that's why we have only approximate prices listed for those processors, if we have them at all. The big dawgs get all sorts of interesting stuff, including the tri-core chips, a low-power variant of the Phenom with a 65W thermal/power envelope (or TDP), and a Phenom X4 9750 with a 95W TDP. We can expect to see consumer versions of these products eventually; those should all be B3 silicon when they arrive.

Chip manufacturer Intel will soon introduce one of its most important products on the processor market since the first release of its Pentium series. Its ultra-efficient Atom chip will power a new and increasingly growing sector of the IT industry, targeted at the emerging markets.According to market analysts, the chip manufacturer could easily ship hundreds of millions of units in a two-year time-frame.

The new processor could shovel fortunes into the company's accounts, and Intel is reportedly gearing up to cut on manufacturing costs as much as possible. The ex-Silverthorne chip has the price advantage over all its existing and upcoming competitors. According to the company officials, the manufacturing costs per chip could be compared to those of a 286 processor.

The low manufacturing costs would allow the manufacturer sell the Atom processors cheaper and create a sub-$200 market for the upcoming Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) and Internet-centric NetTop computers.At the moment, there is no estimative price for Intel's Atom CPU, and the chip manufacturer won't disclose any details regarding this aspect until the chip is officially introduced. However, the latest estimations claim that it will hit the market at prices ranging between $29 and $49, depending on the chip's SKU.

Sources quoted by tech website TGDaily claim that Intel will spend between $2 and $6 for manufacturing a single Atom chip. According to the same sources, the total manufacturing costs for the CPU and the Poulsbo chipset will be situated at between $6 and $8, packaging and shipping included. If the allegations are true, then Intel will get some $40 in revenue per sold chip. Multiply the number by "hundreds of millions" of shipped units and you'll get the picture.

More than that, if the Atom processor becomes the next industry standard for the upcoming Mobile Internet Devices and the NetTops, the chip could bring more money than even the best-seller mainstream Core 2 Duo processors.

Toshiba just announced its membership in an alliance to develop system chips using 32-nm circuitry. That's well below the existing 45-nm processes used in manufacturing Intel's Penryn, for example. The alliance includes IBM, AMD, Samsung, Infineon, Freescale, and Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing. No surprise really, what with Tosh already in bed with IBM to develop chips using 32-nm processes. The agreement is good until 2010 and covers design, development, and the production of the itty bitty circuitry. A move which should reduce manufacturing costs for the alliance with the savings passed along to us consumers.