IBM Claims World's Smallest SRAM Memory Cell

nokiator writes "IBM issued a press release today claiming that it has built an SRAM memory cell that is ten times smaller than those currently available. My interpretation of the PRese in this release is that IBM will be able to build 256Mb or 512Mb SRAM chips or integrate 32MB or more SRAM into processor dies for cache applications in the future. Of course, showing some SRAM cell prototypes is a long ways from being able to manufacture this technology in a cost effective way. There is no information in this PR about the speed or power consumption of SRAM blocks that can be built with this new cell technology. This is not likely to be a potential DRAM replacement for mainstream applications as DRAM already offers more than ten times density compared to SRAM at much better cost."

Comments

Re:Chips = what?

[ottffssent]

The memory modules you put in your computer are composed of DRAM chips. DRAM uses a capacitor and a transistor per cell (plus sense amps, decoders, etc.). DRAM requires refresh (the charge on the cap leaks off) but is relatively low-power and very dense. SRAM uses no capacitors, but more transistors (4 or 6) per bit; it's higher-power but faster and doesn't require refresh.

So, SRAM density has nothing to do with DIMMs you put in a computer. It's used for on-chip caches (and off-chip caches), but is too expensive for main memory. Denser SRAM means that Opteron you've got with 1M L2 cache could have 4M or 8M if IBM can mass-produce the stuff.

DIMMs usually have 16 chips (18 for ECC modules). So, if you have 512Mbit DRAMs, you put 16 of them on a module and you get 8Gbit = 1Gbyte. Gigabit DRAMs can make 2GB DIMMs. 2Gbit DRAMs are needed to make 4GB DIMMs; they cost hundreds of dollars each (and you need 16!), which is why 4GB DIMMs are so amazingly expensive.

Re:IBM Rocks

[Martin Blank]

Their server division buys most if not all of its parts from other companies, excepting perhaps the PPC chips. Cases, CPUs, memory, video chips, and most likely even motherboards are manufactured by other companies, who probably also have a more direct hand in design than does IBM, which may only do oversight engineering such as reviewing final designs to ensure there are no significant bottlenecks or thermal build points.

Re:IBM Rocks

[curious.corn]

Bullshit... I once saw a low end intel IBM server... yeah... IBM is just like any other incorporated beige box assembler... Dell? Oh, you're so much wrong... listen: redundant monster fan, redundant power supply & cabling, redundant motherboard chipset, HotSwap PCI cards, HotSwap and (configurable) Redundant RAM (have you ever heard of RAM RAID? is that Redundant Array of Expensive Ram?)! You can pop the Bleedin' memory sticks from the machine Live! (I mean, the Dimm socket braces have leds identifying the faulty stick!)... drums roll... HOTSWAPPABLE BLOODY CPU BASKET (two at the same time... the thing waits brainless for the tech to drop the new one)! Yeah... just like that Dell... I'm daed shure this beast doesn't even let Winders touch the metal, there must be some virtualizing layer because I can't possibly believe Windows could ever survive in such an advanced machine without self-formatting in shame! Now boy, go blow your nose and play with your cold-cathode modded water-hyped P4EE...