Qimonda Prepares GDDR5 Testing Solution

Some time ago, Qimonda AG was announcing its intentions of beginning the manufacturing process for GDDR5 memory modules, which they claimed to be the future in graphics memory. Their idea was bald, sorta, but it also had some downsides. First you have to consider that the main graphics chips being used on the majority of mainstream and high-end gaming solutions is based on GDDR3 memory modules. The shipping of video cards which used GDDR4 began last year with the ATI Radeon X1950XTX, the first model to incorporate GDDR4 memory.

However, that model failed to succeed in overcoming NVIDIA's high-end offerings (not necessarily because of the memory modules) and proved to be quite the heater, running at a cool 80 degreed Celsius in full load operating mode. Qimonda AG's plan is to take the lead of the graphics chips manufacturing industry, I guess, and to do so they want to be the first company that has some field experience with GDDR5 memory modules. It's a daring move from them, and considering the speed that the computer industry is evolving at, it might actually have some success, I don't know, it remains to be seen, but nevertheless, they're going head on for this untapped resource, and they mean business.

In order to put their money where their mouth is, they have announced a cooperation with a company called Advantest, in the purpose of developing a "hardware set-up for GDDR5 testing." The GDDR5 standard is currently being defined by JEDEC, so any chances there may be for this initiative to work out involve a serious testing facility, which could allow "the successful market entry of new I/O standards."

Robert Feurle, Vice President of Business Unit Graphics at Qimonda said: "Efficient testability is a key prerequisite for Qimonda to successfully enable new DRAM products in the market. Advantest and Qimonda have a long and stable relationship on DRAM testing and we are glad to have such a strong partner to enable a GDDR5 volume test solution."