Intel has jumped on the DDR2 bandwagon, and the 925X/XE and 915P/G platforms can utilize this high-end memory. DDR has been transformed into DDR2 through the doubling of internal data bus, thereby allowing next-generation memory speeds of 533/667 MHz and above. The DDR2 market continues to grow, with more of the larger vendors jumping on board, and as the weeks pass, we expect that number to only grow.
We're also concentrating mainly on DDR2-533 and DDR2-667 modules, although higher-end DDR2-800 and DDR2-1000 are just starting to emerge. DDR2 has moved beyond the niche market stage, but it will take some time (and AMD jumping on board) before it becomes the de facto memory standard.
DDR2 may no longer be the "wild west" of memory pricing, but it once again manages to take the crown in terms of an aggregate price drop. The margin of victory (over dual-channel DDR) was slim, and we really don't see the same deep price cuts as we did throughout 2005. There were a few bright spots, including Mushkin DDR2-533 1-GB (-$83), Corsair Value DDR2-533 2x1-GB (-$64), Crucial Ballistix DDR2-533 2x512-MB (-$63), and Crucial Ballistix DDR2-667 2x1-GB (-$40). As with the other charts, the price cutting hit the 1-GB and 2x1-GB dual channel kits the most, and these accounted for four of the five largest price cuts. The only negative trend was a couple of double-digit price spikes, the worst of which was a $55 jump to Patriot Extreme DDR2-533 2x1-GB.