Embedded System Expo (ESEC) Japan 2012 will hold during May 9th to May 11th in Tokyo, and KINGMAX will demonstrate its series of industrial grade of FLASH storage products - SSD (Solid Sate Drive), memory cards, DRAM and embedded memory - on the booth WEST11-65. Leveraging more than 20 years of DRAM and FLASH expertise in R&D and manufacturing, KINGMAX will present a complete series of industrial solution which is not only at latest specification but also has been undergone strict reliability test and verification to ensure the most stable quality.

KINGMAX Group is the world first memory module manufacturer owning IC packaging and testing facilities, and has long been committed to the innovation of the best memory module solutions. Leveraging years of R&D and manufacturing competency, KINGMAX first-launched Industrial products include three categories: Industrial Storage, Industrial Memory and Embedded Memory. First, KINGMAX will exhibit a series of industrial SSD, including SATA III and SATA II SSD-both withstand wide operation temperature(-40℃~ 85 ℃. KINGMAX will also release mSATA SSD and Half-Slim SSD for Ultrabook and small form factor embedded systems.

The versatile new MI-HM65T Mini ITX motherboard from Giada is at home in all environments, including the factory floor, tough monitoring and control applications, embedded computing, office desks, and the home. Built around Intel's HM65 chipset and the Sandy Bridge platform, this motherboard brings users high performance and almost unlimited connectivity, with economical power consumption. It offers all the industry-standard features of a desktop PC in a tiny package, to support a wide range of applications.

Powered by Intel's fast Core i7, i5, i3 or Celeron 867 CPUs, supported by up to 4GB of memory, with onboard integrated graphics and video support, the Giada MI-HM65T can easily take care of almost any task you throw at it. This tough but tiny powerhouse handles industrial control, monitoring and automation applications as well as office and productivity, or home entertainment.

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today announced the industry's first 100 Gbps full duplex network processor unit (NPU). Enabling the next wave of 100GbE optimized switches and routers for service provider networks, the fully programmable BCM88030 family features 64 custom processors running at 1GHz, delivering more than 2X the throughput of any NPU on the market. With the industry's highest level of integration, the BCM88030 solution eliminates costly external components, dramatically reducing system cost and power by up to 80 percent per 10 GbE port.

In 2012, the number of connected devices is set to exceed the world's population with an estimated 7 billion devices connected to the network(1). By 2015, 90 percent of content viewed on mobile devices will be streaming video and application downloads are expected to reach 47 billion per year(1). To satisfy this overwhelming appetite for bandwidth, service providers around the globe are racing to transform their networks by adopting higher bandwidth links. Analysts estimate a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 170 percent from 2011 to 2016 for 100G Ethernet ports as service providers rush to meet this demand(2).

BOXX Technologies, the leading authority on dedicated rendering and innovator in high-performance computing systems for product design, visualization, engineering, visual effects, and more, today introduced the 3DBOXX 4925, the industry's first single Intel Xeon processor workstation with support for up to four GPUs. The latest addition to the BOXX 4900 series workstation line, 4925 enables users of Autodesk Revit, Autodesk 3ds Max, SolidWorks, CATIA, and other professional software applications, to simultaneously design and render without bogging down the processes.

An anonymous overclocker cracked a staggering DRAM speed (for dual-channel), using Intel Core i7-3770K processor (engineering sample) and ASUS Maximus V Gene motherboard, at DDR3-3256 MHz. The overclocker started off at DDR3-3153 (~1576 MHz actual) on boot, and carefully notched it up to DDR3-3256 (1628 MHz actual) in Windows. 16 GB of memory of an unknown make, was used.

What makes the feat impressive is that such DRAM clock speeds are difficult for dual-channel/multiple-module setups, and reserved only for single-module feats. Ahead of the launch of the 3rd Generation Core "Ivy Bridge" platform, every motherboard vendor is covertly showing off similar overclocking feats.A video recording of the feat follows.

G.Skill unveiled its newest line of memory for extreme overclocking, the Trident X. Its launch is timed to follow that of Intel's Core "Ivy Bridge" processor family, and is optimized for 7-series chipset motherboards (due to their support of latest Intel XMP 1.3 specification). Pictured below is what Trident X series modules look like: a black PCB with a slightly long black metal heatsink, which has a detachable crown heatsink (red). One can notice a slot for heat pipes in the juncture between the crown heatsink and the module's main heatsink.

Aesthetically, the Trident X series modules don a black+red color scheme, which goes well with the black+red motherboard in the background (in the press-shot). Pictured below are the DDR3-2400 MHz (PC3-19200) modules in dual-channel configuration. The XMP profile runs the module at its 2400 MHz DDR (1200 MHz real) speed, with timings of 10-12-12-31T, and DRAM voltage of 1.65V. The modules will be available in various other speed/timing configurations, and in densities of 4 GB and 8 GB, making up for 8 GB and 16 GB dual-channel kits, for the new "Ivy Bridge" platform; 16 GB and 32 GB quad-channel kits for the Sandy Bridge-E platform. The older Sandy Bridge LGA1155 platform might not be 100% compatible, since it lacks XMP 1.3 support. G.Skill Trident X will be formally announced on May 4.

With over-production, swelling-inventories, and cutthroat competition that doesn't allow even subtle price-increases, DDR3 is a lost-cause for DRAM makers such as Samsung. It is hence hedging its bets on the early arrival of DDR4, and the only company that can make that happen is Intel. Samsung is not only a major supplier of DRAM memory, but also a big player in server memory. It had its first DDR4 UDIMM ready as early as in January 2011. Reports of Intel slating DDR4-equipped platforms in 2013 has Samsung perturbed. Samsung and Hynix are the only two DRAM majors with developed DDR4 products. According to DigiTimes' analysis, DRAM vendors see DDR4 as the only way they can pull themselves out of their ailing situation.

Toshiba Corporation today announced the development of NPEngine, the world's first hardware engine for streaming servers that directly delivers video content from SSD to IP networks, without accessing the server's CPU or memory resources. NPEngine can simultaneously deliver up to 64,000 high quality video streams at a rate of 40Gigabit per sec, far surpassing the performance of a typical server, and reducing power consumption, the number of servers and the space required.

Toshiba will showcase a server integrating the NPEngine at the NAB show in Las Vegas, from April 16 to 19. Server products running NPEngine will be available this year.

Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC)*, a committed leader that collaborates with technology companies to create breakthrough designs, today announced that it has reached a milestone -- 2012 marks the 25th anniversary of Toshiba's invention of NAND flash memory.

Much has changed since 1987 -- the NAND flash market has grown rapidly, with flash memory shipping almost 8X more gigabytes (GB) in 2011 than DRAM. NAND flash has become the high density silicon storage of choice. NAND flash memory is used in a variety of memory cards and USB drives, and is found in many consumer, industrial and enterprise cloud applications. Toshiba's innovation has carved out a path to a new era in which consumers are able to carry videos, music, books and data with them wherever they go. Designed with a very small cell size to enable a low cost-per-bit of stored data,Toshiba's NAND flash technology is unleashing the mobility of content, thus fueling innovation in the development of products for everyone from consumers to enterprise.

Micron Technology, Inc., announced today that it reached an agreement with Oracle America Inc. to settle a lawsuit filed by Oracle against Micron in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The lawsuit alleged a conspiracy to increase DRAM prices and other violations of federal and state antitrust and unfair competition laws based on purported conduct for the period from Aug. 1, 1998, through at least June 15, 2002, and sought joint and several damages, trebled, as well as restitution, disgorgement, attorneys' fees, costs and injunctive relief. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, the parties agreed to a settlement and release of all claims and a dismissal with prejudice of the litigation.

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced results of operations for its second quarter of fiscal 2012, which ended March 1, 2012. For the second quarter, the company had a net loss attributable to Micron shareholders of $224 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.1 billion. The results for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 compare to a net loss of $187 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.1 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2012, and net income of $72 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.3 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2011.

Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend), a worldwide leader in storage and multimedia products, is proud to announce its launch of 16 GB DDR3-1600 Registered DIMM (RDIMM) and 8GB DDR3L-1333 Low Voltage RDIMM modules. Fully compatible with the latest generation of Intel Xeon and Core i7 processors, the cost-effective DDR3 memory modules provide increased memory density and higher performance, while significantly reducing power consumption.

As Transcend's highest density DDR3 module, the 16GB DDR3-1600 RDIMM is constructed with top quality 4 Gb DDR3 1 Gbx4 35nm DRAM chips that deliver stable performance and durability. A single 16 GB memory module can lower power consumption by a staggering 75% compared with using four 4 GB modules, thereby saving energy and costs. The 16GB DDR3 module is rated at 1600 MHz with low latency of 11-11-11-28 and an operating voltage of a mere 1.5V. Offering memory bandwidth up to 12.8 GB/s and the flexibility to expand maximum capacity to 96 GB (per processor), the 16GB DDR3-1600 RDIMM module allows administrators to create a robust infrastructure that runs memory-intensive applications such as virtualization and cloud computing with ease.

Kingston Technology saw a significant growth in its DRAM module shipments, of 20 percent, in 2011. This growth comes despite tough competition and a generally hostile market in 2011 (not because of lack of demand, but oversupply). Kingston told the press that its 20% DRAM shipments growth allowed it to mitigate the impact of plummeting DRAM prices in 2011-12. In addition to quality entry-level bulk DRAM modules, and bleeding-edge HyperX DRAM modules for gaming and enthusiast PCs, Kingston said it would focus on enterprise-grade DRAM for servers and workstations, which yield higher margins. Kingston maintained its 50% worldwide market-share in 2011, maintaining its market dominance.

With significant growth in demand for NAND flash memory, with the advent of Intel's Ultrabook form-factor, and the transition of Apple's MacBook range to slimmer form-factors that could raise demand of solid-state storage, memory makers are stepping up production of NAND flash memory. Samsung recently announced the setting up of a 12-inch NAND flash wafer production facility in China. In response to this, the other major Korean memory-maker, Hynix, indicated that its plant located in Wuxi, China, will switch from producing DRAM to NAND flash. This switch seems short-term and Hynix plans to expand the plant later, to accommodate NAND flash production. Hynix is currently a much smaller player in the NAND flash industry than Samsung.

Marvell today announced mass deployment of the Marvell 88SS9187 SATA controller fueled by high performance embedded processor technology. The 88SS9187 features a 6 gigabit-per-second (Gb/s) SATA Revision 3.1 compliant host interface optimized for the fast-growing solid state drive (SSD) sector, offering many game changing benefits to the consumer, mobile and enterprise markets. A significant number of high-profile SSD manufacturers are set to deploy Marvell's newest solution immediately, with additional partners expected to integrate 88SS9187 implementations later this year.

Marvell's newest SSD controller boasts an open, world-class architecture that supports industry-standard, high-speed NAND Flash interface up to 200 MB/s per channel. The 88SS9187 also offers a groundbreaking correction capability thanks to its high performance ECC engine with Adaptive Read and Write Scheme and on-chip RAID functionality to allow use of the latest generation of NAND Flash devices in the fast-growing SSD markets.

Even as Elpida has filed for bankruptcy protection and is dealing with restructuring, its disposal of a subsidiary Taiwan-based DRAM foundry Rexchip will impact DRAM supply and pricing, sources told DigiTimes. Rexchip has a monthly foundry capacity of 800,000 12-inch wafers and uses 65,000 wafers currently. Elpida has just finished development of 25 nm DRAM technology, which gives it competitiveness over other DRAM majors, Samsung Electronics and SK-Hynix.

As analyzed in an older report, should Elpida's restructuring take a turn for the worse, leading to an exit from the DRAM industry, it could have huge consequences on the competitive environment of the industry. DigiTimes currently reports that DRAM prices are slowly, but surely creeping back up. DRAM contract prices for March have risen 5.7% on average, the prices of 4 GB DDR3 modules have gone as high as US $18.75, with average prices of $18.50.

At CeBIT, ECS unveiled the Z77H2-AX and Z77-H2-A2X, its top two motherboards based on the Intel Z77 chipset, supporting "Ivy Bridge" Core processors in the LGA1155 package. But what ECS didn't reveal on the CeBIT floor, was that the drab-looking gray+white on black PCB color-scheme wasn't going on to the retail version. The retail versions of these two motherboards, pictured below, will employ a new black and gold color scheme.

Basically, all metallic parts of the motherboards, be it the sheaths around the conductive polymer capacitors, the sheaths around the chokes, the PCH and VRM heatsinks, the CPU socket frame, and even the rear-panel port clusters, will have golden-colored finish that lends the motherboard a pimped out appearance. The contacts in the CPU socket have 15 μm-thick real-gold plating, to improve conductivity. The PCB is jet-black, and so are all the expansion and DRAM slots, the gray and white colored slots are replaced. Most other plastic parts, such as SATA ports, ATX/EPS power connectors, are colored black. The two motherboards were extensively detailed in the older article. Sam Sparro will be proud.

According to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, the following report presents a forecast of six major DRAM and NAND Flash industry trends in 2012-2015.

Trend-1: Mainstream PC DRAM Specification DDR3 to Dominate Market Until 2014

DDR3 has been the mainstream PC DRAM specification since 2011, and DRAMeXchange expects it will remain so until 2014. Although JEDEC will officially announce standards for DDR4 in 2012, DRAMeXchange is conservative as to whether the new specification will follow the historical pattern set by DDR and DDR2 and hit the market in 2014-2015, as the marginal benefit to PC performance provided by DDR4 will be limited. However, Intel will still hold decisive influence over the matter.

SMART Modular Technologies ("SMART Modular"), a leading independent manufacturer of memory modules and embedded flash products announces its 64GB DDR3 load-reduced DIMM (LRDIMM). SMART Modular's 64GB LRDIMM is optimized for high-end servers and will be launching in Q2'12 to serve scientific, engineering, and financial computing applications that require high memory capacity and performance. Specifically, this product targets next-generation Intel Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge server platforms for high-performance computing applications.

The new LRDIMM combines innovative module packaging technology leveraging off-the-shelf commodity DRAMs to provide the industry's highest density LRDIMM at the lowest possible cost. Highlighting SMART Modular's design expertise, the new 64GB LRDIMM utilizes a single JEDEC-compliant memory buffer chip, a dual PCB structure and a leading edge interconnect technology to provide maximum performance and density while achieving server-grade quality and reliability.

As a leading SSD vendor, OCZ sure has a strong engineering muscle to flex. Flex it did, with the AEONDrive DRAM SSD. This drive uses DRAM as its primary storage medium (as long as there's a constant power source). The device is thus ideal for those parts of the datacenter which hold "hot data". Unlike similar solutions such as FusionIO drives, the AEONDrive utilizes SAS 6 Gb/s interface. SAS is a low-overhead protocol since it allows exchange of larger numbers of simultaneous host commands than ATA. As for the performance OCZ claims the AEONDrive provides 140,000 IOPS 4K, and 540,000 IOPS 512. Since DRAM is a much lower-density medium than NAND flash, one should expect AEONDrives to be available only in relatively low capacities such as 64 GB (still big enough for pain databases). Not much more is detailed about the drive. It would be great if the AEONDrive could back itself up onto NAND flash before turning itself off.

Elpida Memory, Inc. hereby announces that At the meeting of the board of directors held on February 27, 2012, we resolved to file a petition for the commencement of corporate reorganization proceedings and filed the same with the Tokyo District Court. As such petition was duly received on the same day and then the Court has immediately rendered the temporary restraining order to restrain any repayment, etc., the comprehensive prohibition order to prohibit any execution and the supervision and examination order, we hereby notify thereof as follows. In this connection, our consolidated subsidiary, Akita Elpida Memory, Inc., has simultaneously filed a petition for the commencement of corporate reorganization proceedings. For such information, please refer to the separate "Notice on Petition for Commencement of Corporate Reorganization Proceedings and Uncollectibility of Debts of Our Subsidiary".

KINGMAX, a world renowned leading brand of DRAM and flash memory, adds another new product to its Nano Gaming Ram series: 8GB overclocking memory modules in one stick. This is the largest capacity in one stick and the only DDR3 memory modules which doesn't need heatsink for cooling. 8GB DDR3 memory modules with speed faster than 1600MHz also support Intel XMP - Extreme Memory Profiles. Further, 8GB DDR3 memory modules are compatible with Intel X79 platform, enabling quad channel memory setting and allowing memory upgrade up to 32GB. KINGMAX also announces standard desktop 8GB DDR3 modules.

For professionals and enthusiasts who need to work on high quality images or need mass computing, it is most awkward when applications require more memory than real memory can afford. The KINGMAX 8GB DDR3 memory modules with surpassing capacity are designed to solve abovementioned difficulties and to help computer system work much more smoothly and faster. Gamers and overclockers, who like to pursuit ultimate speed, are able to operate quad channel memory setting on the latest Intel X79 platform to boost the system equipped with Intel 2nd Generation Core i7 Extreme performance to the next high level.

In case Elpida is unable to repay its debts due in April and goes insolvent, marking its exit from the DRAM industry, the consequences for not just the DRAM industry, but also the PC industry as a whole, will be huge, note industry observers. On the 15th, Eplida released a statement on the assumed going concern in the company with regards to its debt situation. The company has been unable to recover from its condition despite injections of capital backed by no less than the Japanese government.

Elpida has to repay nearly 40 billion JPY US ($505.8 million) to the government, and another 80 billion JPY (US $1.02 billion) in short-term bank loans. Frantic negotiates are on between the company and its long list of creditors that include the Japanese government and other banks to seek an interim relief from the default, even as the company searches for a cash-source that would alleviate the situation and make it survive. Elpida's situation is different from that of Qimonda, it's larger, has more technologies in the pipeline, and has recently set up 30 nm-class mass-production and is testing 20 nm-class production. In other words, it has much greater potential as a company that contributes to the industry, if it survives. Its exit will leave the industry imbalanced, and dominated by Korean DRAM makers such as Samsung and Hynix, and American Micron Technology, a step closer to oligarchical price-controls, observers note.

2011 was a bloodbath for the DRAM industry, as overproduction led to sharp drop in prices across the board, killing profit margins, and creating huge losses for DRAM makers. In Q4 2011, Elpida and Nanya cut back their production to prevent further drops in DRAM prices. As prices are now slowly stabilizing, DRAM makers are considering stepping up production cautiously, till "normalcy" in DRAM prices can be achieved.

DRAM makers cumulatively increased production by 100,000 wafers in Q1 2012, according to sources. These companies are walking a tight rope between ensuring they don't dampen demand, while ensuring they don't face further losses. This month, DRAM contact prices have gone up as PC OEMs placed fresh orders to replenish their memory inventories. The prices have reportedly gone up by 6% so far in this month. Meanwhile, the global supply of DRAM is expected to grow by 30% in 2012.

Micron Technology, Inc. is extending its legacy of memory leadership by introducing a new product category of low-power DDR3 solutions targeted at the tablet and ultrathin markets. These 2-gigabit (Gb) and 4 Gb "DDR3Lm" solutions focus on low self-refresh power (IDD6) for longer battery life, while maintaining the high performance and cost effectiveness of PC DRAM.

The first 2 Gb DDR3Lm will provide up to 50 percent self-refresh power savings versus standard 2 Gb DDR3L while driving performance up to -1600 MT/s when needed. Micron's 4 Gb DDR3Lm product delivers the same optimized power efficiency as the 2 Gb part, with a reduced chip count that is ideally suited for ultrathin and tablet customers. Both 2 Gb and 4 Gb DDR3Lm will be adopted into Micron's 30-nanometer (nm) class to further optimize the power and performance features, with the 4 Gb device hitting a 3.7mA IDD6 target in standby mode, yet still supporting speeds up to -1866 MT/s.