How long do you think DDR2 will hang around before people go to DDR3?
If I were AMD, I'd probably just go straight for DDR3 from a technology standpoint, although from a marketing standpoint it might make more sense to stay with what Intel is doing just so they can leverage off of the increased DDR2 demand that Intel chipsets will create.
Of course, since video card MFG's are using DDR3, we know that RAM MFG's are able to make DDR3 at similar prices to current DDR, so maybe going to DDR3 is a good option afterall.
What do you guys think?
Also, even though the A64 doesn't benefit from faster RAM, if the P4 gets a benefit when the higher speed DDR2 arrives, then it will obviously close the performance gap (or increase any gaps that are already in the P4's favor). How much of a difference the faster memory makes is still something I don't quite know.
I agree that AMD has found a very good mix of efficiency and MHz with the Athlon line of chips. I think that Intel also has a fantastic chip on their hands with the Pentuim M. It performs very similarly to an A64 @ a similar clockspeed (from what I recall). I think in a year or so Intel will have some very nice desktop chips based on the existing Pentium M architecture. In fact, the sooner they bring those out, the better for Intel IMO (of course price is something that would need to come down quite a bit).
-D'oh!