R400 will use DDR2 memory

[Lezmaka]

Looks like R400 is going to have to use GDDR2. Samsung doesn't have GDDR3 on its roadmap until 2004, unless ATI is going to go somewhere else to get it. But that would make prices even higher than DDR2. And even DDR1 @ 500mhz wouldn't be enough

[Hellbinder]

You are assuming that the R400 does things in the same fassion as the R300 and Nv30. what if the R400 simply used 256mb of DDR at 500mhz, or a little higher?

[Uttar]

They didn't include "it", now, did they? :P
You know... the tech they acquired from BitBoys :D

More seriously, the R400 seems a lot more focused on a smart design. I'm ready to bet it isn't traditional multisampling anymore.

One possibility is enabling more samples, but using non lossless compression. Another one is using Fragment Antialiasing, but that wouldn't yield as amazing results.

Anyway, NV35 vs R400 seems to be all about brute force VS finesse. Roles switch quick in this industry.
In the past, brute force nearly always won. Will it be the case again? We can only speculate, I guess... Unless Hellbinder gives us some more juicy info :)

I really wouldn't think R400 is using integrated memory or anything similar. As I said, a smarter form of Antialiasing should be sufficent to reduce the memory speed required.


Uttar

[Fotis]

I don't see the R400 or Nv35 needing gddr3.
Using DDR2 at 1200Mhz and a 256bit bus gives you almost double the r300 bandwidth.