Analysts expect DDR3 memory to remain dominant until 2015

DDR3 memory will account for 89 per cent of the DRAM market by the end of this year, up from barely a quarter in 2009, according to new predictions from analyst firm IHS iSuppli.

The company said that DDR3 will remain the dominant standard for the next four years, rising to 94 per cent of the market by 2013. Additionally, DDR4 chips, available in 8GB densities, will capture 56 per cent of the market by 2015.

Clifford Leimbach, analyst for memory demand forecasting at IHS iSuppli, explained that the PC space is helping to drive this rapid growth.

"DDR3 has been the main DRAM module technology shipped in terms of bits since the first quarter of 2010, gaining adoption quickly in the PC ecosphere as the market's primary driver," he said.

"Not only is DDR3 the dominant technology in the three PC channels for original equipment manufacturers, the PC white-box space and the upgrade market, it is the chief presence across all PC applications, such as desktops and laptops."

DDR3 reached price parity with older DDR2 chips at the start of the year, and low costs have seen manufacturers loading up on memory for new systems. DDR3 will be dominant for around a year longer than its predecessor, as the speed of innovation in the technology is slowing, Leimbach warned.

DDR4, which is expected to start test production next year, will allow faster data transfers and use at least a fifth less power, and potentially as much as 40 per cent less.

However, IHS iSuppli noted a shift towards Load-reduced Dual Inline Memory Modules for larger 'big iron' data handling systems, which allow around three times the memory density of DRAM technology.

The first commercial systems using the technology should ship in the second half of the year.