AMD started selling its own brand memory modules in Japan, during the summer, something AMD said was a way of testing the market. Apparently it has faired well since AMD now launches memories in three price segments, which include support for AMD OverDrive.
The competition on the DRAM market is really tough, which is why we find this news a bit odd. AMD will start selling its own brand memories in retail, something it tried in Japan. The memories are in fact made and assembled by memory maker Patriot, but sold under the AMD name.
AMD will offer three differetnt types of memories for three categories. Entertainment Edition is specified to DDR3-1333 1.5V and built for budget users and system builders, which means theys hould be priced in line with other budget models on the market. Performance Edition targets more fastidious users and are ideal for gamers according to AMD. Performance memories are specified to 1600 MHz 1.5V, but also come in 1.35V suit.
Last, but not least we have the enthusiast series Radeon Edition that will be handpicked performance memories. The Radeon memories are specified to 1866 MHz 1.5V, but will also be available as 1.65V – which implies tight timings. Radeon Edition also supports AMD OverDrive, and we assume that this support means that you can upload the integrated profiles into OverDrive, for automatically setting the correct settings, or tweaking them further.
We lack exact specifications for the timings of the memories, but it looks like we are dealing with 4 GB modules. AMD also offers graphics card memory that it sells to manufacturers. DDR3 at 800 – 1000 MHz (1600 to 2000 effectively), and GDDR5 1000 MHz till 1500 MHz (4000 to 6000 MHz effectively).
AMD has chosen to work with Patriot to stretch its product portfolio globally, where Patriot covers most countries and regions. While don’t consider the RAM market a good way of making money, it is a good way of spreading the name among consumers. That it also gears its Entertainment Edition toward professional system builders gives them RAM modules that that guarantee they will work together with AMD’s other products, such as processors and motherboards.
