Maybe OT: MRAM vs. FeRAM

[Radium]

Hi:

Which non-volatile RAM is better, MRAM of FeRAM?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferroelectric_RAM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRAM

I've read both links, I still can't figure out which has more-benefits/
less-drawbacks than the other.

Any assistance in appreciated.


Thanks,

Radium

 

[Paul]

Hi:

Which non-volatile RAM is better, MRAM of FeRAM?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferroelectric_RAM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRAM

I've read both links, I still can't figure out which has more-benefits/
less-drawbacks than the other.

Any assistance in appreciated.


Thanks,

Radium

Real Ferroelectric RAM devices. Too tiny to be useful as main storage.
Read cycle time 150 nanoseconds (slow as molasses). Some DDR400 CAS3
would be 15 nanoseconds. Endurance is 10**10 cycles, which is still finite.

http://www.fujitsu.com/emea/services/microelectronics/fram/products/

Real Magnetoresistive RAM. Four times bigger than the Fujitsu device,
but still too tiny to be useful. 35 nanosecond access. And no endurance spec,
meaning you can write it as much as you want.

http://www.freescale.com/files/microcontrollers/doc/data_sheet/MR2A16A.pdf

It is pretty clear the MRAM is the winner in this simple minded comparison.
Who wants memory that can wear out ?

Paul

 

[Radium]

It is pretty clear the MRAM is the winner in this simple minded comparison.
Who wants memory that can wear out ?

In that case my dream PC uses MRAM chips.

I dream of a PC that has the advantages of the world's current best PC
along with additional advantages. For example, my dream PC is entirely
chip-based and does *not* require any of the following:

1. Fans or other noisy equipment
2. Moving parts
3. Discs
4. ROM* [Maybe]

In my dream PC the hardware gets its instructions on what to generate
in a similar manner in which SB16 ISA's FM synth chip gets its
instructions on what to generate. So some amount of ROM maybe required
here. If so, then yes, my dream PC would use ROM, but only when and
where it is mathematically-necessary in order to have an efficient PC
with the advantages of other PCs. My dream PC uses as little ROM as
mathematically-necessary to have the benefits associated with the
world's current best PC. Other than that, my dream PC is virtually ROM-
free.

Obviously, anything that "generates data" can't be creating
information so the information needed to know what data must be
generated has to be stored inside the system. In that case, yes, some
amount of info is stored, however, it is the minimum required.

My dream PC stores this "ROM" as discrete logic.

My dream PC is as hardware, real-time, and digital as possible. In
addition, it uses the least amount of buffering mathematically-
required [hopefully none] and experiences the least amount of latency
mathematically-possible [again, hopefully none] while maintaining the
same advantages associated with the world's current best PC.

Last but not least, my dream PC's HDD stores non-volatile RAM in MRAM
chips instead of magnetic platters.

The following is a bad analogy but I'll add it anyway.

A. PC reading info from ROM = sample playback synth playing back its
samples of sounds of an FM synth.

B. PC chip generating its signals in real-time = an *actual* FM synth
freshly-generating its tones "on the fly".

I prefer B over A always.

Yes, I know, the above is a poor analogy but I couldn't think of
anything better.