Gigabyte's i-RAM

A gadget to watch is the new i-RAM from Gigabyte, reviewed here. This is a PCI-card to put into your computer which accepts up to 4 GB of conventional DDR memory, which can be accessed like a hard disk. Install Windows on this virtual harddisk, and your computer boots up in a few seconds. Install your current game there, and your loading screens will rush by a lot faster. Put your Windows swapfile there and have an expensive solution for a problem which you could have solved much cheaper by adding memory directly on your motherboard. ;) The data will remain stored as long as your computer is plugged in, and in case of a power failure there is a battery backup for up to 12 hours.

Still too small to hold both Windows and World of Warcraft, and right now probably impossible to actually get hold of, the Gigabyte i-RAM is probably something which will evolve further. We will see 8 GB and 16 GB versions, or other solutions based on solid state disks which have the same function. Think of it whenever you are waiting for your computer to do something, watching the hard disk LED blink.
- posted by Tobold @ 3:47 PM Permanent Link