The Rambus architecture has reentered the Pentium 4-platform arena with Intel to launch its latest RDRAM-based chipset 850E in April and Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) planning to introduce its Rambus PC-1066-supporting R658 chipset in the third quarter, at the earliest. Supporting the 533MHz FSB (front-side bus) standard, the 845E and 850E are set to hit the market in the second quarter, according to Intel’s roadmap. Volume shipments of the DDR-based 845E boards are expected to start in May, while 850E products are estimated to begin shipping as early as the end of this month. Chipset designer SiS is said to be certain to launch a new RDRAM-supporting product, the R658, in the third quarter to strengthen its P4 chipset portfolio. The 850E is now quoted at US$40 per unit, slightly cheaper than the 845E’s price of US$41. Given this benchmark, the price of SiS’s R658 is also expected to be lower than those of the company’s SiS645 series. Meanwhile, as DDR and SDRAM memories continue to take center stage in the market, the price of the usually expensive RDRAM has also been dropping to a more moderate level. The retail price differential between 128MB RDRAM and DDR modules is now around NT$200.