Micron Begins Sampling DDR5 Data Center Memory Modules

Micron has started handing out samples of ddr5 memory. According to Micron, these rdimm modules should provide up to 87 percent more bandwidth compared to ddr4. For the time being, Micron only supplies the modules to data centers.

The ddr5 modules supplied by Micron are based on a ‘1Znm process’, which is a 10nm class process with dimensions from 10nm to 13nm. According to Micron, ddr5 should deliver “more than 85 percent performance gain” over ddr4 memory, probably referring to the increase in effective bandwidth. The modules must also function more reliably and consume less power: the vdd of ddr5 memory is reduced to 1.1V. With ddr4 the vdd was 1.2V. In addition, the memory density of ddr5 must be increased to a maximum of 64Gbit.

The increase in effective memory bandwidth of ddr5 versus ddr4. Image from Micron’s white paper

DDR5 should get double the memory capacity and bandwidth of ddr4. The speed of ddr4 ranges according to the Jedec standard from 1600 to 3200MT/s. At ddr5 this is increased to 3200-6400MT/s. At a speed of 3200MT/s, DDR4 memory delivers an effective bandwidth of 16.79GB/s per channel, while this is increased to 22.81GB/s with DDR5 memory at the same speed. That is an increase of 36 percent. DDR5 memory delivers a bandwidth of 31.36GB/s per channel at 4800MT/s, which is an 87 percent increase over DDR4-3200.

Micron is not yet providing an indication of when DDR5 memory modules will become available to consumers, as there are no consumer CPUs on the market that support the standard. At the same time, Intel is working on processors for data centers with DDR5 support. These Sapphire Rapids CPUs should be released in 2021. The Chinese company Zhaoxin is also working on CPUs that should support DDR5. These chips should also be on the market in 2021. AMD’s plans in this area are still unknown.

The bandwidth increase of ddr5 over ddr4. Mentioned speeds apply to eight memory channels. Image from Micron’s white paper