Rambus has ddr5 prototype working

Rambus has working dimm prototypes ready for ddr5 memory. The manufacturer expects to start production of the next generation of memory in 2019. Big data analytics and machine learning in particular will impact adoption, the company expects.

Rambus does not give details about the memory. According to the company, these are buffer chipset prototypes of server dimms for ddr5. Earlier, the Jedec organization announced that the specification for ddr5 will be ready in 2018. Rambus expects to start production of the memory in the following year.

According to EETimes, ddr5 is expected to operate at maximum transfer rates of 6.4GT/s, for a theoretical maximum throughput of 51.2GB/s. With ddr4, those values ​​are respectively 3.2GT/s and 25.6GB/s. In addition, ddr5 must operate at a voltage of 1.1V instead of 1.2V.

Powerful systems for big data analysis and machine learning will probably first have access to the new memory. Then servers and other systems follow. Rambus thinks ddr5 will continue to serve until 2023, despite various hybrid memory technologies in the pipeline, such as memory with nvdimm-p interface and Intel’s 3D XPoint.