RAM News - Page 1

The amount of LN2 or liquid nitrogen at G.SKILL's Computex 2024 booth has to be seen to be believed, but it's understandable when you're the host of the OC World Record Stage with the industry's best memory overclockers. But, with a huge range of DDR5 memory options, we also got to take a closer look at several impressive OC builds at the company's booth - so let's go through some of the highlights.

First, let's take a look at G.SKILL's DDR5-10600 rig, which has 32GB (16GB x 2) of memory paired with an AMD Ryzen 5 8500G processor and an ASUS ROG Crosshair X670E GENE motherboard. The memory timings and latency weren't the lowest of what we saw, with CL56-62-62-126, but this was all about showcasing the impressive speed of DDR6-106000 right there on the show floor.

Next up is probably our favorite because CAMM2 modules for DDR5 (an alternative to SO-DIMM for laptops that sit flat on the motherboard) represent a brand-new form of memory overclocking to the PC space. At Computex 2024, G.SKILL is presenting its first CAMM2 module running at DDR5-7800 with impressive low-latency timings - CL36-48-48-128.

Pushing DDR5 memory speeds to around DDR-10000 speeds is not uncommon, especially in high-end rigs, but keeping it stable with low-latency memory timings (48-60-48-60) and 48GB across dual channels is something else, especially when you're talking about an affordable AMD rig built with off-the-shelf parts.

That's precisely what we saw at the Patriot Memory booth at Computex 2024, where the team used its award-winning Viper Xtreme 5 DDR5 Series - tuned and overclocked to perfection - in a rig with only an AMD Ryzen 5 8500G Desktop Processor. In a sea of LN2 and rigs with high-end cooling, it was brilliant to see a rig you could quickly put together and run for hours at DDR5-10000 speeds.

So much so that we awarded the Viper Xtreme 5 DDR5 Series and the demonstration one of our Best of Computex 2024 awards; this is an outstanding achievement and a friendly reminder of why Patriot's Viper Series is a go-to option when putting together a high-speed DDR5 build.

T-FORCE, the gaming brand of memory and storage experts TEAMGROUP, is set to showcase its latest T-FORCE XTREEM DDR5 Memory Module at Computex 2024. Don't let the Fuji White and Diamond Rose colors fool you; these modules feature "exclusive overclocking performance that unlocks frequencies up to 10,000 MHz."

T-FORCE XTREEM DDR5 Memory Modules feature 2mm aluminum alloy fin heat sinks for heat dissipation and a two-piece solid metal heat spreader. DDR5-10000 or 10,000 MHz would present quite the upgrade over the first generation of DDR5 kits and the absolute fastest DDR4 kits still out there. There's no word on latency and timings, but TEAMGROUP notes that these kits "will make their global debut" at Computex 2024 next week.

TEAMGROUP will have a range of products at the show, including the T-FORCE GE PRO Gen5 M.2 PCIe SSD and T-FORCE DARK AirFlow 5 SSD Cooler, which are two more high-speed highlights for PC gamers.

G.SKILL is a name known for creating high-performance memory for PCs. Still, today's announcement from the company is a little different in that it marks the arrival of the opulent, shiny, and jewel-like Trident Z5 Royal Series. We're still talking about high-performance DDR5 memory that you can overclock - up to an extreme DDR5-8400 CL40 with 48GB (2 x 24GB) kit - but with a 'Royal' look and feel.

G.SKILL's description says it all. "Featuring a mirrored-finish heatspreader in gold or silver color and a full-length crystalline light bar, the Trident Z5 Royal is the embodiment of high-class luxury." Yeah, G.SKILL's Trident Z5 Royal series for DDR5 is finally here, and if you're interested, it's like buying a fancy watch or necklace or another piece of shiny jewelry for your PC.

It's so fancy that G.SKILL has released an 'official trailer' for the Trident Z5 Royal Series DDR5 Memory, which you can watch below.

G.SKILL is set to make another big splash in extreme overclocking at Computex 2024. Its booth will host the 10th Annual OC World Record Stage 2024, where high-end Intel motherboards from ASRock, ASUS, GIGABYTE, and MSI will be paired with G.SKILL DDR5 memory and plenty of liquid nitrogen (LN2).

The world's top overclockers will do their thing in front of a live audience (we'll be there!), attempting to achieve as many overclocking records as possible. G.SKILL has released the 10th Annual OC World Record Stage 2024 schedule (see it above), which kicks off on June 4 and runs through to June 7.

Each motherboard maker and a group of overclockers will be given their day in the sun (or is that LN2 fog), with OC legends like HiCookie and Splave set to appear. The 8th Annual OC World Cup 2024 Competition will also take place live at the G.SKILL Computex 2024 booth, with overclockers going head-to-head with G.SKILL DDR5 memory and 14th Gen Intel Core processors - and yes, even more LN2.

Samsung is speeding into the world of next-gen 3D RAM, the future of compact RAM, something we're learning from its presentation during IMW 2024 this week.

VCT (vertical channel transistor) DRAM is one of the first achievements towards this goal, with Samsung expected to complete the initial development of VCT DRAM in 2025, with 3D DRAM hitting the market by 2030. IWM 2024 is an international conference for computer memory companies, where Samsung teased its developments in DRAM innovation.

ZDNet Korea reported on the story, with Samsung Vice President, Lee Si-woo, speaking during Samsung's research in 4F Square VCT DRAM and 3D DRAM. Lee said: "Industrial developments such as hyperscaler AI and on-demand AI require a lot of memory processing ability. On the other hand, the microprocessing technology of existing DRAM is limited". While, in the future, Lee predicts "new innovations are expected to occur in the structure of cells".

Just as the PC market is pushing heavily into DDR5 memory, we're hearing more about both DDR6 and LPDDR6 memory.

In a new JEDEC presentation, we're hearing about DDR6, LPDDR6, and new CAMM standards for memory. LPDDR5 for example is already 5 years old, and while we've seen mid-product update refreshes including LPDDR5X and LPDDR5T, they won't be good enough for the years to come.

DDR6 memory will reportedly start off at 8800MT/s of bandwidth, up to a huge 17,600MT/s of bandwidth with a "possible extension" to an incredible 21,000MT/s of bandwidth. Keep in mind that DDR5 ranges from between 4000MT/s and 8400MT/s, while DDR4 was stuck down at 1600MT/s through to 3200MT/s.

It seems Microsoft is finally testing the display of memory speeds as MT/s (mega-transfers per second) over the traditional MHz (megahertz) in the Windows 11 Task Manager.

PhantomOcean3, a self-proclaimed Windows sleuth, noticed that Microsoft is now testing showing MT/s for RAM instead of MHz in the Windows 11 Task Manager performance tab. Why is this important?

We see the data transfer speed of computer memory (RAM) advertised with the MHz metric, which represents how many millions of cycles per second the memory module can perform, with each of those cycles being an action on the memory module itself, like storing and retrieving data.

The HBM market is unstoppable right now, attached to the insatiable AI demand that is fueling SK hynix and Micron to sell all of their HBM memory allocation for 2024, and 2025.

In a new report from TrendForce, Senior Research Vice President Avril Wu says that the HBM market is poised for robust growth, "driven by significant premiums and increased capacity needs for AI chips". HBM unit sales are multiple times higher than conventional DRAM, and about 5x higher than DDR5.

Wu explains: "This pricing, combined with product iterations in AI chip technology that increase single-device HBM capacity, is expected to dramatically raise HBM's share in both the capacity and market value of the DRAM market from 2023 to 2025. Specifically, HBM's share of total DRAM bit capacity is estimated to rise from 2% in 2023 to 5% in 2024 and surpass 10% by 2025. In terms of market value, HBM is projected to account for more than 20% of the total DRAM market value starting in 2024, potentially exceeding 30% by 2025".

A new type of memory has been tested running at a blistering 600C for over 60 hours by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

The researchers have used non-volatile ferroelectric diode (ferrodiode) memory that has absolutely astonishing heat resistance and other properties that allow cutting-edge data and extreme environment computing to breathe a little, pun intended.

Ferrodiode memory devices use a 45nm thin layer of a synthesized AIScN (I0.68Sc0.32N) because of its ability to retain electric states "after an external electric field is removed".