RAM News - Page 1

Micron and MediaTek are the first to validate Micron's new low-power double data rate 5X (LPDDR5X) DRAM for the just-announced MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC, which you can read more about here.

The new MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC has the most advanced mobile memory in the industry, with the first batch of samples of LPDDR5X already inside of smartphones for testing. The faster LPDDR5X-based DRAM will super-speed artificial intelligence (AI) and "5G innovation".

The new Micron industry-leading 1α-based LPDDR5X "solidifies its product innovation and leadership in the mobile ecosystem, following industry-first launches for LPDDR5, 1α-based LPDDR4X, 176-layer NAND-based UFS 3.1 and uMCP5 solutions".

Man, you can't even buy DDR5 memory for a new Intel 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" CPU and Z690 motherboard because there's a global shortage... and now we're hearing about totally next-gen DDR6 RAM.

Samsung teased next-gen DDR6 memory during its Samsung Tech Day 2021 event, teasing that JEDEC still has to formalize the DDR6 standard itself but the company did tease that it will have blistering fast DDR6-12800 RAM. Consider this: DDR5 kicks things off at around DDR5-4800 to DDR5-5200, while DDR4 is found for the most part in the DDR4-3200 standard. DDR4 @ 3200 to DDR6 @ 12800... insanity.

But Samsung wasn't finished there with its DDR6 leg tease at DDR6-12800 speeds but said that we should Samsung to have DDR6 memory at insane overclocked speeds of DDR6-17000. So let's do that comparison once again -- DDR4 @ 3200 through to DDR6 @ 17000. Wowzers.

If you're trying to build yourself a new Intel 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" CPU, and a new Z690-based motherboard then you're going to have some trouble finding some DDR5 RAM.

Finding DDR5 RAM is hard because of the PMICs (Power Management Integrated Circuit) are facing "severe shortages" according to 12chip. The site reports: "Currently, there is a shortage of DDR5 sticks in the market, and sources from Boardchannels say that the main reason for the shortage is that the DDR5 memory is equipped with a power management chip PMIC, which is currently in very short supply".

"Sources said that the PMIC chip is currently in very short supply, while the purchase price of the PMIC chip to be used in DDR5 memory is 10 times more expensive than the corresponding chip in D4, and the procurement cycle is at least 35 weeks".

Samsung has just unveiled its latest LPDDR5X DRAM, the successor to its current LPDDR5 RAM where it is the first 14nm-based 16Gb LPDDR5X (Low Power Double Data Rate) DRAM.

The new Samsung LPDDR5X DRAM is super-speeded for the future of 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and the latest buzzword: metaverse. SangJoon Hwang, Senior Vice President and Head of the DRAM Design Team at Samsung Electronics explains: "In recent years, hyperconnected market segments such as AI, augmented reality (AR) and the metaverse, which rely on extremely fast large-scale data processing, have been rapidly expanding".

"Our LPDDR5X will broaden the use of high-performance, low-power memory beyond smartphones and bring new capabilities to AI-based edge applications like servers and even automobiles".

KLEVV has just unveiled its new DDR5 overclocking/gaming RAM, which has a beautiful design and will arrive in speeds of up to DDR5-6400 for your new Intel Alder Lake-based gaming PC.

The higher-end overclocking and gaming RAM from KLEVV will arrive in other speeds between DDR5-4800 through to DDR5-6400, where I'm sure there'll also be plenty of room for some manual overclocking. KLEVV explains in its press release for its new DDR5 overclocking/gaming RAM: "DDR5 is the latest memory standard soon to be adopted by the PC ecosystem. Its key upgrades are larger capacities and considerably faster speeds compared to previous generation DDR technologies".

"The new standard incorporates Power Management Integrated Circuit (PMIC) and On-Die Error Correcting Code (ODECC) technology on the DIMM for the first time, allowing KLEVV to tailor its memory designs for improved power efficiency, stability, and better overclocking effectiveness".

JEDEC announced the publication of the DDR5 SDRAM standard update which included new features to enhance reliability and performance across a wide range of applications, in systems and high-performance servers.

The new features for DDR5 memory from JEDEC include bounded fault error-correction support, Soft Post-Package Repair (sPPR) undo and lock, Memory Built-In Self-Test Post Package Repair (MBIST and mPPR), Adaptive RFM, and an MR4 extension.

JEDEC also expanded the timing definition and transfer speed of DDR5, ramping up to 6400 MT/s for DRAM core timings and 5600 MT/s for IO AC timings to help the industry build an ecosystem up to 5600 MT/s. JEDEC Chairman Mian Quddus explains: "The fact that this update to DDR5 is being published so soon after the initial launch of DDR5 in July 2020 underscores JEDEC's ongoing commitment to continual improvement, and represents a collective effort on the part of all involved member companies to better serve the industry".

ADATA has thrown another hat into the DDR5 memory ring with the unveiling of its new XPG LANCER DDR5 gaming memory that has RGB lighting.

The new ADATA XPG LANCER DDR5 memory comes in kits of up to 16GB and speeds of up to DDR5-5200, with ADATA adding in a PMIC (Power Management Integrated Circuit) and ECC (Error Correcting Code) for enhanced performance and stability.

ADATA reiterates that the company is using high-quality ICs and PCBs to "ensure uncompromised performance and reliable overclocking, ideal for discerning gamers and overclockers. With support for Intel® XMP 3.0, users can get overclocking easily without the need to go into BIOS. There is no need to repeatedly adjust and fine-tune overclocking parameters".

ADATA has broken an overclocking record with next-gen DDR5 memory, with ADATA's in-house XPG DDR5 memory the first to be overclocked to DDR5-8118 speeds.

The company promised that it would be launching new DDR5-8400 memory in the future, but it wouldn't be with the first batches of DDR5 memory releases. However, just before the release of Intel's new Alder Lake and Z690 platform which has support for PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 technologies, ADATA has pushed its DDR5 to 8118 MT/s.

ADATA's own in-house XPG Overclocking Lab (XOCL) overclocked ADATA's upcoming DDR5 memory to 8118 MT/s which wins XPG the award of the first DRAM provider to hit this milestone using DDR5 memory.

We can almost smell the Alder Lake CPU, next-gen PCIe 5.0 and next-gen DDR5 silicon from here... with GIGABYTE preparing some new AORUS DDR5 gaming RAM.

The new AORUS DDR5-5200 non-RGB memory kit has been spotted, with our friends at VideoCardz doing their leaking thing and showing us the new AORUS DDR5-5200 non-RGB RAM. The kit we have here today is the overclocked DDR5-5200 kit, with 32GB on offer with dual 16GB DDR5-5200 sticks.

AORUS will have support for Intel XMP 3.0 profile which will roll out on Intel's next-gen Z690 chipset, and the various Z690 motherboards. I'm sure GIGABYTE is wanting you to buy their new AORUS Z690 EXTREME motherboard for their new AORUS DDR5-5200 RAM, with the new AORUS Z690 EXTREME motherboard featuring an interesting little cover for the DDR5 RAM.

Intel is days away from launching its next-gen Alder Lake family of CPUs as well as the next-gen Z690 chipset and a huge flow of Z690 motherboards, all rocking new DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 technologies.

But how much more expensive will DDR5 RAM be over DDR4 RAM? It's a question that we don't have solid answers for just yet, but now we have a pretty good source: MSI. In a new post by MSI on their website regarding DDR5 RAM, MSI's Sara Lin explains that DDR5 RAM is expected to cost 50-60% more than DDR4.

Lin explains on the MSI website: "Historically, newer memory technology has always commanded close to a 30-40% premium over the previous generation. However, this time, DDR5 includes additional components that have driven the costs up further. As a result, we expect a 50-60% price premium compared to DDR4 at launch".