In an industry first, Samsung has unveiled an HKMG-based DDR5 memory unit. Samsung claims that its new RAM offers double the speed of DDR4 while reducing power consumption by 13 percent.
Samsung’s New RAM Module Is Based on HKMG Technology
According to the press release, Samsung’s new module is “the industry’s first 512GB DDR5 module based on High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) process technology.”
This essentially means that the traditional insulators used in DRAM technology will be replaced with HKMG material. This directly translates into lower current leakage as well as 13% energy savings.
Samsung Develops Industry’s First HKMG-Based DDR5 Memory; Ideal for Bandwidth-Intensive Advanced Computing Applicationshttps://t.co/Jk4HdK1jHj
— Samsung Electronics (@Samsung) March 25, 2021
The new RAM unit by Samsung will feature 512GB of memory with speeds of up to 7,200 megabits per second.
Samsung’s new DDR5 module “stacks eight layers of 16Gb DRAM chips to offer the largest capacity of 512GB.” This has been done using the Through-silicon via (TSV) technology that “was first utilized in DRAM in 2014 when Samsung introduced server modules with capacities up to 256GB.”
Additionally, this isn’t the first time Samsung has incorporated HKMG into its memory units. Back in 2018, the company had used an HKMG-based process in its GDDR6 memory as well.
Samsung’s New Memory Is Aimed at Compute-Heavy Tasks
Samsung says that its new RAM module is perfect for use in “supercomputing, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), as well as data analytics applications.”
The high-performance figures along with lower power consumption will make the chip ideal for data centers as well.
Furthermore, Intel has partnered “with memory leaders like Samsung” to further develop DDR5 memory that is faster and more energy-efficient. We may see Samsung chips that are tailored for the upcoming Intel Xeon Scalable processors.
However, Samsung also hopes its technology can also be leveraged for use in medical research, autonomous driving, and smart cities amongst other areas.
Samsung’s New RAM May Be Available for Regular PCs
While the RAM module unveiled by Samsung may be unsuitable for home computers right now, other variants of the HKMG-based chip could hit the consumer market a little later.
Samsung’s press release also states that the company is “sampling different variations of its DDR5 memory.” This means that the company is looking to expand the usage of its new HKMG-based DDR5 RAM chip.
The power savings, as well as performance increments, could be useful in gaming computers.
Hopefully, we will see this new technology being used in home PCs by 2022, when AMD reveals its Zen 4 line of processors that could have support for DDR5.