Friday, March 17th 2023
SK Hynix Eighth-Generation 300-Layer 3D NAND is a World First, Breaks Bandwidth Records
SK Hynix representatives unveiled the company's latest breakthrough in 3D NAND development at the ISSCC 2023 conference. Details of a new flash memory prototype featuring over 300 layers were revealed, and the company stated that a team of 35 engineers had contributed to the presentation material. In order to highlight the boost in performance offered by the prototype's improvements, it was compared to SK Hynix's previous record holding seventh-generation 238-layer 3D NAND. The new eighth-generation 3D NAND posted bandwidth figures with a maximum of 194 MB/s, which contrasts favorably with the older model's rate of 164 MB/s, representing an 18% increase in performance.
Recording density also benefits from the 300+ active layer design, with SK Hynix mentioning a 1 Tb (128 GB) capacity with triple level cells and a bit density of over 20 GB/mm^2. The chip features a 16 KB page size, four planes and a 2400 MT/s interface. The increase in density will result in a lower per-Tb cost during the manufacturing process. It is hoped that the end consumer will ultimately benefit from the boost in performance and capacity.
Five areas of technological implementations for the eighth-generation 3D NAND have been identified:
SK Hynix representatives did not provide any firm time frame for the production and eventual launch date of its cutting edge 3D NAND. Industry watchdogs have estimated that the memory boards will not reach shelves until very late 2024, or at some point in 2025. In the meantime, SK Hynix's seventh-generation 238-layer 3D NAND is expected to be integrated into the production cycle of new memory products due for release in 2023.
Sources:
Blocks and Files, tom's HARDWARE, MDPI
Recording density also benefits from the 300+ active layer design, with SK Hynix mentioning a 1 Tb (128 GB) capacity with triple level cells and a bit density of over 20 GB/mm^2. The chip features a 16 KB page size, four planes and a 2400 MT/s interface. The increase in density will result in a lower per-Tb cost during the manufacturing process. It is hoped that the end consumer will ultimately benefit from the boost in performance and capacity.
- Triple-Verify Program (TPGM) feature that narrows cell threshold voltage distribution and reduces tPROG (program time) by 10%, which translates into higher performance
- Adaptive Unselected String Pre-Charge (AUSP) - another procedure to reduce tPROG by around 2%
- All-Pass Rising (APR) scheme that reduces tR (read time) by approximately 2% and cuts word line rising time
- Programmed Dummy String (PDS) technique that cuts world line settling time for tPROG and tR by reducing channel capacitance load
- Plane-Level Read Retry (PLRR) capability that allows to change read level of a plane without terminating others therefore issuing subsequent read commands immediately and improving quality of service (QoS) and therefore read performance
25 Comments on SK Hynix Eighth-Generation 300-Layer 3D NAND is a World First, Breaks Bandwidth Records
That would be a substantial step in introducing >8TB SSD drives.
For the consumer space 4TB TLC SSD are still over $100/TB and 8TB TLC cost $1,200+.Absolutely, the real question is how much will they charge for it.
www.amazon.com/Corsair-MP600-PCIe-Gen4-NVMe/dp/B0BJL1FRRC/ref=sr_1_8?crid=V3PUJYAQ6OJ&keywords=4tb+tlc&sprefix=4tb+tlc%2Caps%2C188&sr=8-8
www.amazon.com/Corsair-MP600-Gen4-PCIe-NVMe/dp/B0BFDKPWPR/ref=sr_1_13?crid=V3PUJYAQ6OJ&keywords=4tb+tlc&sprefix=4tb+tlc%2Caps%2C188&sr=8-13
Perhaps you are thinking of QLC drives that are cheaper but I specifically mentioned TLC.Links above
I shouldn't have to specify M.2, there are no 8TB TLC SATA consumer drives: www.techpowerup.com/ssd-specs/?f&interface=SATA+6+Gbps&capacity=8
You have to go enterprise to get TLC SATA and even then you are talking $900+ for an 8TB drive.
Do you really have to specify PCIe 4.0 either? The vast majority of new drives are going to be PCIe 4.0. The price of older drives is not representative of where pricing in the market is heading.
You can argue with my methodology but an exaggeration it was not.
Ps. Let's remind you "8TB TLC cost $1,200+" I see prices which are below $1200 not above $1200
The Fury Renegade is over 2 years old now and is not Kingston's flaghip.
The only linked flagship is the 8TB drive and that's because there are so few 8TB options. The other 8TB options are all near the same price: www.amazon.com/SABRENT-Internal-Extreme-Performance-SB-RKT4P-8TB/dp/B09WZK8YMY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=NNI6KP9OE0U9&keywords=sabrent+8tb+tlc&sprefix=sabrent+8tb+%2Caps%2C224&sr=8-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.765d4786-5719-48b9-b588-eab9385652d5A strawman argument to say the least.
Well some m.2 are coming down 1-2tb in price but old stock always.
If you are looking to replace your hard drives with SSDs, the most economical solution is U.2 enterprise drives. Prices have come down in the last few months and 7.68TB drives that were previously $600 - $700 are now $500 - $600. You can save another $50 if you opt for QLC, although performance and endurance will be lower. There are also 15.36TB and larger U.2 drives but those offer a worse price per GB. I'd recommend staying away from Micron's Pro enterprise SSDs though as they run hot and typically need airflow. I'd typically see 70-72c when I had them installed in a regular desktop.