Wednesday, May 8th 2024
Microsoft is Switching from MHz to MT/s in Task Manager for Measuring RAM Speeds
The battle is over. Microsoft is finally changing the measuring methodology in its Task Manager from Mega Hertz (MHz) to Mega Transfers per second (MT/s). This comes amid the industry push for more technical correctness in RAM measuring, where the MHz nomenclature does not technically represent the speed at which the memory is actually running. While DRAM manufacturers list both MHz and MT/s, the advertised MHz number is much higher than the effective speed at which the DRAM is running, resulting in confusion and arguments in the industry about choosing the correct labeling of DRAM. A little history lesson teaches us that when single data rate (SDR) RAM was introduced, 100 MHz memory would perform 100 MT/s. However, when double data rate (DDR) memory appeared, it would allow for two memory transfers per clock cycle.
This would introduce some confusion where the MHz speed is often mixed up with MT/s. Hence, Microsoft is trying to repair the damage and list memory speeds in MT/s. Modern DDR5 memory makers are advertising DDR5 kits with "DDR5-4800" or "DDR5-6000," without any suffix like MHz or MT/s. This is because, for example, a DDR5-6000 kit runs at 6,000 MT/s, the effective speed is only 3,000 MHz. The actual clock of the memory is only half of what is advertised. The MT/s terminology would be more accurate and describe memory better. This Task Manager update is in the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3570 in the Beta Channel, which will trickle down to stable Windows 11 updates for everyone soon.
Sources:
Windows Insider Blog, via Tom's Hardware
This would introduce some confusion where the MHz speed is often mixed up with MT/s. Hence, Microsoft is trying to repair the damage and list memory speeds in MT/s. Modern DDR5 memory makers are advertising DDR5 kits with "DDR5-4800" or "DDR5-6000," without any suffix like MHz or MT/s. This is because, for example, a DDR5-6000 kit runs at 6,000 MT/s, the effective speed is only 3,000 MHz. The actual clock of the memory is only half of what is advertised. The MT/s terminology would be more accurate and describe memory better. This Task Manager update is in the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3570 in the Beta Channel, which will trickle down to stable Windows 11 updates for everyone soon.
22 Comments on Microsoft is Switching from MHz to MT/s in Task Manager for Measuring RAM Speeds
it's double data rate not double the MHz speed
Also:
But in current interfaces, at least MT/s is the same as Mbit/s (or Mbps, wherein "p" stands for profane). One bit per transfer. Some new interfaces will have 1.5 or 2 bits per transfer. That's where MT/s becomes impractical, so we'll have to use "Mbit/s per pin".
Like i said: raw bandwidth is universal and easily understandable.
Wasn’t talking about those though, I referred to GUI itself in my post. Could easily be noticed on a higher refresh screen while, for example, scrolling the process extended list or services up and down. I agree that it doesn’t even feel like 60, that probably is due to how messed up the MS new UI is. But the old TM which this still is underneath the shell SHOULD work at 60. How much slower the transition process made it I can’t say, but it is a slow and laggy POS.
MT/s ?Instead of Misreporting the Base 1024 KiB MiB GiB... as KB MB GB, either move the reporting to base 1000 or use the correct name.
What about file lists in file explorer? Do they scroll smoothly regardless of which view (icons or details) you choose?So I checked a few examples, expecting that I'd find a weird mix, and I found a weird mix.
DDR5 modules by G.Skill, Crucial, Corsair and Kingston: MT/s
DDR5 motherboards: Asus doesn't mention units, MSI uses MHz incorrectly, Gigabyte uses MT/s
CPUs: Intel uses MT/s, AMD too for Epycs, but no units for Ryzens
DDR5 chips: Samsung uses Mbps
GDDR on 4090 GPUs: Asus and MSI say 21 Gbps, they just copy Nvidia's data
LPDDR5 in notebooks: Dell has Mbps
So raw bandwidth in gigabits per second is not at all common to describe DDR5 memory modules. It's more common in other cases. I was wrong about GDDR and LPDDR. The distinction seems to be between chips (bit/s) and modules (transfers/s).
The old metric (megabytes per second per module) appears to be dead, although JEDEC still defines ratings such as "PC5-64000".