Wednesday, May 22nd 2024
PC DDR6 Memory to Offer 10-times the Bandwidth of DDR4: Synopsys
The next-generation PC DDR6 memory standard (not to be confused with GDDR6), will offer a 10-times increase in bandwidth over DDR4, according to a presentation by Synopsys, a major vendor of memory controller and PHY IP blocks. The initial draft of DDR6 specification by JEDEC is expected to be ready within 2024, with version 1.0 of the spec ready by mid-2025. Speeds (data-rates) of DDR6 start at DDR6-8800, and range up to DDR6-17600 in the first generation; with future generations of DDR6 going all the way up to DDR6-21333 (or 21 Gbps). This is exactly 10 times the bandwidth of DDR4-2133, the initial speed of DDR4 that debuted with 6th Gen Core "Skylake" processors, almost a decade ago. It hence makes sense for a memory specification 10 years since to offer such a linear scaling in bandwidth.
Synopsys also talks about LPDDR6 in this presentation, the future low power memory standard for thin-and-light computing devices and smartphones. LPDDR6 will have an introductory data-rate of LPDDR6-10667 over a 24-bit memory channel, with two 12-bit sub-channels. The highest defined data-rate for LPDDR6 is expected to be LPDDR6-14400 (likely 14466 MT/s). Besides generational increases in bandwidth, both PC DDR6 and LPDDR6 are expected to introduce several security and energy-efficiency features, including an "efficiency mode" that reduces idle power draw for the memory devices.
Source:
TweakTown
Synopsys also talks about LPDDR6 in this presentation, the future low power memory standard for thin-and-light computing devices and smartphones. LPDDR6 will have an introductory data-rate of LPDDR6-10667 over a 24-bit memory channel, with two 12-bit sub-channels. The highest defined data-rate for LPDDR6 is expected to be LPDDR6-14400 (likely 14466 MT/s). Besides generational increases in bandwidth, both PC DDR6 and LPDDR6 are expected to introduce several security and energy-efficiency features, including an "efficiency mode" that reduces idle power draw for the memory devices.
31 Comments on PC DDR6 Memory to Offer 10-times the Bandwidth of DDR4: Synopsys
On the plus side, we might finally get octa-channel memory controllers in consumer CPUs, for what good it will do without actual bit width increase, when it finally comes.
24 could be set as low as 18, but some RAM benchmarks were affected. There were no differences between 20 and 28, so I settled on 24 lol.
The machine is still surprisingly good.. CPUz's CPU benchmark ties it with a stock 7600K (@4.4GHz?), SuperPi 1M is somewhere in the high 7 seconds if memory serves. Except for TPM 2.0 compatibility, games designed for >4 cores, modern games with high end NV 2000 series cards @ 1080p, and other really heavily multithreaded things, you'd never know this system was coming up on 15 years old! Heck, the only reason I can tell the difference between it and my 9600K @ 5.2GHz with DDR4 3900 14:15:15 CR1 when I click the start button, is that both machines are connected to the same 280Hz monitor. If it was 120, that latency difference - the time between left clicking the windows icon and the start menu appearing - would be imperceptible! lol
I really like it when hardware lasts. I'm hoping Meteor Lake and the coming desktop variant will be the same. And that my 5800X3D and 3080 will continue doing me well for games... We'll see!