Samsung on Wednesday announced mass-production of the world's first next-generation GDDR7 memory chips, and Ryan Smith from AnandTech scored a few technical details from the company. Apparently, the company's first production version of GDDR7 memory is built on the same D1z silicon foundry node as its 24 Gbps GDDR6 memory chip—the fastest GDDR6 chip in production. D1z is a 10 nm class foundry node that utilizes EUV lithography.

Smith also scored some electrical specs. The first-gen GDDR7 memory chip offers a data-rate of 32 Gbps at a DRAM voltage of 1.2 V, compared to the 1.35 V that some of the higher speed GDDR6 chips operate at. While the pJpb (pico-Joules per bit) is 7% higher than the current generation in absolute terms, for the 32 Gbps data-rate on offer, it is 20% lower compared to that of the 24 Gbps GDDR6 chip. Put simply, GDDR7 is 20% more energy efficient. Smith remarks that this energy-efficiency gain is purely architectural, and isn't a from any refinements to the D1z node. GDDR7 uses PAM3 signaling compared to the NRZ signaling of conventional GDDR6, and the PAM4 signalling of the GDDR6X non-JEDEC standard that NVIDIA co-developed with Micron Technology.

Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today announced that it has completed development of the industry's first Graphics Double Data Rate 7 (GDDR7) DRAM. It will first be installed in next-generation systems of key customers for verification this year, driving future growth of the graphics market and further consolidating Samsung's technological leadership in the field.

Following Samsung's development of the industry's first 24 Gbps GDDR6 DRAM in 2022, the company's 16-gigabit (Gb) GDDR7 offering will deliver the industry's highest speed yet. Innovations in integrated circuit (IC) design and packaging provide added stability despite high-speed operations. "Our GDDR7 DRAM will help elevate user experiences in areas that require outstanding graphics performance, such as workstations, PCs and game consoles, and is expected to expand into future applications such as AI, high-performance computing (HPC) and automotive vehicles," said Yongcheol Bae, Executive Vice President of Memory Product Planning Team at Samsung Electronics. "The next-generation graphics DRAM will be brought to market in line with industry demand and we plan on continuing our leadership in the space."

Scientists at the Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a new type of stacked or 3D DRAM that the researchers call Bumpless Build Cube 3D or BBCube 3D, which relies on Through Silicon Vias or TSVs to connect the DRAM dies. This is a different approach to HBM which relies on micro bumps to connect the layers together and the Japanese scientists are saying that their bumpless wafer-on-wafer solution should allow not only for an easier manufacturing process, but more importantly, improved cooling, as the TSVs can channel the heat from the DRAM dies down into whatever substrate the BBCube 3D stack is finally mounted onto.

If that wasn't enough, the researchers believe that BBCube 3D will be able to deliver higher speeds than HBM courtesy of a combination of the TSVs being relatively short and "high-density signal parallelism". BBCube 3D is expected to deliver up to a 32 fold increase in bandwidth compared to DDR5 memory and a four fold increase compared to HBM2E memory, while at the same time, drawing less power. The research paper goes into a lot more details for those interested at taking a closer look at this potentially revolutionary shift in DRAM assembly. However, the question that remains unanswered is if this will end up as a real world product some time in the near future, which is all based on how manufacturable BBCube 3D memory will be.

TrendForce reports that continued production cuts by DRAM suppliers have led to a gradual quarterly decrease in overall DRAM supply. Seasonal demand, on the other hand, is helping to mitigate inventory pressure on suppliers. TrendForce projects that the third quarter will see the ASP for DRAM converging towards a 0~5% decline. Despite suppliers' concerted efforts, inventory levels persistently remain high, keeping prices low. While production cutbacks may help to curtail quarterly price declines, a tangible recovery in prices may not be seen until 2024.

PC DRAM: The benefits of consolidated production cuts on DDR4 by the top three suppliers are expected to become evident in the third quarter. Furthermore, inventory pressure on suppliers has been partially alleviated due to aggressive purchasing by several OEMs at low prices during 2Q23. Evaluating average price trends for PC DRAM products in 3Q23 reveals that DDR4 will continue to remain in a state of persistent oversupply, leading to an expected quarterly price drop of 3~8%. DDR5 prices—influenced by suppliers' efforts to maintain prices and unmet buyer demand—are projected to see a 0-5% quarterly decline. The overall ASP of PC DRAM is projected to experience a QoQ decline of 0~5% in the third quarter.

In today's world demand for visual brilliance and digital content creation is skyrocketing, paving the way for more advanced technologies that support the production and consumption of rich content. For consumers, students, and professionals, fast, reliable tools are a must-have to keep their imaginations flowing. Building upon its award-winning SSD portfolio, Western Digital released the WD Blue SN580 NVMe solid state drive (SSD). The new, NVMe PCIe Gen 4.0 internal flash drive is purpose-built for the creative enthusiast community and professionals to use when upgrading current PCs or elevating a custom build.

"As creator workflows become more robust and complex with heavy applications and large multimedia assets like 4K video, it's easy to become frustrated with long load times," said Eric Spanneut, vice president of client and enterprise SSDs for Western Digital. "The new WD Blue SN580 NVMe SSD boosts productivity, so professionals and entrepreneurial creators can focus on bringing their imaginations to life without having to wait long for files to transfer or programs to load."

[Editor's note: Our in-depth review of the SN580 is now live]

Micron Technology, Inc., one of the world's largest semiconductor companies, today announced plans to build a new assembly and test facility in Gujarat, India. Micron's new facility will enable assembly and test manufacturing for both DRAM and NAND products and address demand from domestic and international markets.

Phased construction of the new assembly and test facility in Gujarat is expected to begin in 2023. Phase 1, which will include 500,000 square feet of planned cleanroom space, will start to become operational in late 2024, and Micron will ramp capacity gradually over time in line with global demand trends. Micron expects Phase 2 of the project, which would include construction of a facility similar in scale to Phase 1, to start towards the second half of the decade.

Industry insiders in South Korea have informed news publications that NVIDIA has requested that SK hynix submit samples of next-generation high bandwidth memory (HBM) for evaluation purposes—according to Business Korea's article, workers were preparing an initial batch of HBM3E prototypes for shipment this week. SK hynix has an existing relationship with NVIDIA—it fended off tough competition last year and has since produced (current gen) HBM3 DRAM for the H100 "Hopper" Tensor Core GPU.

The memory manufacturer is hoping to maintain its position as the HBM market leader with fifth generation products in the pipeline—vice president Park Myung-soo revealed back in April that: "we are preparing 8 Gbps HBM3E product samples for the second half of this year and are preparing for mass production in the first half of next year." A new partnership with NVIDIA could help SK hynix widen the gulf between it and and its nearest competitor - Samsung - in the field of HBM production.

Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), today announced the Crucial Pro Series which features memory and storage products designed for gamers, content creators, workstation professionals or anyone needing the benefits of a robust, high-performance computing experience with plug-and-play functionality. The Crucial T700 PCIe Gen 5 SSD, the marquee product in the new Pro Series category, offers industry-leading sequential read/write speeds up to 12,400 MB/s and 11,800 MB/s respectively. Random read/write speeds of up to 1,500K IOPS enable faster gaming, video editing, 3D rendering or heavy workload applications. Another addition to the Crucial Pro Series is the Crucial DDR5 Pro and DDR4 Pro DRAM offerings with heat spreaders, providing out-of-the-box performance to improve system speed, bandwidth and responsiveness without the hassle of LEDs and the risks associated with overclocking and latency tuning.

"Today's demanding applications and user workloads require increased performance, along with greater storage capacity and memory bandwidth, to fully leverage the capabilities provided by the latest generation of CPU platforms," said Jonathan Weech, senior director of product marketing for Micron's Commercial Products Group. "The world class Crucial T700 Gen 5 SSD provides unrivaled performance to tackle gaming, UHD/8k+ photo and video editing, heavy workload applications and large data sets. Crucial DDR5 Pro DRAM offers speeds up to 5600MT/s with sleek new heat spreaders that deliver enormous bandwidth under the heaviest of workloads to ensure consistent, maximum performance for gamers and creatives alike."

Team Group unveiled its mighty Team Xtreem DDR5 memory for overclocking, at the 2023 Computex. These modules are designed such that their PCBs are shorter than their height, and instead of cramming RGB LEDs on top, the 2 mm-thick aluminium heat spreader turns into an extruded heatsink. Some of the higher speed versions of these run at DRAM voltages as high as 1.45 V, so the heatsink design should come in handy. The T-Force Xtreem comes in speeds ranging between DDR5-6400 and DDR5-8266, and in capacities ranging from 16 GB (2x 8 GB), going all the way up to 96 GB (2x 48 GB). The T-Force Xtreem RGB has an additional design element in the form of an acrylic RGB LED diffuser, although from the looks of it, this acrylic bit seems to be covering the fins of the heat spreader. It comes in the same speed-based and capacity based variants, as the regular Xtreem DDR5.

At the 2023 Computex, we caught CORSAIR's flagship PC memory line, the DOMINATOR Titanium DDR5 series. These are built to, well, dominate the overclocking and benchmark records scene, and come in several high-speed models, such as DDR5-8000 and DDR5-8266, and capacities as high as 192 GB (4x 48 GB kits). The company also has a limited batch of 500 "First Edition" kits, which feature a gold-on-white color scheme, and the company's highest grade of manual binning.

A defining feature about the DOMINATOR Titanium DDR5 series is their heat spreader design, which consists of 2 mm-thick aluminium making contact with the DRAM chips, which connect to an upper copper heatsink with RGB LEDs studded. The edges of the top have mount-holes, so a set of 2 or 4 of these DIMMs can be bolted onto the company's latest DHX cooling module. This is essentially a chunky slab of anodized aluminium that soaks up and dissipates heat from the DIMMs, and has slats that let the RGB lighting through. CORSAIR is backing these with lifetime warranties, and plans to launch them in July 2023.

SK hynix Inc. announced today that it has completed the development of the industry's most advanced 1bnm, the fifth-generation of the 10 nm process technology, while the company and Intel began a joint evaluation of 1bnm and validation in the Intel Data Center Certified memory program for DDR5 products targeted at Intel Xeon Scalable platforms.

The move comes after SK hynix became the first in the industry to reach 1anm readiness and completed Intel's system validation of the 1anm DDR5, the fourth-generation of the 10 nm technology. The DDR5 products provided to Intel run at the world's fastest speed of 6.4 Gbps (Gigabits per second), representing a 33% improvement in data processing speed compared with test-run products in early days of DDR5 development.

TrendForce reports a dramatic 21.2% QoQ decline in Q1 revenues for the DRAM industry, bringing total revenue down to US$9.663 billion. This significant dip represents the third consecutive quarter where revenues have fallen. A closer look reveals that increased shipment volumes were exclusive to Micron, with other suppliers noting a decrease. The ASP fell for all three major suppliers. An enduring oversupply issue, which has led to an ongoing slump in prices, is the chief culprit behind the decline. Nevertheless, the industry expects a gradual slowing in the rate of price decline following planned production cuts. TrendForce's Q2 forecast suggests a rise in shipments, but the ongoing price fall might limit potential revenue growth.

Each of the three major suppliers—Samsung, Micron, and SK hynix—reported a drop in quarterly revenue. Samsung saw a decline in both shipment volumes and ASP due to fewer orders for its newly launched devices, resulting in a QoQ decrease in revenue of 24.7%, amounting to about US$4.17 billion. Benefiting from its earlier financial reporting and the tail-end orders of the previous year, Micron climbed to the second position in 1Q23. Despite being the only supplier among the big three to record positive shipment growth, Micron couldn't avoid a minor 3.8% revenue decline, taking its total down to US$2.72 billion. SK hynix faced the steepest decline, with more than a 15% drop in both shipment volume and ASP, leading to a drastic 31.7% plunge in revenue, amounting to approximately USD$2.31 billion.

Leading memory brand, Team Group, returns to COMPUTEX 2023 with the theme "DAZZLE．CHILL．INTEGRATE" to introduce six new products in the memory, cooling solution, and storage device categories. They will be unveiled for the first time at COMPUTEX (5/30-6/2), showcasing Team Group's latest cooling solutions and "aurora" RGB lighting tech as the highlights of the grand exhibition. This year's exhibition is split into two display areas for T-FORCE and T-CREATE's new products. In addition to a large gradient LED screen that will demonstrate T-FORCE's industry-leading RGB technology, there will be physical display areas for the new products, each of which will create an immersive interactive experience that displays the cooling and aurora theme of the exhibition. Attendees will be met with a visual feast of colorful lighting and cool tech.

T-FORCE XTREEM ARGB DDR5 Gaming Overclocking Memory is equipped with innovative dual light pipes which utilize black translucent acrylic and multi-optical designs to display a soft aurora-like flow of light. The matte heat spreader of the XTREEM ARGB DDR5 is made of high-quality 2 mm black aluminium alloy, which has undergone aluminium extrusion, CNC processing, sandblasting, and black anodizing, creating a unique material that combines the hardness and durability of basalt and the soft texture of black beach sand. It comes in a variety of frequencies starting from DDR5-7000 to DDR5-8266 and is specially designed for gamers after an extreme performance and dazzling RGB lighting.

The Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service (KIPRIS) has been processing a bunch of trademark applications in recent weeks, submitted by Samsung Electronics Corporation. News outlets pointed out, earlier on this month, that the South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate was attempting to secure the term "Snowbolt" as a moniker for an unreleased HBM3P DRAM-based product. Industry insiders and Samsung representatives have indicated that high bandwidth memory (5 TB/s bandwidth speeds per stack) will be featured in upcoming cloud servers, high-performance and AI computing - slated for release later on in 2023.

A Samsung-focused news outlet, SamMobile, has reported (on May 15) of further trademark applications for next generation DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) products. Samsung has filed for two additional monikers - "Shinebolt" and "Flamebolt" - details published online show that these products share the same "designated goods" descriptors with the preceding "Snowbolt" registration: "DRAM modules with high bandwidth for use in high-performance computing equipment, artificial intelligence, and supercomputing equipment" and "DRAM with high bandwidth for use in graphic cards." Kye Hyun Kyung, CEO of Samsung Semiconductor, has been talking up his company's ambitions of competing with rival TSMC in providing cutting edge component technology, especially in the field of AI computing. It is too early to determine whether these "-bolt" DRAM products will be part of that competitive move, but it is good to know that speedier memory is on the way - future generation GPUs are set to benefit.

Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that its 16-gigabit (Gb) DDR5 DRAM, which utilizes the industry's most advanced 12 nanometer (nm)-class process technology, has started mass production. Samsung's completion of the state-of-the-art manufacturing process reaffirms its leadership in cutting-edge DRAM technology.

"Using differentiated process technology, Samsung's industry-leading 12 nm-class DDR5 DRAM delivers outstanding performance and power efficiency," said Jooyoung Lee, Executive Vice President of DRAM Product & Technology at Samsung Electronics. "Our latest DRAM reflects our continued commitment to leading the DRAM market, not only with high-performance and high-capacity products that meet computing market demand for large-scale processing but also by commercializing next-generation solutions that support greater productivity."

Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today announced its development of the industry's first 128-gigabyte (GB) DRAM to support Compute Express Link (CXL) 2.0. Samsung worked closely with Intel on this landmark advancement on an Intel Xeon platform.

Building on its development of the industry's first CXL 1.1-based CXL DRAM in May of 2022, Samsung's introduction of the 128 GB CXL DRAM based on CXL 2.0 is expected to accelerate commercialization of next-generation memory solutions. The new CXL DRAM supports PCle 5.0 interface (x8 lanes) and provides bandwidth of up to 35 GB per second.

ATP Electronics, the global leader in specialized storage and memory solutions, introduces its 64 GB DDR4 very low profile registered DIMMS (VLP RDIMMs) built for embedded blade compute and storage, industrial single-board computers, enterprise networking, and Internet of Things (IoT) systems processing memory-intensive workloads. The new product offers twice the density of typical 32 GB VLP RDIMMs available in the market to meet the increasing memory requirements resulting from the endless generation of data from connected cars, smart factories, and other 5G IoT applications.

The high-performance 64 GB VLP RDIMMs are organized as 8192 MB x 72 bits in a 288-pin DIMM. Each module utilizes 18 chips of 8Gx4 DDR4 SDRAMs in dual-die package (DDP) stacked chips, consists of a 512-byte serial EEPROM containing the module information, and includes error correction code (ECC) to support error detection and correction.

TrendForce's latest research indicates that, as production cuts to DRAM and NAND Flash have not kept pace with weakening demand, the ASP of some products is expected to decline further in 2Q23. DRAM prices are projected to fall 13~18%; NAND Flash is expected to fall between 8~13%.

TrendForce reports that the significant drop in DRAM prices was mostly attributed to high inventory levels of DDR4 and LPDDR5 as PC DRAM, server DRAM, and mobile DRAM collectively account for over 85% of DRAM consumption. Meanwhile, the market share for DDR5 remains relatively low.

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation ("Silicon Motion", the "Company" or "we") today announced its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023. For the first quarter of 2023, net sales (GAAP) decreased sequentially to $124.1 million from $200.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. Net income (GAAP) decreased to $10.2 million, or $0.30 per diluted American Depositary Share ("ADS") (GAAP), from net income (GAAP) of $23.5 million, or $0.71 per diluted ADS (GAAP), in the fourth quarter of 2022.

For the first quarter of 2023, net income (non-GAAP) decreased to $11.2 million, or $0.33 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), from net income (non-GAAP) of $41.1 million, or $1.22 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Last October, the US Department of Commerce imposed semiconductor restrictions on Chinese imports of equipment for processes of 18 nm and below. SK hynix's Wuxi fab was granted a one-year production license, but geopolitical risks and weak demand prompted the company to reduce wafer starts by about 30% per month in 2Q23, according to TrendForce's latest research.

TrendForce reports that SK hynix had planned to transition its Wuxi fab's mainstream process from 1Y nm to 1Z nm, decreasing the output of legacy processes. However, due to limitations imposed by the US ban, the company instead opted to increase the share of its 21 nm production lines, focus-ing on DDR3 and DDR4 4Gb products. SK hynix's long-term strategy involves shifting its capacity expansion back to South Korea, while the Wuxi fab caters to domestic demand in China and the legacy-process consumer DRAM market.

The Newegg PC Building Contest finals were held in Taipei, on April 22nd. This isn't a typical e-sports event, or even an overclocking/benchmarking contest, but one with a very simple premise—build an operable PC using the parts of your choice, within a time-limit. The finals saw the top-5 contestants from a pool of 50 make their way to Taipei, and for the final event, the time set was just 1 hour. That seems like an eternity for someone used to building PCs, but this isn't a mom-and-pop Dell you're building—a fully fledged high-end gaming desktop with certain mandatory components to have (although the choice of make of the components is up to you). You're supposed to assemble the desktop and bring it up to an operable state.

Neo Forza became the DDR5 memory and SSD manufacturer of choice for most of the finalists. Three out of five finalists chose Neo Forza Trinity DDR5-7200 memory, and all five of them chose Neo Forza NFP455 NVMe Gen 4 SSD. While the winner put together the build in 37 minutes, the slowest of the five made it in just under the hour. They stated that the build was "stressful" and they never thought it could get so nerve-racking to put together a simple PC. Meanwhile, Neo Forza celebrated its unexpected claim to fame for being the memory vendor of choice among the finalists. "We were humbly overwhelmed as the event, inadvertently, showed Neo Forza as a preferred choice by experienced pro-users for DRAM and SSD in PC builds suitable for gaming, content-creation, streaming and 3D rendering," the company commented.

NEO Semiconductor, a leading developer of innovative technologies for 3D NAND flash and DRAM memory, today announced the launch of its ground-breaking technology, 3D X-DRAM. This development is the world's first 3D NAND-like DRAM cell array that is targeted to solve DRAM's capacity bottleneck and replace the entire 2D DRAM market. Relevant patent applications were published with the United States Patent Application Publication on April 6, 2023.

"3D X-DRAM will be the absolute future growth driver for the Semiconductor industry," said Andy Hsu, Founder and CEO of NEO Semiconductor and an accomplished technology inventor with more than 120 U.S. patents. "Today I can say with confidence that Neo is becoming a clear leader in the 3D DRAM market. Our invention, compared to the other solutions in the market today, is very simple and less expensive to manufacture and scale. The industry can expect to achieve 8X density and capacity improvements per decade with our 3D X-DRAM."

v-color Technology Inc., an industry leader in cutting-edge memory solutions, proudly unveils the game-changing 48 GB (24 GB x2) DDR5-8200 38-52-52-130 Manta XPrism RGB Extreme OC Memory in a range of 7200 to 8200 MHz kits. This state-of-the-art memory module is meticulously designed to cater to the evolving needs of gamers, overclockers, and enthusiasts who demand top-notch performance, reliability, and aesthetics.

The Manta XPrism RGB 48 GB (24 GB x2) DDR5-8200 CL38 Extreme OC Memory is crafted with the latest technological advancements, delivering unbeatable speed and efficiency. Featuring a 48 GB memory capacity and a staggering 8200 MHz frequency, this DDR5 memory module is poised to transform the performance of any high-end gaming or workstation system.

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices today, is proud to announce the release of its latest DDR4 DRAM, the Heatsink Storming-V series. The DDR4 DRAM, Storming-V series, is a highly versatile memory module that caters to a wide range of users, from casual content consumption such as watching TV shows, movies and listening to music, to avid gamers who demand engaging stories, stunning graphics, and solid gameplay. Moreover, pro gamers who prioritize speed and performance will find the Heatsink Storming-V series highly appealing.

With its optimized memory speed, timing, voltage settings, and unique design that offers overclocking capabilities, ultra-fast data access, and optimal cooling, the Heatsink Storming-V series delivers unmatched performance and reliability. Therefore, whether you are a casual user or a pro gamer, the Storming-V series is the perfect memory module that caters to your specific needs.

Yesterday SK Hynix reported its Q1 2023 results and to say that they were abysmal is being kind, as the company reported a 3.4 trillion won operating loss, or just over US$2.5 billion. That's no small hit to take for any company, especially when it's only the performance for a single quarter. However, SK Hynix is apparently trying to see its situation from a positive perspective and believes that the memory chip market will rebound in the second half of this year. The positive outlook isn't just based on what SK Hynix believes though, as various analysts and securities companies believe in an upswing in the second half of the year.

That said, Micron, one of SK Hynix main competitors, has a more drab outlook for the remainder of 2023 and is expecting a tough year ahead. SK Hynix is expecting production cuts by itself, Micron and Samsung to start to take effect sometime in the second quarter this year, which should see inventory drop to more normal levels for all three companies. SK Hynix is also expecting to see a higher demand for DDR5 DRAM later this year, especially in the mobile and server market space. Finally, SK Hynix is hoping that its customers will buy higher density memory products this year, replacing older, lower density solutions, be that DRAM or NAND flash related. SK Hynix is expecting to launch its Gen 5 10 nm DRAM and 238-layer NAND sometime next year, which the company is also hoping will bring more income to its coffers, but the company still has to make it through the rest of 2023 first.