In a new blog post elaborating on the benefits of new memory technology, SK hynix confirmed that it would begin mass production of DDR5 this year. The improved RAM will offer twice the bandwidth of its predecessor, DDR4, as well as increased capacity, power, and cost efficiency.
SK hynix has published some infographics that outline all of the improvements. In terms of speed, we’re looking at a bandwidth of 4800 Mbps – 38 percent higher than DDR4 (3200 Mbps) – and transfer speeds around 13 GBps faster than the previous generation (38 GBps vs. 25 GBps). DDR5 also features double the bank count of DDR4 (16 vs. 32), and operating voltage is down from 1.2 V to 1.1 V.
Additionally, DDR5 introduces two brand-new features: Decision Feedback Equalization (DFE) and Same Bank Refresh. The former is a circuit that “eliminates reflective noise during the channels’ high-speed operation” – increasing speed per pin – while the latter improves memory access by allowing systems to access other banks simultaneously.
