G.Skill this week has announced a new addition to its Trident Z family of high-performance DDR4 memory modules aimed at modders. The new Trident Z RGB will feature software-controllable RGB LEDs on top of the modules. The DIMMs will require no additio…
SK Hynix has quietly added its new 8 GB LPDDR4 package to the family of mobile DRAM offerings. The new package paves the way for single-package smartphones and tablets with 8 GB of memory and is based on the company’s yet unannounced 16 Gb LPDDR4 ICs (integrated circuits).
The 8 GB (64 Gb) LPDDR4 package stacks four 16 Gb DRAM parts that feature a 3733 MT/s transfer rate and provide up to 29.8 GB/s of bandwidth when connected to an application processor using a 64-bit memory bus. The 8 GB DRAM package from SK Hynix comes in a standard 15 mm × 15 mm 366-ball or 376-ball form-factor which is compatible with mainstream mobile devices. The 366-ball FBGA package can be PoP stacked with a mobile SoC or a UFS NAND storage device and is available to customers of the company now. The 376-ball FBGA will be available in Q1 2017.
SK Hynix uses its 21 nm manufacturing technology to produce the 16 Gb LPDDR4 memory devices. By contrast, Samsung, which also recently added an 8 GB LPDDR4 package to its own product lineup, uses its ’10 nm-class’ fabrication process to make 16 Gb ICs. Thinner process technology has allowed Samsung to increase interface data rate of its 8 GB LPDDR4 package to 4266 MT/s (14% higher compared to data-rate of SK Hynix’s offering).
| SK Hynix 8 GB LPDDR4 DRAM Packages | ||||
| H9HKNNNFBUMUBR-NMH | H9HKNNNFBMMUDR-NMH | |||
| DRAM IC Capacity | 16 Gb | |||
| Number of DRAM ICs | 4 | |||
| Data Rate | 3733 MT/s | |||
| Bus Width | x64 | |||
| Bandwidth | 29.8 GB/s | |||
| Package | FBGA-366 15 mm × 15 mm | FBGA-376 15 mm × 15 mm | ||
| Voltages | 1.8V / 1.1V / 1.1V | 1.8V / 1.1V / 0.6V | ||
| Process Technology | 21 nm | |||
| Availability | Q4 2016 | Q1 2017 | ||
The 8 GB LPDDR4-3733 package from SK Hynix features industry-standard LPDDR4 voltages, but neither the company’s website nor the product catalog reveals the expected power consumption. Since the company keeps using its 21 nm fabrication process for its 16 Gb LPDDR4 ICs, the DRAM devices will likely consume more power than their 12 Gb predecessors. Of course, SK Hynix may have refined the design of its LPDDR4 circuits to optimize their power consumption, which will be particularly important in mobile categories.
SK Hynix did not make any formal announcements covering the new 8 GB LPDDR4-3733 packages, which may be an indicator that it has not delivered any commercial batches of the product yet. Nonetheless, the addition of the 8 GB LPDDR4 stacks to the company’s product catalog means that they are production ready and it is reasonable to expect at least select devices to use them in 2017.
Related Reading:
SK Hynix has quietly added its new 8 GB LPDDR4 package to the family of mobile DRAM offerings. The new package paves the way for single-package smartphones and tablets with 8 GB of memory and is based on the company’s yet unannounced 16 Gb LPDDR4 ICs (integrated circuits).
The 8 GB (64 Gb) LPDDR4 package stacks four 16 Gb DRAM parts that feature a 3733 MT/s transfer rate and provide up to 29.8 GB/s of bandwidth when connected to an application processor using a 64-bit memory bus. The 8 GB DRAM package from SK Hynix comes in a standard 15 mm × 15 mm 366-ball or 376-ball form-factor which is compatible with mainstream mobile devices. The 366-ball FBGA package can be PoP stacked with a mobile SoC or a UFS NAND storage device and is available to customers of the company now. The 376-ball FBGA will be available in Q1 2017.
SK Hynix uses its 21 nm manufacturing technology to produce the 16 Gb LPDDR4 memory devices. By contrast, Samsung, which also recently added an 8 GB LPDDR4 package to its own product lineup, uses its ’10 nm-class’ fabrication process to make 16 Gb ICs. Thinner process technology has allowed Samsung to increase interface data rate of its 8 GB LPDDR4 package to 4266 MT/s (14% higher compared to data-rate of SK Hynix’s offering).
| SK Hynix 8 GB LPDDR4 DRAM Packages | ||||
| H9HKNNNFBUMUBR-NMH | H9HKNNNFBMMUDR-NMH | |||
| DRAM IC Capacity | 16 Gb | |||
| Number of DRAM ICs | 4 | |||
| Data Rate | 3733 MT/s | |||
| Bus Width | x64 | |||
| Bandwidth | 29.8 GB/s | |||
| Package | FBGA-366 15 mm × 15 mm | FBGA-376 15 mm × 15 mm | ||
| Voltages | 1.8V / 1.1V / 1.1V | 1.8V / 1.1V / 0.6V | ||
| Process Technology | 21 nm | |||
| Availability | Q4 2016 | Q1 2017 | ||
The 8 GB LPDDR4-3733 package from SK Hynix features industry-standard LPDDR4 voltages, but neither the company’s website nor the product catalog reveals the expected power consumption. Since the company keeps using its 21 nm fabrication process for its 16 Gb LPDDR4 ICs, the DRAM devices will likely consume more power than their 12 Gb predecessors. Of course, SK Hynix may have refined the design of its LPDDR4 circuits to optimize their power consumption, which will be particularly important in mobile categories.
SK Hynix did not make any formal announcements covering the new 8 GB LPDDR4-3733 packages, which may be an indicator that it has not delivered any commercial batches of the product yet. Nonetheless, the addition of the 8 GB LPDDR4 stacks to the company’s product catalog means that they are production ready and it is reasonable to expect at least select devices to use them in 2017.
Related Reading:
Crucial this week introduced an expansion of its server-grade modules lineup with DDR4-2666 offerings. The new DIMMs will be compatible with some of the current as well as upcoming server platforms featuring Intel Xeon and other processors.
Announced by Crucial this week are the new DDR4 LRDIMMs, RDIMMs, VLP RDIMMs, ECC SODIMMs and ECC UDIMMs rated to operate at 2666 MT/s interface speed with CL19 19-19-38 timings and at 1.2 V. The modules are available in 4 GB, 8 GB and 16 GB configurations and are aimed at less memory-dense server configurations. All the new DIMMs are powered by Micron’s 8 Gb DDR4 ICs made using 20 nm process technology, just like their DDR4-2133/2400 predecessors.
| Specifications of Crucial’s Server DDR4-2666 Memory Modules | ||||||
| Module Capacity | Latencies | Voltage | Height | |||
| ECC SO-DIMM | 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB | CL19-19-19-38 | 1.2 V | 30 mm | ||
| ECC UDIMM | 31.25 mm | |||||
| LRDIMM | ||||||
| RDIMM | ||||||
| VLP RDIMM | 19 mm | |||||
Increasing DDR4 interface speed from 2400 MT/s to 2666 MT/s amplifies theoretical peak bandwidth by 11% to 42.6 GB/s for a dual-channel memory sub-system, to 85.3 GB/s for of a quad-channel memory sub-system as well as to 127.9 GB/s for a six-channel memory sub-system. In any case, an 11% performance increase in bandwidth-hungry workloads without any rise of power consumption is a tangible benefit for many servers. On the other hand, it is noteworthy that to increase interface speeds to 2666 Mbps, the module maker also had to adhere to JEDEC specifications rise its CAS latency from CL15/CL16 and CL17 (DDR4-2133 and DDR4-2400) to CL19, which diminishes the latency performance benefits of higher clocks.
Suppliers of server-class memory announce their products well ahead of their high-volume availability because CPU developers and makers of actual servers have to validate DIMMs before they use them in commercial machines. The situation is a bit different today. Officially, Intel’s current-generation Xeon E5 processors featuring the Broadwell-EP cores are compatible only with DDR4-2400 or slower DIMMs. However some OEMs offer Broadwell-EP machines that can officially support DDR4-2666 for lower memory density servers. Meanwhile, Intel and other manufacturers plan to introduce next-generation server platforms (such as Purley/Skylake-EP) that officially support new DDR4 configurations in 2017 and before those machines hit the market, new DIMMs need to pass a variety of validation process.
The new server-grade DDR4-2666 memory modules from Crucial are available for purchase now. Their exact prices depend on volumes and negotiations between Crucial and its customers.
Related Reading:
Crucial this week introduced an expansion of its server-grade modules lineup with DDR4-2666 offerings. The new DIMMs will be compatible with some of the current as well as upcoming server platforms featuring Intel Xeon and other processors.
Announced by Crucial this week are the new DDR4 LRDIMMs, RDIMMs, VLP RDIMMs, ECC SODIMMs and ECC UDIMMs rated to operate at 2666 MT/s interface speed with CL19 19-19-38 timings and at 1.2 V. The modules are available in 4 GB, 8 GB and 16 GB configurations and are aimed at less memory-dense server configurations. All the new DIMMs are powered by Micron’s 8 Gb DDR4 ICs made using 20 nm process technology, just like their DDR4-2133/2400 predecessors.
| Specifications of Crucial’s Server DDR4-2666 Memory Modules | ||||||
| Module Capacity | Latencies | Voltage | Height | |||
| ECC SO-DIMM | 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB | CL19-19-19-38 | 1.2 V | 30 mm | ||
| ECC UDIMM | 31.25 mm | |||||
| LRDIMM | ||||||
| RDIMM | ||||||
| VLP RDIMM | 19 mm | |||||
Increasing DDR4 interface speed from 2400 MT/s to 2666 MT/s amplifies theoretical peak bandwidth by 11% to 42.6 GB/s for a dual-channel memory sub-system, to 85.3 GB/s for of a quad-channel memory sub-system as well as to 127.9 GB/s for a six-channel memory sub-system. In any case, an 11% performance increase in bandwidth-hungry workloads without any rise of power consumption is a tangible benefit for many servers. On the other hand, it is noteworthy that to increase interface speeds to 2666 Mbps, the module maker also had to adhere to JEDEC specifications rise its CAS latency from CL15/CL16 and CL17 (DDR4-2133 and DDR4-2400) to CL19, which diminishes the latency performance benefits of higher clocks.
Suppliers of server-class memory announce their products well ahead of their high-volume availability because CPU developers and makers of actual servers have to validate DIMMs before they use them in commercial machines. The situation is a bit different today. Officially, Intel’s current-generation Xeon E5 processors featuring the Broadwell-EP cores are compatible only with DDR4-2400 or slower DIMMs. However some OEMs offer Broadwell-EP machines that can officially support DDR4-2666 for lower memory density servers. Meanwhile, Intel and other manufacturers plan to introduce next-generation server platforms (such as Purley/Skylake-EP) that officially support new DDR4 configurations in 2017 and before those machines hit the market, new DIMMs need to pass a variety of validation process.
The new server-grade DDR4-2666 memory modules from Crucial are available for purchase now. Their exact prices depend on volumes and negotiations between Crucial and its customers.
Related Reading:
