Rambus’s expectations on faster GDDR6 memory
Faster memory for GPUs.
According to the report from Hassan Mujtaba (Wccftech), a company Rambus is now expecting an even faster GDDR6 memory to enter production by the end of this year. Rambus is not a memory manufacturer, but a supplier of controllers and solutions that enable GDDR6/HBM solutions for 3rd parties.
Currently, the fastest GDDR6 memory used on a graphics card is GeForce RTX 4080. This card uses Micron’s GDDR6X variant called MT61K512M32KPA-24, which is rated for 24 Gbps, but the card ships with a 22.4 Gbps configuration. The second-fastest model are the remaining RTX 4090-4070 GPUs with 21 Gbps modules (GDDR6X rated for 21 Gbps also by Micron).
24 GB/s GDDR6 modules entering production later this year. 96 GB/s bandwidth per DRAM.
4090 Ti at CES 2024? pic.twitter.com/9fzfVZMzqB
— Hassan Mujtaba (@hms1193) May 25, 2023
Fastest memory on modern GPUs:
- GeForce RTX 4080: 22.4 Gbps (GDDR6X)
- GeForce RTX 4090/4080/4070Ti/4070: 21 Gbps (GDDR6X)
- Radeon RX 7900 Series: 20 Gbps (GDDR6)
- GeForce RTX 4060 Ti/Radeon RX 7600: 18 Gbps (GDDR6)
- Intel Arc A770: 17.5 Gbps (GDDR6)
The GDDR6 “non-X” standard was long expected to hit the 24 Gbps target eventually, while the GDDR6X is already available with 24 Gbps speed. NVIDIA could still launch an updated SUPER or Ti series at some point in the future, especially considering that RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 were not offered in a ‘Ti’ variant.
AMD may also benefit from the availability of the 24 Gbps memory modules, as their RX 7900 series are now shipping with 20 Gbps modules. Rumors have been circulating already about a potential 7X50 series being considered, but there has been no concrete proof that such an update may happen.
GDDR6/GDDR6X memory status, Source: Micron/SKHynix/Samsung
Memory companies are already shipping 24 Gbps modules (Micron GDDR6X), while Samsung is currently sampling 24 Gbps GDDR6 memory. The SK Hynix only lists 10.0 GHz (20 Gbps) modules as ‘CS’ which also means sampling to clients.
