Samsung reveals the “Industry’s First” 24Gb (3GB) GDDR7 memory modules

Samsung’s 3GB GDDR7 memory modules are ready to change the GPU market

GPUs need two things from their memory: capacity and bandwidth. With GDDR7, users will be given much more bandwidth than today’s GDDR6/GDDR6X modules. This makes GDDR7 perfect for the next generation of graphics cards, at least from a bandwidth perspective. To solve the capacity problem, Samsung has revealed the “industry’s first” 24Gb (3GB) GDDR7 modules, offering users 50% more memory than standard 16Gb (2GB modules).

With speeds of 40Gbps, these new modules also deliver tonnes of memory bandwidth. For context, Nvidia’s RTX 4090 uses 21Gbps GDDR6X memory. With these new GDDR7 modules, Samsung delivers 50% more memory capacity and 90% more memory bandwidth than the RTX 4090’s GDDR6X memory.

How 3GB GDDR7 will change the GPU market

Today’s lower-end GPUs don’t ship with much VRAM. GPUs with 8GB of VRAM are commonplace in the lower end of the GPU market, even though modern games can easily use more. With 3GB VRAM modules, 8GB GPUs with 128-bit memory buses could become 12GB GPUs with 128-bit memory buses. Add on the memory speed boost of GDDR7, and lower-end GPUs could launch with more VRAM and a notable bandwidth boost.

For high-end GPUs, this could allow for larger frame buffers on mid-range GPUs and HUGE frame buffers on high-end gaming, AI, and workstation GPUs. Earlier this month, we wrote that Nvidia’s planned 12GB RTX 5070 was a mistake. Using 3GB GDDR7 memory modules, Nvidia could create an 18GB RTX 5070 without changing its RTX 5070 silicon.

Samsung has confirmed that AI/GPU partners are already validating their new 24Gb GDDR7 memory modules. Samsung plans to commercialise these memory modules in early 2025.

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