Samsung ushers in the next-generation of GPU performance with their industry first GDDR7 memory
Samsung new GDDR7 memory modules are ready to give next-generation GPUs the bandwidth boost they need
Samsung have announced that they have created the “industry’s first” GDDR7 memory modules, memory modules that will be delivered to “key customers” this year for verification. These new memory modules are set to power the next generation of graphics cards, enabling a huge increase in available memory bandwidth for future graphics products.
With 32 Gbps speeds, Samsung’s GDDR7 memory modules are 40% faster than Samsung’s fastest 24 Gbps GDDR6 memory modules. Currently, the fastest GDDR6 memory modules that are being used by a consumer graphics card are the 20 Gbps modules that AMD has used in their Radeon RX 7900 XTX GPUs. These new GDDR7 modules from Samsung are 60% faster than the GDDR6 modules used in AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 XTX.
Using the same 384-bit memory buses that are used in graphics cards like Nvidia’s RTX 4090 or AMD’s RX 7900 XTX, Samsung’s new GDDR7 memory modules can deliver over 1.5 terabytes per second (TBps) of memory bandwidth. GDDR7 will help power up the next generation of consoles, graphics cards, and workstations by offering more bandwidth to users. Additionally, these new GDDR7 modules are said to be 20% more energy efficient than 24 Gbps GDDR6 memory modules.
One of GDDR7’s main improvements over GDDR6 is its use of Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM3) signaling method instead of the Non Return to Zero (NRZ) signalling method of previous generations. PAM3 signalling allows 50% more data to be transmitted than NRZ within the same signalling cycle, enabling the bandwidth increase of GDDR7.
Another change that Samsung has made to their GDDR7 modules is to use a new epoxy moulding compound (EMC) that features a higher thermal conductivity to enable more efficient heat transfer from DRAM chips to connected heatsink solutions. This change has decreased GDDR7’s thermal resistance by 70% over GDDR6, making GDDR6 memory easier to cool effectively.
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