Micron has started sampling DDR5 memory

The new generation of RAM will not only see a double of data transfer rates, but also an increase in density. This could go all the way to ensuring an 85% or more performance increase for both consumer and server markets. Depending on your reference, of course, the performance numbers could be all the way up to 87% (DDR4 3200 vs DDR5 4800, although same clock frequency ram is expected to land at around 35% increase. An 85% performance increase is claimed for servers.

The density of RAM sticks will increase as well, and while DDR4 goes from 2GB-16GB sticks, DDR5 will be 8GB-64GB. It will be produced using the Micron 1znm production technology.

Data transfer rates will be doubled, meaning that 1600-3200 MT/s will instead be 3200-6400 MT/s.

But more importantly, it will use two fully independent 32/40 bit channels per module. Bus inversion is currently DBI, but will be CAI on DDR5, and while DDR4 uses 7x17 bit Mode registers, DDR5 will use 256x 8 bits.

Micron also claims reduced power consummation, and better voltage margins, resulting in improved stability and reliability.

Tom Eby, senior vice president and general manager of the Compute & Networking Business Unit at Micron, said:

"Data center workloads will be increasingly challenged to extract value from the accelerating growth of data across virtually all applications. Key to enabling these workloads, is higher-performance, denser, higher-quality memory.

"Micron's sampling of DDR5 RDIMMs represents a significant milestone, bringing the industry one step closer to unlocking the value in next-generation data-centric applications," he added.