JEDEC reveals DDR4 roadmaps and specs

[RPGWiZaRD]

At a recent MemCon conference in Tokyo, Japan, Bill Gervasi, vice president of engineering at US Modular and a member of the JEDEC board of directors, revealed that the target effective clock-speeds for DDR4 memory would be 2133MHz - 4266MHz, an increase from previously discussed frequencies. Apparently, JEDEC and memory manufacturers decided that the progress of DDR3 leaves no space for DDR4 data rates below 2133Mb/s.

The designers of DDR4 memory are looking forward 1.2V and 1.1V voltage settings for the new memory type and are even considering 1.05V option to greatly reduce power consumption of the forthcoming systems. It is expected that manufacturers of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) will have to use advanced fabrication technology to make the DDR4 chips. The first chips are likely to be made using 32nm or 36nm process technologies.

At present JEDEC expects to finalize the DDR4 specification in 2011 and start commercial production in 2012. Actual mass transition to the next-generation memory is projected to occur towards 2015.

English source: http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/memory/...Hz_Report.html

More extensive japanese-english google translation report with lots of slides: http://translate.google.com/translat...ml&sl=ja&tl=en

[Manicdan]

where can i get ddr3 2133 @1.25v?
and the dates are really confusing, are they saying that they will have all the speeds availible by 2015, or thats when all platforms have transitioned, idk what to think, and the translator isnt the best

EDIT, i actually like some of the images
like this one:

and

[eXa]

Lol @ DDR3 2133 1.25v

[Kurz]

Honestly though... Ram isn't a major energy eater right?
It only uses what 5W?

[Manicdan]

Lol @ DDR3 2133 1.25v

looking at the roadmap, its due out early 2012

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

Funny how DDR2 is shown as 400 to 800. There's a lot of high bins out there.

As everyone else has said, DDR3 2133 @ 1.25v!? WTF. My ECO kits are 1600 & run at 1.35v and I figured that was low for the aggressive timings.

Has Intel or AMD even mentioned a socket using DDR4 at this point?

[Manicdan]

guys i posted the roadmap for a reason.

the initial arrow chart is a horrible representation of their schedule

[eXa]

To my defence, i posted before your edit :P

Edit: Hmm.... timestamps says otherwise, but i swear, i didnt see the roadmap before i posted.

[Manicdan]

lol, no biggy, i just wish they had a smaller version cause we dont care about anything pre 2005

[El Mano]

2015 is sooo far away.

[Particle]

Interesting stuff. I'm more excited to see that we can start expecting realistically priced 4GB DDR3 modules next year.

[haylui]

DDR3 has at least 2 years life span...

[Opteron146]

As everyone else has said, DDR3 2133 @ 1.25v!? WTF. My ECO kits are 1600 & run at 1.35v and I figured that was low for the aggressive timings.

You need advanced process tech for that. For example Samsung just started their 3X nm RAM chip production in July, they claim to produce DDR3-2133 @1,5V:

Samsung's 30nm-class 2Gb Green DDR3 chips provide the highest performance solution in the industry, based on an innovative circuit design. For server applications, memory modules can reach up to 1.866 gigabits per second (Gbps) at 1.35 volts, while PC modules can run at up to 2.133Gbps (1.5 volts), which is 3.5 times faster than DDR2 and 1.6 times faster than 50nm-class DDR3.

http://www.samsung.com/us/business/s...o?news_id=1180

Expect some nice DDR3-2133 modules in 2011. Maybe they will already be ready with the introduction of sandy bridge in Q4.

[Piotrsama]

Will Rambus have a say (licensing fees) on DDR4?

[Ket]

For those reading the chart wrong, DDR4 will be introduced 2012, with its life ending sometime 2015. Expect DDR3 to get up to bins around 2500 before the end of its life.

[Manicdan]

DDR2 lasted 4.5 years
DDR3 is looking to be 5.5 years
DDR4 ends in 2015, but then its only 3.5 years

so that makes it look like DDR3 is lasting longer than expected, and taking away form DDR4s lifespan

also theres the overlap, which existed for all DDR standards, but they dont show any date based overlap for DDR4, but a massive overlap in speeds,
DDR4 at 1.6Gbit while we would already have DDR3 at 2.1Gbit

i wonder if they are trying to perfect the schedule, instead of predicting what will actually pan out.

im still just gonna wait for platform dates of the next BD, no point for me going to DDR3 now with thuban, and it might not be worth it for AM3+ if the second revision of BD is going to be AM4 only

[RPGWiZaRD]

For those reading the chart wrong, DDR4 will be introduced 2012, with its life ending sometime 2015. Expect DDR3 to get up to bins around 2500 before the end of its life.

Yea correct, it starts appearing on the market 2012 altough at low volume ofc and they expect around 2015 to correspond to the state what DDR3 is in now in volumes & usage etc. I doubt 2015 will be EOL for DDR4 though but probably DDR5 or whatever will start appearing around that time in very low volume production.

[Particle]

The chart shows DDR3 ending in 2015, not DDR4. DDR4 will be virtually all that is produced in 2015 is what it is saying, kind of like DDR3 by the end of next year.

[Manicdan]

i see ddr3 ending in Q3 2012

[RPGWiZaRD]

i see ddr3 ending in Q3 2012

No, it's just around that time production of DDR3 gets slightly lower in favor making room for DDR4 production according to the graph. How logical is it that in like 2 years there would be no DDR3 left, you can still easily find DDR2 today (altough prices and availability sucks). :p

[trueg50]

Honestly though... Ram isn't a major energy eater right?
It only uses what 5W?

Pretty much, however if you look to the server environment, with a dozen or more DIMM's, you find that the power draw of memory can reach 15% of total system power. For a 300 watt system, that's quite a lot of power.

[JAG87]

The only advancement in RAM I am interested in, is higher density at low cost.

[Olivon]

[Manicdan]

No, it's just around that time production of DDR3 gets slightly lower in favor making room for DDR4 production according to the graph. How logical is it that in like 2 years there would be no DDR3 left, you can still easily find DDR2 today (altough prices and availability sucks). :p

i think the confusion is that we are not looking at production or sales, but simply when standards are made. you can buy 2133 DDR3 now, but its official JEDEC wont be out for a little while longer.

so in 2012 the standards for DDR3 will stop, the fastest official ram will be established and then they wont go beyond that.

if im reading it correctly, i wouldnt expect DDR4 in production until very early 2013

[Particle]

i see ddr3 ending in Q3 2012

It's important to note that the title of this chart is regarding the transition and also take notice of the tapers both on the rising and falling edge of each technology.



As you can see above, DDR4 starts trickling into volume production at the end of 2012 by this chart. DDR3 isn't suddenly gone at that point. Instead, you can see that DDR3 begins its decline at that same point--it doesn't suddenly drop dead. Volume DDR3 production doesn't taper off entirely until some time in 2016. Likewise, DDR2 production won't be completely dead until the very beginning of 2012, about 8 months before DDR4 volume production is projected to start. Between those two points in 2012, DDR3 will be virtually all that is produced.

Perhaps it would be more clear if I translated the graph into a textual time line for you.

Late 2007: DDR2 Volume Production Begins Decline, DDR3 Volume Production Begins
Early 2012: DDR2 Volume Production Ends, DDR3 Volume Production Becomes Only Type
Late 2012: DDR3 Volume Production Begins Decline, DDR4 Volume Production Begins
Mid 2016: DDR3 Volume Production Ends, [And Probably DDR4 Volume Production Becomes Only Type]