Micron Launches Its First DDR4 Module

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The next generation of computer dynamic random access memory is getting closer with each passing day, and now we get to see Micron's first module based on it.

Micron isn't the first company to demo a DDR4 memory module. Hynix went first, last month, even before JEDEC revealed some key details about the specification.

What we are looking at here is, however, the first module that Micron has ever brought forth.

With a capacity of 4 GB, it is composed of a PCB (printed circuit board) and eight 4 Gb DDR4 chips.

Said chips are constructed using the 30nm manufacturing process and were developed in partnership with Nanya.

"With the JEDEC definition for DDR4 very near finalization, we've put significant effort into ensuring that our first DDR4 product is as JEDEC-compatible as it can be at this final stage of its development," said Brian Shirley, vice president for Micron's DRAM Solutions Group.

"We've provided samples to key partners in the market place with confidence that the die we give them now is the same die we will take into mass production."

Micron intends to produce a complete collection of DDR4 product: RDIMM, LRDIMM, 3DS, SODIMM and UDIMM.

Initial speeds will be of 2,400 megatransfers per second (MT/s), but later modules will climb to 3,200 MT/s.

Intel previously revealed that its Haswell-EX platform would only add DDR4 support in 2014, but Micron is one of the companies who want to speed things up. It is in 2013 that it wants to unleash its new RAM upon the world. Volume production will commence in Q4 2012.

For those wondering, Samsung is the one that didn't much like the idea of DDR4 taking another two years to show up. Alas, even if they do complete their devices by 2013, they won't see much demand if there aren't any motherboards and processors that support them.

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DDR4 in 2014, Behold the Speeds and Power Needs

As new CPUs and motherboards appear, so does new memory, but the time is nearing when DDR3 can no longer keep up with all other advancements.

After seeing Intel's plans for the hard disk drive market, we get to look at the next big thing on the RAM segment.

We are, of course, talking about DDR4 RAM (random access memory) and how it compares to DDR3.

Then again, “compares” is not as correct as “will compare.” The new memory standard won't go into circulation for at least two more years after all.

Nevertheless, the process of replacing DDR3 will start in 2014.

According to VR-Zone, the DDR4 standard is just about finalized, or will be soon enough.

The initial base speed grades will hover around DDR4-2667 and DDR4-3200 and will be followed by DDR4-4000 and DDR4-4266.

That's right, while the first two won't exactly go much higher than DDR3 can go today, the later iterations will clearly surpass the existing solutions.

The issue of growing latency will be addressed by implementing more banks (16 on each die), which means that more pages can be opened at the same time.

Alas, that will still leave DDR-3400 with CL15, or thereabouts. Fortunately, subsequent design changes, at module and board level, will reduce the load per memory channel, eventually allowing for lower ones.

All this will work on 1.2V of energy or lower (down to 1.05V for DDR4L), while ECC (error correcting code) handles DDR4 parity better than on previous memory types.

It should even be possible to recover from command and parity errors without the system crashing, something that servers, particularly those based on Intel Haswell EX CPUs, will benefit from greatly.

All in all, a higher bandwidth is assured and, while latencies won't be something to die for at first, they will improve as well. Samsung and Hynix should have sample chips ready this year (2012).

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