Adios, DDR3: Micron Says Its DDR4 DRAM Modules Are Coming In 2013

[Brink]

What's the future of memory look like? NAND flash? Hybrid memory cubes? The memory makers over at Micron have their hands in both of those technologies, but they're also banking on a third form hitting the streets before too long, bearing a striking resemblance to the DDR3 we all know and love. This weekend, the company announced that "its first fully functional DDR4 DRAM module" is up and running and should make it to market in 2013.

Read more at:
Maximum PC | Adios, DDR3: Micron Says Its DDR4 DRAM Modules Are Coming In 2013

 

[linnemeyerhere]

I wonder when the modules hit the consumer market how much of a premium over DDR3 they'll be?

 

[pparks1]

But I just future proofed by buying 1TB of DDR3 RAM, and now this!!!. I give up.

 

[Phone Man]

The final specs should be approved in a few Months and then we can get a look at the speed. I believe they will run at 1.2v and have CRC for the data which is only available in ECC memory now. Then the CPU's will need a reworked memory controller. I'm in no rush but its always nice to have better technologies when I get ready for my next build. My new builds usually include new MB, CPU, Memory. I use the Intel process. I don't do Ticks (small improvements) I do Tocks (new technologies).

Jim

 

[carwiz]

I wonder when the modules hit the consumer market how much of a premium over DDR3 they'll be?

Will it matter?

IBM has been working on a new memory technology that's supposed to make DDR3 look like the old wire and donut matrix of the 60s and 70s. Something like in the multi-Ghz clock speed with transfer rates measured in TB/s. I could see this eliminating processor prefetch and L3 cache. The processor issues a read and the data is there! :shock:

 

[Phone Man]

I wonder when the modules hit the consumer market how much of a premium over DDR3 they'll be?

Will it matter?

IBM has been working on a new memory technology that's supposed to make DDR3 look like the old wire and donut matrix of the 60s and 70s. Something like in the multi-Ghz clock speed with transfer rates measured in TB/s. I could see this eliminating processor prefetch and L3 cache. The processor issues a read and the data is there! :shock:

There is always research going on for new technologies. First they have to get it working in the lab and then make it affordable. They are a lot of great technologies that never made it out of the lab because it was not economical to produce. Its all about the money and what they can actually sell.

Jim

 

[carwiz]

Agree, but that's what they said about the transistor in the 50s--It would be too expensive to produce. Todays processors have Billions on a single chip.

 

[FuturDreamz]

The final specs should be approved in a few Months and then we can get a look at the speed. I believe they will run at 1.2v and have CRC for the data which is only available in ECC memory now. Then the CPU's will need a reworked memory controller. I'm in no rush but its always nice to have better technologies when I get ready for my next build. My new builds usually include new MB, CPU, Memory. I use the Intel process. I don't do Ticks (small improvements) I do Tocks (new technologies).

Jim

I wonder if Haswell will support DDR4?

 

[jimbo45]

I wonder when the modules hit the consumer market how much of a premium over DDR3 they'll be?

Will it matter?

IBM has been working on a new memory technology that's supposed to make DDR3 look like the old wire and donut matrix of the 60s and 70s. Something like in the multi-Ghz clock speed with transfer rates measured in TB/s. I could see this eliminating processor prefetch and L3 cache. The processor issues a read and the data is there! :shock:

Why should this eliminate prefetch.

The OS will just perform even quicker.

Prefetch is always a good idea -from old "Dinosaur" OS'es to modern one's.

Whatever the benefits of DDR4 -- prefetch will AUGMENT those.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[carwiz]

Why should this eliminate prefetch.

Because the memory could possibly be faster than the processor for one. The processor would issue a read and the next step has the data. L1, L2 and L3 cache is the processor's "prefetch" memory.

I think you're confusing processor cache with disk (OS) to memory prefetch buffering. Mostly my fault but I thought we were talking about memory technology. Disk prefetch would still be needed and still remain the bottleneck.

 

[FuturDreamz]

Why should this eliminate prefetch.

Because the memory could possibly be faster than the processor for one. The processor would issue a read and the next step has the data. L1, L2 and L3 cache is the processor's "prefetch" memory.

I think you're confusing processor cache with disk (OS) to memory prefetch buffering. Mostly my fault but I thought we were talking about memory technology. Disk prefetch would still be needed and still remain the bottleneck.

But then wouldn't the processor end up taking more time to look up the address of the data, since it has to figure out where in the entire gigabytes of RAM the important bits are?

 

[marsmimar]

But I just future proofed by buying 1TB of DDR3 RAM, and now this!!!. I give up.

Great sig, Patrick. :roflmao:

 

[carwiz]

Why should this eliminate prefetch.

Because the memory could possibly be faster than the processor for one. The processor would issue a read and the next step has the data. L1, L2 and L3 cache is the processor's "prefetch" memory.

I think you're confusing processor cache with disk (OS) to memory prefetch buffering. Mostly my fault but I thought we were talking about memory technology. Disk prefetch would still be needed and still remain the bottleneck.

But then wouldn't the processor end up taking more time to look up the address of the data, since it has to figure out where in the entire gigabytes of RAM the important bits are?

Not necessarily. With ultra-fast memory, the processor would just read the address and the memory controller would present the data. It's that fast! As it is now, the processor has to search through up to four levels of various memory types. The image below-left shows how it is now. Purely conceptual, but on the right would be the new memory configuration. Imagine, if you can, 196+GB of memory that would be 1000 times faster than current L1 cache. (L1 cache is already faster than DRAM but much smaller--On the order of a few MB of on-die memory.)

 

[Trucidation]

Well, at least there's something to justify for the Next Big Upgrade (tm).

Now if only MS released that new filesystem they keep putting off...

 

[A Guy]

Cheaper DDR3 as well, for those who don't have to be on the bleeding edge

A Guy

 

[LittleJay]

Cheaper DDR3 as well, for those who don't have to be on the bleeding edge

A Guy

Same here. With my checking account balance, I have to be satisfied with being on the blunt edge.

 

[Coke Robot]

But I just future proofed by buying 1TB of DDR3 RAM, and now this!!!. I give up.

Did I just read this correctly, 1 whole TERABYTE of DDR3 RAM?!

 

[A Guy]

But I just future proofed by buying 1TB of DDR3 RAM, and now this!!!. I give up.

Did I just read this correctly, 1 whole TERABYTE of DDR3 RAM?!

Tongue in cheek, as opposed to

A Guy

 

[Coke Robot]

I'm kind of excited for this, but at the same time, meh....

DDR4 in my eyes is like going from DDR2 to DDR3, lower latencies and faster speeds with lower voltages. DDR3 is pretty fine as it is, especially since it's dirt cheap too! This will only affect Windows slates and laptops, servers, and such, not so much desktops. Even then, overclocking DDR3 RAM is really only beneficial if your processor is able to process data swiftly enough for RAM to be operating at 1600MHz. To me, it's better to have more RAM than faster RAM, that's the trade off I make.

 

[Trucidation]

But isn't it the case that most people already have enough RAM? At least, I can't see the need for the average home user to have more than 8GB, and 8GB is dirt cheap (my SSD cost me way more). Having a faster RAM option would certainly be nice.

Also, the cynic in me says prices won't stay low for long, as production ramps to cater to the new type, consequently lowering the supply of the old type and thus driving prices back up.