DDR5 RAM: Anything new

 On July 14 2021, JEDEC announced the new generation of desktop RAM, DDR5. In addition to the DDR5 Memory Performance Improvement, it also comes with a number of new features that are a huge improvement over previous generations. DDR5 memory is coming to the consumer level in the near future, which you or I can use on our new desktop.

The reason for saying new desktop is that DDR5 memory does not have backward compatibility. That is, you can't use DDR5 memory on your old system where you used DDR4 RAM. However, it is good to know what is new and what are the improvements in the memory of the new generation. Let us know about DDR5 memory.

However, before learning about DDR5 memory, you should know about its previous generations. You can read the following post once to know about DDR 2, 3 and 4.

DDR2 vs DDR3 vs DDR4 RAM: Which one is suitable?

Speed

First of all, let us know the most highlighted feature of DDR5. Of course, this is the data transfer speed. DDR5 memory data transfer speed is almost twice as fast as the previous generation. The previous generation memory, DDR2, had a maximum data transfer speed of 3.2 gigabits per second, with a clock rate of 1.6 GHz.

However, the DDR5 is initially capable of transferring data at a speed of 4.6 gigabits per second, which is 50% faster than the previous generation. However, ultimately DDR5 memory will be able to get a maximum speed of 6.4 gigabits per second, which is almost double that of DDR4. As a result, DDR4 users can definitely expect much better performance if they upgrade to DDR5 memory.

Low voltage

Another major change in the DDR5 memory is that its operating voltage has been slightly reduced compared to the previous generation, which means that the DDR5 memory will consume slightly less power than the DDR4. In the case of DDR5 memory, DRDAM, buffer chip registering clock driver and data buffer voltage has been reduced from 1.2 volts to 1.1 volts, making DDR5 RAM somewhat more power efficient than the previous generation RAM.

New power architecture

Another major improvement of DDR5 RAM is its new power architecture. In the case of the previous DDR4 memory, all the power management required was done on the motherboard. Radam had no hand in power management.

However, in the case of DDR5 memory, the power management has been removed from the motherboard and brought directly to the RAM stick. The DDR5 memory will have a 12 volt power management IC or voltage regulator, which will give the DDR5 memory more power loading granularity than the previous generation.

New Channel Architecture

Another major improvement of DDR5 memory is the new channel architecture of the memory module. The previous generation of memory, the DDR4 memory module, had a 72-bit bus, which was made up of 64 data bits and 8 ECC bits. However, each module of DD and 4 memory will have two channels.

Having two separate small channels will make accessing memory more efficient than before. With two channels, the improved read and write speed of DDR5 RAM can be taken advantage of more efficiently.

D-Ram capacity

Another major improvement of DDR5 memory is that its DRAM capacity has been greatly increased. DDR5's buffer chip allows you to use RAM in a single package with much more capacity than before. Simply put, this means you will get a single RAM stick with more capacity. If you use DDR5, you do not have to increase the capacity of your RAM by inserting a few different RAM sticks.

In case of DDR5 RAM, it will be possible to use up to 64 GB of DRAM in a single package. Comparing this with the previous generation, it is seen that the DDR5 capacity of DDR5 is 4 times higher than that of DDR4. In the case of DDR4, you could get a maximum capacity of 32 GB on a single stick. As a result, even if you stack one RAM after another, there would be some limitations on most systems, if the system is planned to be much higher end, especially in the case of server computers.

But in the case of DDR5, since you get 4 times more dirham capacity on a single stick, it will be possible to get up to 128 GB capacity on a single stick in future if you want using DDR5. This will make it possible to create much more high end systems than ever before using DDR5 memory.

For higher capacity DRAM, DDR5 RAM has some features which are not available in previous generation RAM. Such as- error transparency mode, post-package repair and read-write CRC mode.

Release Expectations

If you look at the specs of the latest flagship smartphones from the leading smartphone manufacturers, you will see that they are already using DDR5 RAM. Those are the in-house RAMs of the smartphone companies. However, if you are talking about desktop RAM, you will not only need to make a DDR5 memory stick, you will also need a compatible system to use these memory sticks. You will also need a DDR5 supported CPU and motherboard to use DDR5 memory.

As a result, if you want to use DDR5 RAM on your own desktop in the future, you'll have to wait for Intel and AMD to launch a DDR5 supported CPU. Not only that, you still have to wait for the motherboard manufacturers to bring DDR5 memory supported motherboards to the market. So hopefully, you won't be able to use DDR5 RAM very quickly. However, it is hoped that by the end of this year, it will be possible to use DDR5 RAM with all compatible components at the consumer level.