SK Hynix Launches World’s First DDR5 RAM – Faster Than Ever

SK Hynix has launched the world’s first DDR5 DRAM modules, offering greater speeds and higher semiconductor density. The chipmaker said the high speeds and high density offered by this technology make it ideal for furthering big data applications and AI, as well as improving general system performance as the next-generation standard for consumer PC memory.

“Since SK Hynix announced the development of world’s first 16Gb DDR5 DRAM on November 2018, the company has provided its major partners including Intel with sample products, and has completed various tests and verification of its functions and compatibility,” SK Hynix said.

“This will allow SK Hynix to provide its customers with the products once the DDR5 market becomes active.”

The company has conducted joint operations with chipset manufacturers to verify the functions of DDR5 memory as well as to verify the compatibility of the DDR5 DRAM modules.

High performance, low power

SK Hynix said its DDR5 DRAM supports much faster transfer rates than previous-generation RAM. DDR5 supports transfer rates of 4,800Mbps – 5,600Mbps, which is 1.8-times faster than the previous-generation DDR4 technology.

This means it can transmit nine Full HD movies per second, with each movie being 5GB in size. Its operating voltage is 1.1V – lowered from the 1.2V of DDR4, which means that its power consumption is also reduced by 20%.

SK Hynix added that it has also included Error Correcting Code (ECC) inside its DDR5 DRAM chip, which can correct even 1-bit-level errors by itself. This improves the reliability of applications twenty-fold, it said. It said it could build up to 256GB capacity for DRAM modules using DRR5 technology.

“As SK Hynix has launched World’s First DDR5 DRAM, the company could lead the future technology trend in the global DRAM market,” said SK Hynix chief marketing officer Jonghoon Oh. “SK Hynix will focus on the fast-growing premium server market, solidifying its position as a leading company in server DRAM.”

The DDR5 memory standard was published earlier this year, and studies have shown that DDR5 DRAM modules will possess 10% of the global market share in 2022 and 43% in 2024.