SK hynix Reveals DDR5 MCR DIMM, Up to DDR5-8000 Speeds for HPC

One of many world’s greatest semiconductors and producers of DRAM, SK hynix, has unveiled it has working samples of a brand new era of reminiscence modules designed for HPC and servers. Dubbed Multiplexer Mixed Ranks (MCR) DIMMs, the know-how permits high-end server DIMMs to function at a minimal information price of 8 Gbps, which is an 80% uptick in bandwidth in comparison with present DDR5 reminiscence merchandise (4.8 Gbps).

Usually, the most typical approach to make sure greater throughput efficiency on DIMMs is by ever rising reminiscence bus (and chip) clockspeeds. This technique is just not with out its drawbacks, nonetheless, and aiming to discover a extra complete approach of doing this, SK hynix, in collaboration with each Intel and Renesas, has created the Multiplexer Mixed Rank DDR5 DIMM.

Combining Intel’s previously-unannounced MCR know-how for its server chips and Renesas’s experience in buffer know-how, SK hynix claims that their DDR5 MCR DIMM has 66% extra bandwidth than standard DDR5 DIMMs, with a formidable 8 Gbps/pin (DDR5-8000) of bandwidth. SK hynix themselves declare that the MCR DIMM can be ‘at the very least’ 80% sooner than what’s at the moment on the market DDR5-wise, nevertheless it does not quantitate the way it reaches this determine.

The know-how behind the MCR DIMM is fascinating, because it allows simultaneous utilization of two ranks as an alternative of 1, in essence ganging up two units/ranks of reminiscence chips so as to double the efficient bandwidth. Sadly, the small print past this are slim and unclear – particularly, SK hynix claims that MCR “permits transmission of 128 bytes of information to CPU directly”, however wanting on the equipped DIMM photograph, there does not appear to be almost sufficient pins to help a bodily wider reminiscence bus.

Extra possible, SK hynix and Intel are serializing the reminiscence operations for each ranks of reminiscence inside a single DDR5 channel, permitting the 2 ranks to attain a cumulative efficient bandwidth of 8Gbps. That is supported by means of the Renesas information buffer chip, which is proven to be on the DIMM in SK hynix’s pictures. Conceptually, this is not too far faraway from Load Lowered DIMMs (LRDIMMs), which employs an information buffer between the CPU and reminiscence chips as nicely, although simply how far is troublesome to find out.

Extra curious, maybe, is that this design places quite a lot of religion into the power of the bodily reminiscence bus and host controller (CPU) to have the ability to function at DDR5-8000 (and better) speeds. Usually the bottleneck in getting extra reminiscence bandwidth in server-grade techniques is the reminiscence bus to start with – having to function at slower speeds to accommodate extra reminiscence – so going a route that requires such a quick reminiscence bus is unquestionably a unique strategy. In both case, the power to run DIMMs at DDR5-8000 speeds in a server can be a major boon to reminiscence bandwidth and throughput, as that is typically briefly provide with right this moment’s many-core chips.

As SK Hynix has partnered up with Intel through its MCR know-how and utilizing buffer know-how from Renesas, MCR would appear to be an Intel-exclusive know-how, at the very least to begin with. As a part of SK hynix’s press launch, Intel for its half said that they “stay up for bringing this know-how to future Intel Xeon processors and supporting standardization and multigenerational improvement efforts throughout the trade.” Within the interim, this seems to be a know-how nonetheless underneath energetic improvement, and SK hynix is just not publishing something about availability, compatibility, or pricing. 

Whereas SK Hynix hasn’t gone an excessive amount of into how MCR DIMM is twice as quick as standard DDR5 reminiscence, this product is designed for the high-performance computing (HPC) and server industries, and it is unlikely we’ll see MCR DIMMs in any type on consumer-based techniques. We count on to be taught extra within the not-too-distant future.

Supply: SK Hynix