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Next-Generation DDR5 RAM Will Double the Speed of DDR4 In 2018 (arstechnica.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the coming-soon-to-a-computer-near-you dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: You may have just upgraded your computer to use DDR4 recently or you may still be using DDR3, but in either case, nothing stays new forever. JEDEC, the organization in charge of defining new standards for computer memory, says that it will be demoing the next-generation DDR5 standard in June of this year and finalizing the standard sometime in 2018. DDR5 promises double the memory bandwidth and density of DDR4, and JEDEC says it will also be more power-efficient, though the organization didn't release any specific numbers or targets. Like DDR4 back when it was announced, it will still be several years before any of us have DDR5 RAM in our systems. That's partly because the memory controllers in processors and SoCs need to be updated to support DDR5, and these chips normally take two or three years to design from start to finish. DDR4 RAM was finalized in 2012, but it didn't begin to go mainstream until 2015 when consumer processors from Intel and others added support for it. DDR5 has no relation to GDDR5, a separate decade-old memory standard used for graphics cards and game consoles.

12 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. Latency? by TeknoHog · · Score: 2

    So far, every new generation of Deutsche Demokratische Republik has doubled the capacity in bytes/s, while latency has been more or less constant. Will this be actually faster in that respect? Because having two 747s full of DVDs isn't any "faster" than a single one.

    --
    Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
    1. Re:Latency? by LeftCoastThinker · · Score: 3, Interesting

      This is why I feel no great interest in upgrading to DDR4 (or DDR5). Once you have 64GB of RAM and are no longer touching the HDD for virtual memory, the speed changes between DDR3 and DDR5 for all but the most arcane applications is negligible, and video card is going to give you bigger bang for your buck in gaming/VR/AR/CAD/Video editing and the like.

      (Geek note: yes, yes I know it is not universal, thus the generalization. You spend $600 on DDR5 Ram and I will spend $350 on a video card and we will see who comes out ahead.)

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  2. So, DDR5 will make DDR4...Faster?? by jfdavis668 · · Score: 2

    "Next-Generation DDR5 RAM Will Double the Speed of DDR4 In 2018" I think they need to learn to write better. I don't think the headline means what they think it means.

  3. Nothing revealed, not news by erice · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Article summary: "DDR5 is coming and it is going to be faster than DDR4"

    That's it. No technical details at all. Will it be point to point? If not, how many ranks? What voltage? What sort of termination? Will there even be DIMMs?
    You won't find answers to any of those questions in TFA or any page linked from the TFA. The only significant piece of information is confirmation that JEDEC has not given up on DDR.

    1. Re:Nothing revealed, not news by Dogtanian · · Score: 2

      Article summary: "DDR5 is coming and it is going to be faster than DDR4"

      That's it. No technical details at all. Will it be point to point? If not, how many ranks?

      Well, it's one better, isn't it? It's not four. You see, most RAMs, you know, will be sticking at four. You're on four here, all the slots. Where can you go from there? Where?

      Nowhere. What they do is, if they need that extra push over the cliff, you know what they do?

      Put it up to five. One better.

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  4. Re:Double Data Rate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    DDR means that it transfers data on two clock edges. Clocks only have two edges (up and down).

    The number refers to other things about the protocol, such as voltage levels and allowable clock speeds.

  5. Might double, but CAS latencies jump with it by Khyber · · Score: 2

    Thus the actual increase in performance is very, very, very little.

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    1. Re:Might double, but CAS latencies jump with it by nadaou · · Score: 2

      > Thus the actual increase in performance is very, very, very little.

      Nope. CAS latencies are measured in clock cycles, so what you are seeing is the latency for the first read remaining at about 9ns. As the frequency increases the number of cycles it takes before 9ns has passed increases as well. Overall observable latency stays about the same for the first read, but you gain from the higher frequency on subsequent reads.

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  6. Thats a neat trick. by JustNiz · · Score: 4, Funny

    >> DDR5 RAM will double the speed of DDR4 in 2018

    Thats cool! Will my DDR4 go back to normal speed in 2019?

  7. Re:Double Data Rate by TeknoHog · · Score: 3, Funny

    The number refers to other things about the protocol, such as voltage levels and allowable clock speeds.

    So it's 5 volts at 5 Hertz. Got it.

    --
    Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
  8. You don't need to wait! by JustNiz · · Score: 4, Funny

    > DDR5 RAM will double the speed of DDR4 in 2018

    I heard you can set your system clock ahead to 2018 and your RAM will go double-speed today.

  9. Oh by SuperKendall · · Score: 4, Funny

    I heard you can set your system clock ahead to 2018 and your RAM will go double-speed today.

    So THAT"S what overclocking means!

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