3,2 GHz GDDR4 memories from Samsung

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory manufacturer, is already producing samples of the fastest GDDR4 SDRAM for its partners for various development and testing purposes.

Their memory chips can operate at up to 3,2 GHz, which is almost twice the speed of the ones found on today's video cards. The GDDR4 chips of the South Korean manufacturer have an access time of 0,6 ns, are manufactured with a stripe width of 80 nm, and can store 512 megabits of data on one chip. Back in the fall of 2005, the manufacturer introduced 256 Mb GDDR4s, which "only" operated at 2,5 GHz. The voltage and heating properties have not yet been announced. In addition to the switch to GDDR4, it is also said that it is a direct descendant of GDDR3, so manufacturers can fit it into their products without much change or spending money. GDDR4 memories used in short-distance, point-to-point connections can be expected to be found on the most powerful graphics cards of the near future. According to the plans, mass production of the memories can begin in the second quarter of 2006.

According to market researchers, sales of graphics memory chips could reach $ 2,7 billion this year, up 10% from 2,5 billion last year.

Competitor Hynix announced its GDDR4 memories back in December and plans to begin mass production in the first quarter of 2006, sooner than Samsung Electronics.

Samsung Electronics GDDR4 memories

Hynix GDDR4