Chinese DRAM manufacturer Innosilicon has achieved a milestone of 10,000Mbps transfer rate on its latest LPDDR5X memory chips. While this is just a demonstration for now, it gives us a glimpse into the future of DRAM technology. (via My Drivers (opens in new tab))
LPDDR5X is an evolutionary improvement over LPDDR5. It features an official JEDEC approved speed of up to 8533Mbps or 4,267MT/s. The Innosilicon memory is even faster at an effective 5000 MT/s speed. This would deliver up to 80GB/s of bandwidth. High performance LPDDR5X will find its way into flagship smartphones and AR/VR devices.
AI and machine learning are applications that could really benefit from the use of faster memory. Using an autonomous car for example, 10,000Mbps memory would allow the system to access more data or process more simultaneous imagery. Not that I’m too keen to hand over control of my car. I just can’t get used to the thought of it!
It’s important to note that DDR5 and LPDDR5/X are substantially different from one another. LPDDR5X is designed for use in low power devices. DDR5 on the other hand, features a higher bit width, delivering much more bandwidth for a given ‘speed’. So while LPDDR5X is fast, when compared to a typical higher density DDR5 kit on the PC, the LPDDR5X is slower in reality.
(Image credit: Innosilicon)
But all out performance is not what LPDDR5X is about. Its priority is low power consumption for use with mobile devices. Having said that, Apple’s M1 Pro SoC with LPDDR4X delivered up to 408GB/s of bandwidth thanks to a wide bus, so an M2 device with faster LPDDR5X doubling that isn’t outside the realm of possibility.
10,000Mbps speeds like this are a great sign of things to come. You know this won’t be the end though. Competitors like Samsung and Micron are surely hard at work developing their own faster LPDDR5X. And before you know it, LPDDR6 will be here.
