Unleashing GDDR7 Dominance for Epic Performance

Tech Amid the rapid growth of the global gaming sector, industry leaders such as Samsung and Micron are significantly ramping up their endeavors in the realm of GDDR7 memory research and development, tailored to power the upcoming wave of gaming graphics cards.

In a recent milestone announcement, Samsung unveiled the successful creation of the industry's pioneering GDDR7 chip. The information shared by Samsung suggests that GDDR7 data transfer speeds have the potential to soar to 36 GT/s, marking a notable leap from the existing 22-23 GT/s of GDDR6X.

Currently, the swiftest available graphical memory on contemporary graphics cards, like the Nvidia RTX 4080, relies on GDDR6X memory, delivering operational speeds of 22.4 Gbps. Conversely, AMD's RX 7000 series graphics cards exclusively employ GDDR6 memory, achieving a peak performance rate of 20 Gbps.

The anticipated acceleration in speed stands out as a key allure of GDDR7, particularly within the premium graphics card segment. Samsung previously indicated that the advent of GDDR7 will usher in novel capabilities across sectors such as data centers, high-performance computing (HPC), mobile technology, gaming, and automotive applications. Notably, Samsung has already furnished Nvidia with samples to authenticate their compatibility with next-generation systems.

Furthermore, it is noteworthy that Samsung's representatives have highlighted GDDR7's utilization of PAM3 (Pulse Amplitude Modulation 3) and NRZ (Non-Return-to-Zero) signaling methodologies. In the same signal cycle, PAM3 has the capacity to transmit 50% more data compared to NRZ.

In parallel, Micron is also making strategic advancements. Early this July, Micron unveiled its plans for the official launch of GDDR7 in 2024. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra disclosed that the upcoming product will be founded on the 1ß (1-beta) DRAM process node, which was introduced by the company last year. As per Micron's prior declaration, this new node is poised to not only reduce DRAM manufacturing costs but also augment overall efficiency and performance. It's worth noting that 1ß represents Micron's final DRAM production process, relying on deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography while eschewing extreme ultraviolet (EUV) tools.