Samsung gets closer to launching GDDR7 memory for next-gen GPUs

Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix compete with each other with their GDDR7 memory chips.

Samsung could release GDDR7 memory chips before the end of 2024

JEDEC published the official specifications for GDDR7 memory chips on Tuesday. It offers increased performance with data transfer speeds of up to 192 GB/s per device. Samsung has confirmed that it will release GDDR7 32Gbps memory chips for 1.6x higher performance and higher reliability for AI, high-end gaming, and High-Performance Computing (HPC). Samsung and Micron have already revealed their first-generation GDDR7 chips, and they will top out at 24Gbit.

Samsung was the first company in the world to complete the development of GDDR7 SGRAM. Its GDDR7 SGRAM chips reach a record-breaking bandwidth of up to 1.5TBps, which is 40% higher than GDDR6. As previously disclosed, these chips have a per-pin speed of 32Gbps, thanks to the PAM3 (Pulse-Amplitude Modulation) signaling method, a new memory standard that allows 50% more data throughput in the same signaling cycle.

AMD and Nvidia are expected to use these new ultra-fast memory chips in their next-generation GPUs. Nvidia's RTX 5000 series GPUs are rumored to feature GDDR7 memory chips for higher performance and are likely to be launched later this year. AMD, too, is expected to use GDDR7 chips in its Radeon RX 8000 series GPUs, which have the RDNA 4 architecture.

YongCheol Bae, EVP, Head of Memory Product Planning, Samsung, said, “AI, HPC, and high-end gaming are demanding high-performance memory to process data at unprecedented speeds. GDDR7 32Gbps will achieve 1.6x higher performance with the highest reliability and cost-effectiveness.”