Full Introduction to DDR4 RAM Including Its Features and History

Introduction to DDR4 RAM

DDR4 RAM is the abbreviation of Double Data Rate 4 Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory, which is a type of synchronous dynamic random-access memory with a high bandwidth interface. This post from MiniTool will give you a detailed introduction to it.

The first time the DDR4 RAM entered the market is in Q2 2014. As one of the latest variants of dynamic random-access memory, it is a higher-speed successor to the DDR2 and DDR3. However, it is incompatible with any earlier type of random-access memory (RAM) because it has different signaling voltage, physical interface, and other factors.

Features

Compared to its predecessor DDR3, the main advantages of DDR4 contain higher module density and lower voltage requirements, and higher data rate transmission speeds. The DDR4 standard allows DIMMs of up to 64 GiB in capacity, while DDR3 has a maximum capacity of 16 GiB per DIMM.

The basic burst size of DDR4 RAM is 8 words and higher bandwidth is achieved by sending more read/write commands per second. To this end, the standard divides DRAM banks into two or four selectable bank groups, where transfers to different bank groups can be completed more quickly.

Because power consumption increases with speed, lower voltages allow higher speed operation without the unreasonable power consumption and cooling requirements.

DDR4 has a working voltage of 1.2 V and a frequency of 800 to 1600 MHz (DDR4-1600 to DDR4-3200), while DDR3 has a working frequency of 400 to 1067 MHz and a voltage requirement of 1.5V.

Because of the nature of DDR, speeds are usually advertised as twice these numbers (DDR3-1600 and DDR4-2400 are common, while DDR4-3200, DDR4-4800, and DDR4-5000 are more expensive). Unlike DDR3’s 1.35 V low-voltage standard DDR3L, there is no DDR4L low-voltage version of DDR4.

History

• 2005: standards body JEDEC started working on the successor of DDR3.
• 2007: DDR4 was described as involving a 30-nanometer process with a voltage of 1.2 volts and a “regular” speed of 2133 MT/s and an “enthusiastic” speed of 3200 MT/s, which entered the market in 2012 and then transitioned to 1 in 2013 Volt.
• 2009: in February, Samsung verified a 40-nm DRAM chip, which was considered to be an “important step” in DDR4 development, because, in 2009, DRAM chips had just begun to migrate to a 50-nm process.
• 2011: in January, Samsung announced the completion and release of 2 GiB DDR4 DRAM modules based on the 30 to 39 nm process. DDR4 consumes 40% less power than equivalent DDR3 modules.
• 2012: in July, Samsung announced that it would begin using DDR4 SDRAM to provide the industry’s first 16 GiB registered dual inline memory module (RDIMM) samples for enterprise server systems. In September, JEDEC released the final specification for DDR4.
• 2014: in April, Hynix announced that it had developed the world’s first 8 Gib DDR4 based highest density 128 GiB module using 20 nm technology. The module operates at 2133 MHz, with a 64-bit I/O, and it can process up to 17 GB of data per second.
• 2016: in April, Samsung announced that it had started to mass-produce DRAM in a “10 nm-level” process.

Module Packaging

The DDR4 memory is provided in a 288-pin dual in-line memory module (DIMM), which is similar in size to a 240-pin DDR3 DIMM. The spacing between pins is smaller (0.85 mm instead of 1.0) to make the increased number fit the same 5¼ inch (133.35 mm) standard DIMM length.

While a slight increase in height (31.25 mm/1.23 inch instead of 30.35 Mm/1.2 inch) simplifies signal routing, and the thickness has been increased (from 1.0 to 1.2 mm) to accommodate more signal layers. The edge connectors of DDR4 DIMM modules are slightly curved, so not all pins are engaged at the same time during module insertion, which reduces the insertion force.

DDR4 SO-DIMMs have 260 pins instead of 204 pins of DDR3 SO-DIMM, they are 0.5 mm apart (instead of 0.6 mm), 2.0 mm wide (69.6 mm and 67.6 mm), but remain 30 height.

Bottom Line

What is DDR4 RAM? After reading this post, you should know that it is the successor of DDR3 RAM. Compared to DDR3 RAM, it has more advantages. And you can also know other information about it, such as features and history.