AMD and JEDEC are cooperating to develop MRDIMMs (multi-ranked buffered DIMMs), a new industry standard for DDR5 memory. A first generation of this standard would increase speeds to 8,800 MT/s, but by the third generation, we could get rates of 17,600 MT/s.
The ongoing need for bandwidth in server systems causes problems that are difficult to resolve. Installing extra RAM is challenging since motherboards are limited in size, and integrating on-package memory solutions like HBM is costly and can only expand to a specific capacity. Nevertheless, JEDEC engineers have collaborated with AMD to create a new standard that will attempt to fix this problem utilising the new MRDIMM technology.
Great couple of days at the first Memcon in San Jose this week.
Was great to see the industry alignment on JEDEC MRDIMM for future memory bandwidth needs. AMD is completely behind working in JEDEC to drive industry open standards.#memcon #MRDIMM #JEDE…https://t.co/xwe60tg48N
— Robert Hormuth (@rhormuth) March 30, 2023
Over at Memcon 2023, JEDEC introduced the new AMD-backed standard to push DDR5 speeds to new heights, as noted by Robert Hormuth (via Tom's Hardware). Named MRDIMM, the new standard can be explained in just a few words. It doubles the bandwidth by combining two DDR5 DIMMs on a single module. For example, connecting two DDR5 DIMMs running at 4,400 MT/s forms a single DIMM running at 8,800 MT/s on a single module. This would work thanks to a specific data buffer to transform two Double Data Rate (DDR) DIMMs into a Quad Data Rate (QDR) DIMM. Because of this extra buffer, the architecture also provides simultaneous access to both DIMMs.
First-gen MRDIMMs can theoretically achieve speeds of up to 8,800 MT/s, whereas modules of the second and third generations can reach speeds of 12,800 MT/s and 17,600 MT/s, respectively. However, the latter is only expected to be available after 2030.
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KitGuru says: JEDEC's new MRDIMM standard isn't far from what we've seen from Intel's Multiplexer Combined Ranks DIMMs (MCRDIMMs). The main difference is that Intel plans to debut it in 2024/2025 with Granite Rapids. The other big difference between the MRDIMM AND MCRDIMM is that the former will be open-source, whereas the latter likely won't be.