Samsung revealed the first 50nm 4Gb DDR3 circuits back in January. IT will take some time before we actually see products using these but it has already started shipping DDR3 modules sporting its 2Gb DDR3 chip and with dual-die technology these modules add up 16GB. The modules are RIMM (registered inline memory module) type and geared for servers, but it still pretty exciting to see how far the RAM development has come.
Samsung’s 16GB DDR3 modules operate at 1066MHz and in a dual-socket system you can expand the RAM to up to 192GB. Except from the massive memory capacity the modules also operate at a low voltage, only 1.35V, while most equivalent modules will need an operating voltage of 1.5V.
“The 2Gb DDR3 consumes at least 40 percent less power than 1Gb configurations, supporting strong industry demand for lower power consumption, which is particularly important with server systems, as well as the new generation of notebooks.”
If Samsung can release its 16GB modules for the retail market you could in theory endow your Core i7 platform with 96GB RAM, which does sound a bit exaggerated. The price of Samsung’s monster modules is unclear, which may very well be for the best…
