Jul 02, 2024 14:00:00

Micron's GDDR7 VRAM is expected to improve graphics card rendering performance by more than 30%

Semiconductor giant

Micron has developed GDDR7 memory, a high-speed memory standard for graphics boards whose specifications will be finalized in March 2024. Micron's GDDR7 memory is said to have significantly increased bandwidth compared to the previous generation GDDR6, as well as significantly improved power efficiency and gaming performance.

Micron begins sampling next-generation graphics memory for gaming and AI | Micron Technology
https://investors.micron.com/news-releases/news-release-details/maikuron-10

GDDR7 | Micron Technology Inc.
https://www.micron.com/products/memory/graphics-memory/gddr7

Micron says GDDR7 will provide a 30% improvement in gaming — both ray tracing and rasterization | Tom's Hardware
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/micron-says-gddr7-will-provide-a-30-improvement-in-gaming-both-ray-tracing-and-rasterization

GDDR6 is primarily used as memory for graphics boards, with NVIDIA's RTX 40 series and AMD's RX 7000 series using GDDR6 memory.

In March 2024, JEDEC, a semiconductor technology standardization organization, released the specifications for 'GDDR7,' a high-speed memory standard for graphics boards.

The specifications of the high-speed memory standard 'GDDR7' for graphics cards have been finalized, with communication speeds twice as fast as GDDR6 - GIGAZINE

And in June 2024, Micron announced that it had developed GDDR7 memory and started providing samples. According to Micron, the new GDDR7 memory has a bandwidth of over 1.5TB/s, which is 60% higher than the previous generation GDDR6. In addition, it explains that by having four independent channels, it optimizes workloads, enabling faster response times, smoother gameplay, and reduced processing time.

Micron claims that the new GDDR7 memory is more than 50% more power efficient than GDDR6 memory, reduces heat generation and improves battery life, and that the newly added sleep mode reduces standby power by up to 70%. In addition, Micron GDDR7 memory is said to improve throughput by up to 33% and reduce response times by up to 20% for AI workloads that generate text and images.

Micron expects that GDDR7-based graphics cards will deliver 30% or more improvement in ray tracing and rasterization frame rates (FPS) in games at 1080p, 1440p and 4K resolutions compared to existing GDDR6 and GDDR6X-based graphics cards.

In response, technology media Tom's Hardware acknowledged that Micron's performance projections were impressive, but predicted that the actual performance gains would be smaller because GPU manufacturers such as Nvidia will inevitably drastically reduce the bus width of their graphics cards.

Micron's GDDR7 memory is already sampling and is expected to be available through Micron and select global channel distributors in the second half of 2024.

'Micron is once again at the forefront of memory innovation, developing the highest bandwidth solutions built with cutting-edge process and interface technologies to continue our leadership in graphics performance,' said Praveen Vaidyanathan, vice president and general manager of Micron's Computing Products Group. 'The highest level of capabilities of Micron GDDR7 memory delivers new levels of realism and performance to the most demanding applications.'