Samsung Electronics has started the production of 16Gb Graphics Double Data Rate 6 (GDDR6) memory card as part of the strategy to expand its graphics DRAM line-up – targeting gaming and graphics card markets.
Samsung is expecting that its production of GDDR6 will play a critical role in early launches of next-generation graphics cards and systems. Companies in 8K Ultra HD video processing, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) will be using the 16Gb GDDR6 memory card.
The industry’s first 16Gb GDDR6 memory card — built on Samsung’s advanced 10-nanomter (nm) process technology — is used in advanced graphics processing for gaming devices and graphics cards as well as automotive, network and artificial intelligence systems.
“By introducing next-generation GDDR6 products, we will strengthen our presence in the gaming and graphics card markets and accommodate the growing need for advanced graphics memory in automotive and network systems,” said Jinman Han, senior vice president, Memory Product Planning & Application Engineering at Samsung Electronics.
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The company is supplying the new GDDR6 memory car in 16Gb density, which doubles that of the company’s 20-nanometer 8Gb GDDR5 memory.
The new memory card solution performs at an 18-gigabits-per-second (Gbps) pin speed with data transfers of 72 gigabytes per second (GBps), which represents a more than two-fold increase over 8Gb GDDR5 with its 8Gbps pin speed.
Samsung said the GDDR6 using a low-power circuit design operates at 1.35V to lower energy consumption approximately 35 percent over GDDR5 at 1.55V. The 10nm-class 16Gb GDDR6 also brings about a 30 percent manufacturing productivity gain compared to the 20nm 8Gb GDDR5.
Semiconductor revenue is forecast to grow 7.5 percent to $451 billion in 2018 from $419 billion in 2017, according to Gartner.
“Favorable market conditions for memory sectors that gained momentum in the second half of 2016 prevailed through 2017 and look set to continue in 2018, providing a significant boost to semiconductor revenue,” said Ben Lee, principal research analyst at Gartner.
Price increases for both DRAM and NAND flash memory will put pressure on margins for system vendors of key semiconductor demand drivers, including smartphones, PCs and servers. Gartner predicts that component shortages, a rising bill of materials (BOM) and the resulting prospect of having to raise average selling prices (ASPs) will create a volatile market through 2018.
Baburajan K