SK Hynix announced in a statement that it is developing server-grade MCR DIMMs with memory modules rated DDR5-8000 and beyond. SK Hynix also reports that it is working with Intel and Renesas to develop the memory.SK Hynix’s new DDR5 MCR (Multiplexer Combined Ranks) memory can reach minimum 8Gbps data rates. Thus, 80 percent faster speeds are offered than DDR5 memory currently used and reaching speeds of 4.8Gbps.
SK Hynix’s solution is 80 percent faster
The MCR DIMM enables simultaneous operation of two rows, allowing 128 bytes of data to be transferred to the CPU at a time, compared to the 64 bytes usually taken in a traditional DRAM module. Thus, the amount of data sent to the CPU increases and the faster minimum 8Gbps data transfer rate is achieved.
MCR memory seems to be a proprietary technology to Intel, at least initially, as SK Hynix has partnered with Intel using MCR technology and Renesas’ buffer technology. In part of SK Hynix’s press release, Intel stated that they “look forward to bringing this technology to future Intel Xeon processors and supporting industry-wide standardization and multi-generation development efforts.” Meanwhile, this appears to be a technology still under active development and SK Hynix has not revealed details on availability, compatibility or pricing.However, while SK Hynix hasn’t gone into detail on how the MCR DIMM is twice as fast as traditional DDR5 memory, it’s designed for the high performance computing (HPC) and server industries. Therefore, it is not possible for us to see consumer grade MCR RAMs, at least in the near future.
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