Overclocked Micron GDDR6 Memory Can Hit 20Gbps Speeds For Next Gen GPUs
Next-generation graphics cards that employ new GDDR6 memory should offer gobs of additional memory bandwidth. That new memory has been in the works for a while now and mass production has begun at various manufacturers as well. That means we could be seeing graphics cards launch soon packing the new memory on-board. In fact, NVIDIA wil soon be talking a bit about its GTX11 GPUs that will use GDDR6 memory. Micron has offered up some details that talk about some aspects of the new RAM and it sports significant updates.
Micron notes that GDDR6 has several silicon enhancements, and has offered insight about performance measurements of the new memory, along with its improved signal integrity. One major goal of the new memory, obviously, is to boost bandwidth while saving power. One nice tidbit is that while the GDDR6 hasn’t even shipped on a retail graphics card yet, Micron has already figured out that it can extend the performance of the memory beyond its specified 16.5 Gb/s top end speed.
Micron determined that with a slight bump in I/O voltage the new GDDR6 chips can be pushed as high as 20 Gb/s. That is an impressive gain from the JEDEC 14 Gb/s target. This essentially means real-world performance would equate to 640 Gb/s bandwidth with a 256-bit GPU memory interface (like the GeForce GTX 1080) running at 20 Gb/s. That would put such a card close to the Titan V's bandwidth of 652.8 GB/s. A 384-bit card (think Titan Xp) would offer performance at a blistering 1Tb/s range.
Overclockers and OEM partners that like to offer hotter versions of their base graphics cards should see serious overclocking potential in GDDR6 equipped cards. Things are looking very good for gamers for the next generation of cards, especially since some analysts like Jon Peddie Research recently believe cryptocurrency miners that wanted a GPU for hashing currenccy already have them. Newer and faster cards that are actually available to purchase is exactly what gamers have been waiting for.
