SK Hynix releases GDDR6 memory for next generation graphics cards

After a relatively quiet year in the graphics card market, major news is expected in 2018, where at least Nvidia is expected to release a new generation. Prior to this, all major manufacturers, with both Micron, SK Hynix and Samsung, have spoken out about GDDR6 to offer higher memory bandwidth.

Specifications: GDDR6 from Samsung and SK Hynix

Shortly after Samsung released its contribution, a high-capacity, really high-speed memory capsule, SK Hynix makes its GDDR6 memory available to customers. Here it is instead about four different memory capsules, where common denominators are a capacity of 8 Gb (1 GB) where eight pieces that are common on today’s graphics cards would give a total capacity of 8 GB.

The highest-performing solution from SK Hynix is ​​14 Gbps or has an effective clock frequency of 14,000 MHz, which over a memory bus of 256 bits that is normal in the middle class gives a bandwidth of 448 GB / s. This compares to 256 GB / s for the Radeon RX 580 or 320 GB / s for the Geforce GTX 1080.

In addition to this, SK Hynix also has solutions of 12 and 10 Gbps, speeds that are already offered with GDDR5X. The advantage here is that the transition to GDDR6 makes it possible to drive the memory circuits with lower voltage, which in the long run means lower power consumption.

While Samsung seems to have the upper hand right now, this is only the first wave from SK Hynix, which previously talked about memory capsules with a corresponding capacity of 16 Gb (2 GB) and speed of 16 Gbps. The higher capacity and speeds above 14 Gbps will appear later in the year.

Apart from thistle and tassel in the industry about a launch in the spring, it is not yet known when the next generation of graphics cards with GDDR6 memory will see the light of day.