Graphics cards use chips, which we call GPUs, which often operate on large amounts of data at the same time. So much so that special memories are needed to transmit that amount of information in a short time. For a long time the memories that we mount in the RAM sockets are not good enough to not be a bottleneck for the pieces designed by NVIDIA, AMD and recently Intel. That is why its development is linked to that of VRAM memory chips. Samsung’s latest invention could completely change the way we think about graphics cards. So let’s see what’s so special about it.
Samsung presents its GDDR6W video memory
Under the name of GDDR6Wwhere W stands for Wide, Samsung has released a new type of GDDR6 RAM that we could see in future graphics cards from NVIDIA and AMD. The idea is to stack one on top of the other, but without using the vias through silicon., two GDDR6 memory chips. Which internally within the packaging go two by two, due to the fact that it is a dual channel memory and requires a dual interface.
Thanks to the application of new manufacturing nodes, it has achieved that the height is even lower than the GDDR6, but having twice as many chips inside the package. However, it is not just a doubling of storage capacity, but Samsung will mount its GDDR6W using its FOWLP packaging, which allows it to have twice the number of communication pins. In short:
- GDDR6W has twice the bandwidth of GDDR6, having 64 data transmission pins instead of 32.
- Twice the capacity of GDDR6.
However, it must be made clear that it is not a new memory standard, it is GDDR6 of all life, but with a different encapsulation. So graphics card manufacturers won’t have to modify the memory controller design on GPUs to use it. However, since the sizes are different, it does they will have to redesign the PCBs. As well as the distribution of heat sinks.
Faster than current GDDR6
GDDR6W, by using a more advanced manufacturing node, can achieve much higher clock speeds than current GDDR6, reaching up to 22 Gbps transfer rate per pin. Which is higher than the 20 Gbps GDDR6 of AMD’s soon-to-be-released RX 7900. So it is very likely that we will see its use in future models of graphics cards that will be released during 2023.
