Preliminary DDR7 specs put the next-gen RAM's top speed at 5 times that of standard DDR5

Samsung has only just announced its top-end DDR5 modules, aimed at the demands of next-gen server-grade applications thus far. The OEM claims to leverage the new RAM's JEDEC-standard specs (which involve doubling up on the performance of (standard) DDR4 to arrive at a top data-transfer rate of 6,400 megatransfers per second (MT/s)) to produce a final product capable of reaching speeds of 7,200 megabits per second (Mb/s).

However, the South Korean giant is now slated to have a developmental roadmap that starts with a direct replacement for this new top-end standard, progressing through steps such as its low-power counterpart to end at a new 'final form' known as GDDR7.

Accordingly, the first stage on this journey is (almost inevitably) to become known as DDR6. It is now slated to offer 2x improvements on many prevalent DDR5 specs, its standard top JEDEC-mandated clock speed, memory bank count, and number of 16-bit channels included. Accordingly, this upcoming Samsung DRAM might be capable of up to 12,800MT/s, have 64 banks and be quad-channel by default.

Furthermore, as overclocked DDR5 is currently slated to top out at 8,400MT/s, its successor is now said to achieve no less than 17,000MT/s under similar conditions. Samsung is also now believed to be racing ahead with what comes next after that as well, with plans for not merely low-power options, but an interim GDDR6+ generation.

The first of these - LPDDR6 - may not improve on the current projected specs for LPDDR5 (6,400 MT/s at most) or even LPDDR5X (with a potential for ~8,500MT/s) so much as offer advanced power efficiency instead.

Not much is known about GDDR6+ for sure at this point, although it is expected to tide users over with similar gains as standard to the tune of 24,000 MT/s, based on a next-gen "1z-nanometer" (nm; presumably a progression from Samsung's existing 10nm EUV production method) process until the ultimate major upgrade, GDDR7, gets here.

That generation is now allegedly destined for speeds of up to 32,000MT/s. It is also projected to incorporate something called a "real-time error protection feature", whereas Samsung's DDR5 boasts "on-die error-correction" technology.

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