Samsung, Micron, and others are pushing for widespread adoption, and DDR5 is entering a high-volume period

During the downward cycle of the industry, the emergence of new technologies and products often becomes a key point in boosting the market. As a new product in the storage field, DDR5.DRAM is gradually becoming the focus of competition among major enterprises.

According to foreign media reports, industry experts believe that companies such as Samsung and Micron are vigorously promoting the popularization of DDR5 memory to curb the declining trend of the semiconductor market.

Public information shows that DDR5 DRAM is the latest DRAM specification introduced by the Joint Electronic Equipment Engineering Committee (JEDEC) in 2020, and its performance is twice that of DDR4 DRAM. It is reported that for higher density and performance, DDR5 is expected to adopt the most advanced DRAM unit technology nodes, such as D1z or D1a (D1 α) This is the 3rd or 4th generation of 10 nanometer DRAM nodes. The DDR5 memory includes multiple innovations and a new DIMM architecture, which can achieve speed level jumps and support future expansion.

In terms of products, Samsung announced in late December 2022 the successful development of 16Gb DDR5 DRAM using a 12cm level process technology, and will soon complete compatibility testing with AMD. Samsung stated that this product is the industry's most advanced high-performance and low-power DDR5 DRAM.

On January 19, Micron announced the launch of a new generation of DDR5 memory module, which covers DDR5-5200/5600 and has a maximum capacity of 48GB. It is reported that Meguiar's new generation DDR5 memory can support data transfer rates of 5200MT/s and 5600MT/s, as well as CL46 latency at 1.1V voltage, and is compatible with AMD EXPO and Intel XMP 3.0 configuration files. This module has a 49% performance improvement in compatibility with Intel processors, with configurations up to 48GB. It is reported that Meguiar's new DDR5 storage module has been certified on Intel processor chips.

Market news shows that DDR4 DRAM currently accounts for the majority of the memory market share. From a historical perspective, each generation of DDR new standards requires about 2 years of optimization after release to achieve a comprehensive and stable improvement in performance. It may take 3 to 5 years to replace the previous generation of products in the market. Industry data shows that both DDR3 and DDR4 have a lifespan of approximately 7 years. The DDR4 memory standard was released in 2012, and its first generation product entered the market in 2014, only achieving a significant increase in market share in 2016.

For the latest generation of DDR5, its latest product production capacity is still in a climbing period, the price is still high, and the performance has not yet developed to its optimal level. The industry believes that these two years are a period of rapid development for DDR5, especially from this year onwards, where the penetration rate of DDR5 will significantly increase. And due to the increasingly mature DDR technology, the shelf life of DDR5 may be longer than that of DDR4.

At present, many industry insiders are optimistic about the development prospects of DDR5. According to Wu Yating, an analyst at TrendForce Jibang Consulting, over time, it is expected that DDR5 will gradually be introduced into the server side starting from 2023. Driven by the new server platform, the proportion of DDR5 will increase. DDR5 is expected to replace DDR4, and DDR5 DRAM will enter a rapid popularization period, becoming the mainstream product supplied/adopted in the market. TrendForce Consulting believes that the intersection point where DDR5 and DDR4 become mainstream applications should be before the end or early 2025.