JEDEC Publishes New DDR5 Standard for Advancing Next-Generation High Performance Computing Systems

ARLINGTON, Va., USA – JULY 14, 2020 – JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, the global leader in the development of standards for the microelectronics industry, today announced the publication of the widely-anticipated JESD79-5 DDR5 SDRAM standard. The standard addresses demand requirements being driven by intensive cloud and enterprise data center applications, providing developers with twice the performance and much improved power efficiency. JESD79-5 DDR5 is now available for download from the JEDEC website.

DDR5 was designed to meet increasing needs for efficient performance in a wide range of applications including client systems and high-performance servers. DDR5 incorporates memory technology that leverages and extends industry know-how and experience developing previous DDR memories. The standard is architected to enable scaling memory performance without degrading channel efficiency at higher speeds, which has been achieved by doubling the burst-length to BL16 and bank-count to 32 from 16. This revolutionary architecture provides better channel efficiency and higher application level performance that will enable the continued evolution of next-generation computing systems. In addition, the DDR5 DIMM has two 40-bit fully independent sub-channels on the same module for efficiency and improved reliability.

New features, such as DFE (Decision Feedback Equalization), enable IO speed scalability for higher bandwidth and improved performance. DDR5 supports double the bandwidth as compared to its predecessor, DDR4, and is expected to be launched at 4.8 Gbps (50% higher than DDR4’s end of life speed of 3.2 Gbps).

Additional features include:

• Fine grain refresh feature: as compared to DDR4 all bank refresh improves 16 Gbps device latency. Same bank selfrefresh offers better performance by enabling some banks to refresh while others are in use.
• On-die ECC and other scaling features enable manufacturing on advanced process nodes.
• Improved power efficiency enabled by Vdd going from 1.2V to 1.1V as compared to DDR4.
• Use of the MIPIÒ Alliance I3C Basic specification for system management bus.
• At the module level, voltage regulator on DIMM design enables pay as you go scalability, better voltage tolerance for improved DRAM yields and the potential to further reduce power consumption.

“With several new performance, reliability and power saving modes implemented in its design, DDR5 is ready to support and enable next-generation technologies,” said Desi Rhoden, Chairman JC-42 Memory Committee and Executive VP Montage Technology. “The tremendous dedication and effort on the part of more than 150 JEDEC member companies worldwide has resulted in a standard that addresses all aspects of the industry, including system requirements, manufacturing processes, circuit design, and simulation tools and test, greatly enhancing developers’ abilities to innovate and advance a wide range of technological applications.”

Industry Support for DDR5

“High-performance computing requires memory that can keep pace with the ever-increasing demands of today’s processors. With the publication of the DDR5 standard, AMD can better design its products to meet the future demands of our customers and end-users,” said Joe Macri, AMD Compute and Graphics CTO. “By working together on a single standard through JEDEC, the industry delivers a predictable cadence for memory bandwidth improvements, enabling the next generation of high-performance systems and applications.”

“With the publication of JEDEC’s DDR5 standard, we are entering a new era of DDR performance and capabilities. DDR5, developed with significant effort across the industry, marks a great leap forward in memory capability, for the first time delivering a 50% bandwidth jump at the onset of a new technology to meet the demands of AI and high performance compute,” said Carolyn Duran, VP - Data Platforms Group, GM – Memory and IO Technologies at Intel.

“Micron is proud to be a part of the JEDEC organization, which provides an efficient forum for cross-industry collaboration on leading-edge technology standards,” said Frank Ross, JEDEC Board of Directors member and senior member of Technical Staff at Micron. “The DDR5 standard offers the industry a critical advancement in main memory performance to enable the next-generation of computing required to turn data into insight across cloud, enterprise, networking, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence applications."

“Samsung actively contributed to defining JEDEC’s new DDR5 industry standard, recognizing that this new DDR5 framework is a critical turning point in the advancement of memory for servers, PCs and other major electronic devices,” said Sangjoon Hwang, senior vice president of Memory Product Planning, Samsung Electronics. “We are delighted to see the timely release of this standard, and anticipate bringing our DDR5-standardized solutions to volume production in a timeframe that coincides with market demands,” Hwang added.

“DDR5 is prepared to improve the Computing Performance by applying various features to overcome future technology scaling challenge and improve performance compared to DDR4. On this basis, DDR5 will lead the evolution of the data-centric era, and will play a pivotal role in the 4th Industrial Revolution,” said Uksong Kang, Head of DRAM Product Planning at SK hynix, one of the JEDEC members. “SK hynix is opening up a new sector in the market through the development of the industry’s first DDR5 that meets JEDEC standards. We have been working with many partners to verify DDR5 Ecosystem through development of test chips, and modules since 2018, and doing our best to secure mass-production levels in the second half of this year.”

About JEDEC

JEDEC is the global leader in the development of standards for the microelectronics industry. Thousands of volunteers representing nearly 300 member companies work together over 100 JEDEC technical committees and task groups to meet the needs of every segment of the industry, manufacturers and consumers alike. The publications and standards generated by JEDEC committees are accepted throughout the world. All JEDEC standards are available for download from the JEDEC website. For more information, visit www.jedec.org.