Samsung First to Ship Advanced 16-gigabyte DDR3 Modules

Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, announced today that it has just made the initial shipment of the world's first and smallest high-density memory modules based on 2-gigabit (Gb), 50 nanometer (nm)-class DDR3.

Samsung is shipping 18 configurations of its high-density, high-performance DDR3-based modules, which are designed for servers. They include a 16-gigabyte (GB) registered inline memory module (RIMM) and an 8 GB RDIMM (registered dual inline memory module). Last September, a 50 nm-class 2 Gb DDR3 was introduced for PC applications.

The 16 GB high density module operates at 1066 Megabits per second (Mbps), which allows 192 GB of total memory density for a 2-socket CPU server system. Samsung also is the first to offer 16 GB RDIMMs operating at 1.35 volts, providing around 20 percent savings in power consumption over 1.5 V DDR3 solutions.

In addition, the 16 GB RDIMM features a dual-die package configuration, which is more efficient in cost and performance over the widely discussed quad-die configuration.

The 2 Gb DDR3 consumes at least 40 percent less power than 1 Gb configurations, supporting strong industry demand for lower power consumption, which is particularly important with server systems, as well as the new generation of notebooks.

According to market research firm IDC, the global DDR3 market is expected to reach 29 percent of the total DRAM market in 2009 and increase to 75 percent in 2011 (estimated in 1 Gb equivalent units). Also, 2 Gb DDR3 devices are forecast to take 3 percent of the total DDR3 market in 2009, with their share growing to 33 percent in 2011.