First Gen4 DDR5 RCD enables 7200 MT/s data rate

Extending its leadership in key memory interface chips for server main memory, Rambus has anannounced the availability of its state-of-the-art Gen4 DDR5 Registering Clock Driver (RCD) which began sampling to the major DDR5 memory module (RDIMM) manufacturers in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The Rambus Gen4 RCD boosts the data rate to 7200 MT/s, setting a new benchmark for performance and enabling a 50% increase in memory bandwidth over current 4800 MT/s DDR5 modules. It supports the rapid pace of server main memory performance improvements to meet the demands of generative AI and other advanced data center workloads. Delivering industry-leading latency and power, the Gen4 RCD offers optimized timing parameters for improved RDIMM margins.

“With memory being an essential enabler of server performance, the need for greater memory bandwidth continues its meteoric rise driven by demanding workloads like generative AI,” said Sean Fan, chief operating officer at Rambus. “The Rambus Gen4 DDR5 RCD is the latest demonstration of our commitment to providing leadership products ahead of the market need to support our customers’ current and planned server platforms.”

“Advanced workloads, led by the breathtaking pace of innovation in AI, are driving an accelerated roadmap of new server platforms for the data center,” said Shane Rau, VP, Computing Semiconductors at IDC. “DDR5 RCDs are critical to support the performance, power, and signal integrity required of RDIMMs in AI servers.”

The Gen4 RCD is the flagship of the Rambus DDR5 memory interface chipset, built on over 30 years of high-performance memory experience and signal integrity, power integrity expertise. The chipset also includes Serial Presence Detect (SPD) hub and temperature sensors, two more key components for server systems. The SPD hub and temperature sensors improve DDR5 DIMM system and thermal management in order to achieve higher performance levels within the desired power envelope.