GDDR7: Samsung’s 40% Faster GPU Memory

Approximately one year after the introduction of GDDR6, Samsung has completed the design of its successor, GDDR7, which promises much faster and power-saving GPUs.

GDDR7 offers a data rate of 32 Gbps per pin, resulting in a total bandwidth of 1.5 Terabytes per second, marking a 40% improvement over GDDR6’s maximum bandwidth of 1.1 Terabytes per second.

This speed boost is achieved through the integration of 3-level Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM3), the same technology used in USB4 and Thunderbolt 5. Meanwhile, GDDR6X, present in graphics cards like Nvidia RTX 3090 and RTX 4090, utilizes the related PAM4 standard.

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In addition to higher speed, GDDR7 is also 20% more energy-efficient than its predecessor. Samsung has developed a low-voltage version of GDDR7, tailored for devices with tighter power restrictions, such as laptops.

To enhance heat management, Samsung has innovated with the epoxy molding compound (EMC) that encloses the RAM chips. GDDR7’s EMC exhibits 70% lower thermal resistance compared to GDDR6 packages, enabling faster heat dissipation, making it particularly advantageous for laptop applications.

Samsung plans to distribute GDDR7 samples to its major clients later this year, facilitating the development of GDDR7-based devices. This indicates that we can expect the first GDDR7-powered devices to emerge by the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024.