DDR4 Memory is Here Now – What are the Differences?
In the world of computing, changes are inevitable as hardware makers continue to push forward with new technology developments in order to stay competitive and improve performance. As next generation and faster PC components such as SSD drives and CPU’s get faster and faster, we need faster and faster memory to keep up the pace.
New Generation Desktop DDR4 Memory Module
If you have been around the Personal Computing world for any length of time you will remember DDR, DDR2, and DDR3, the current memory standard. The performance of each new generation keeps getting better. Get ready … DDR4 SDRAM memory is here now!
New motherboards utilizing DDR4 memory are now on the market and DDR4 memory is now available. If you want to be on the leading edge of this new generation of hardware, you will pay a premium, but prices are sure to come down, as they always do, in the world of High Tech. Thanks in large part to Moore’s law!
Moore’s law is the observation that, over the history of computing hardware, the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. The law is named after Gordon E. Moore, co-founder of Intel Corporation, who described the trend in his 1965 paper. His prediction has proven to be accurate, in part because the law is now used in the semiconductor industry to guide long-term planning and to set targets for research and development. The capabilities of many digital electronic devices are strongly linked to Moore’s law: quality-adjusted microprocessor prices, memory capacity, sensors and even the number and size of pixels in digital cameras. All of these are improving at roughly exponential rates as well. This exponential improvement has dramatically enhanced the impact of digital electronics in nearly every segment of the world economy. Moore’s law describes a driving force of technological and social change, productivity and economic growth in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.Just what is Moore's Law, you ask?
As shown in the digaram to the left, the location of the notch changes in each successive generation. This is to ensure that the only the correct memory type will be installed in motherboards. SODIMM memory has similar differences except for a smaller form factor to fit into notebooks and tablets.
DDR4 memory is not compatible with any earlier type of memory due to different voltage requirements and of course another change in the location of the notch.
The primary advantages of DDR4 SDRAM memory over the current standard DDR3, is higher data rate transfer speeds. DDR4 operates at a voltage of 1.2V with transfer rates of between 1600 and 3200 Mbps, compared to data rates of between 800 and 2133 Mbps and voltage requirement of 1.5 or 1.65V for DDR3.
Don’t you just love technology – where things just keep getting better!