DDR5 MRDIMMs aim to offer DDR6-level bandwidth without requiring changes to the physical slots on existing servers.
DDR5 MRDIMMs Give Life To Servers That Were Hoping For DDR6 To Address Bandwidth Requirements
The MRDIMM architecture was introduced in the early 2020s by JEDEC. Pioneered by Intel, who were the first to adopt the latest standard on its Xeon 6 lineup, the MRDIMM architecture now looks set to be a suitable replacement for DDR6 to address growing bandwidth requirements on existing and next-gen data center segments.
The first generation of MRDIMMs featured 8800 MT/s speeds and up to 256 GB capacities. These were employed by Intel's Xeon 6 lineup, codenamed Granite Rapids.
MRDIMM (Multiplexed Rank Dual Inline Memory Module) is a type of server memory module that uses an on‑DIMM multiplexer to manage data across multiple memory ranks, enabling higher bandwidth and more efficient data transfer between memory and the processor.
In practice, MRDIMMs can combine dual‑rank DDR5 memory with a multiplexer buffer and control logic to increase speeds beyond standard DDR5 specifications, while delivering higher bandwidth, lower latency, larger capacity, and improved performance per watt.
The second generation of this solution will offer 12,800 MT/s speeds, while the third gen that is expected sometime in 2030, will offer up to 17,600 MT/s speeds. The official JEDEC standard has DDR5 peaking at around 6400 MT/s transfer speeds for standard RDIMMs, while the first gen of MRDIMMs already offers a 37.5% boost in bandwidth, and the second generation is expected to offer double the bandwidth.
For the third-generation MRDIMM DDR5 architecture, the speeds will reach up to 17,600 MT/s. This is almost 3 times faster than the fastest DDR5 RDIMMs on the market.
At the same time, DDR5 MRDIMMs will also address the rising bandwidth requirements that are needed for current and future data centers. As AI and Compute demand rise, higher bandwidth becomes a necessity. The upcoming DDR6 standard could be a solution, but it comes with two drawbacks: Higher Costs & Pin-Change.
According to Bernstein Analysis, DDR5 MRDIMMs will offer similar transfer rates and bandwidth to each respective generation of DDR6. This means that you can stick with your existing server and benefit from higher bandwidth without needing to move to DDR6. Surely, DDR6 MRDIMMs will also be developed, but considering how long it took for DDR5 MRDIMMs to roll out, it will be a few years after DDR6 (expected by 2028-2029) that we will see these next-gen modules.
Intel's next-gen Diamond Rapids "Xeon 7" CPUs based on the 18A-P process technoogy are expected to utilize the 2nd Gen MRDIMM (DDR5) standard, and the same should be true for AMD's EPYC Venice CPUs based on the Zen 6 architecture. For Verano, AMD is expected to leverage LPDDR5X memory standards due to its AI-inference-focused design.
Both Intel and AMD are heavily invested in the MRDIMM standard due to its open nature and are working towards further adoption of the architecture on future platforms.
News Source: @intelfabs
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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