Micron to launch GDDR6 memory before year-end

Micron is reportedly speeding up its plan to introduce GDDR6 memory thanks to the booming eSports market. The memory maker previously intended to deliver GDDR6 in 2018 but the company's latest roadmap points to a launch before the end of 2017. This means the company may be the first to market GDDR6 as Samsung's latest roadmap indicated a 2018 launch.

GDDR6 promises 20 percent lower energy consumption than GDDR5X but will not be as fast as the more expensive HBM2. Over time you can expect bandwidth of up to 16Gbps, which is double as much as GDDR5 and also quite a bit more than GDDR5X, which spec covers a range from 10Gbps to 14Gbps. GDDR6 will be used for gaming video cards and consoles, but also for high performance computing applications.

The memory company is speeding up the release of GDDR6 to cope with faster PC and console upgrades. GDDR6 will be significantly faster than its predecessor, GDDR5X, which is still reaching GPUs. Micron had originally planned to release GDDR6 next year.

Virtual reality is also driving PC upgrades, but not at the same pace as gaming and e-sports, which are forcing faster development of new graphics memory technologies, said Tom Eby, vice president of the computing and networking business unit at Micron.

Via: Computer World