Samsung develops 256Mb GDDR4 memory

Samsung announced today that it has developed the world's fastest graphics memory -- a GDDR4 graphics DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chip with much faster processing than an earlier version that Samsung led the industry in prototyping only four months ago. Graphics memory, unlike main computer memory, is installed in desktop PCs, notebooks and workstations to manage huge volumes of video images simultaneously.

Designed with 80-nanometer process technology, the device has a 12.8GB/sec processing speed, 30 percent faster than the previous prototype, which allows it to transfer the equivalent of up to six DVD-quality movies every second. The 512Mb GDDR4 graphics DRAM comes with 32 input/output pins, each of which transfers data at 3.2Gb/sec. In October, Samsung completed samples of a 256Mb GDDR4 that processed video (and accompanying audio) at 10 gigabytes per second.

"With such phenomenal processing speed, we're able to offer video card manufacturers the bandwidth for incredibly life-like movements and richly textured imagery that will soon rival that of cinematic movies," said Mueez Deen, Marketing Director, Graphics Memory and Mobile DRAM, Samsung Semiconductor.

The computer industry is expected to greatly accelerate its switchover from 32-bit to 64-bit computing in the second half of 2006, which will trigger a surge in demand for GDDR4 chips.

Samsung Electronics has set the standard for graphics memory ever since its introduction six years ago, coming out with the first GDDR1, GDDR2, GDDR3 and GDDR 4 memory devices.

Market watchers predict that sales of graphics chipsets, which represent the largest portion of the graphics memory market, will reach US$2.7 billion this year, up 10% from US$2.5 billion in 2005. Further, the graphics DRAM market is forecast to grow 27% year this year to US$1.9 billion from US$1.5 billion.