▷ Gddr5 vs gddr6: differences between memories?

What are the differences between GDDR5 vs. GDDR6 memory ? As many of you know, graphic processors are very important in all types of devices, whether you are using a smartphone, a tablet or a PC.

In fact, they can in a way be called the backbone of your screen or how you see things on it. Graphics memory is a very important component that accompanies graphics processors, and it has a direct impact on their performance. In this article we review the latest graphics memory technologies.

Index of contents

GDDR5 vs GDDR6 memories

One of the most common and most used graphics memory is still GDDR5, although this will be progressively replaced by the more advanced GDDR6. Graphics cards are available in multiple pricing options including low range, mid range, and high range. Recent development in the field of graphics cards has been the launch of GDDR6 chips. So how do GDDR5 and GDDR6 differ from each other? What is the difference GDDR5 vs GDDR6?

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GDDR5 has been with us for ten years

The GDDR5 memory standard has been the most widely used and has been the preferred option for most graphics card manufacturers for approximately ten years, although in all this time it has been evolving and improving its performance. However, times are advancing, and there have been new technological advances. We have recently witnessed the launch of new Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics cards that exceed current standards. These new cards are based on GDDR6 memory, which is one of the new types of graphics memory that has been making waves alongside HBM2.

We will begin to verify the characteristics and capabilities of each of them separately. GDDR5 has been one of the best high-end low-latency RAM among the current generation of graphics cards. Continuing the trend of GDDR3 and GDDR4, the new generation graphics card has replaced the older standards. In fact, GDDR3 is now used only on entry-level devices, while GDDR4 is almost no longer available in OEM designs.

GDDR5 has undoubtedly been the fastest among graphics card memory. In fact, several graphics card manufacturers including Nvidia have been making use of the technology. The AMD GTX 1060, GTX 1070, and RX 580 are some of the best examples we can name that use GDDR5 memory modules. Some features that would make it a good option is that it comes with high bandwidth memory performance. Added to this is its low energy consumption, which has been one of the highlights that would make it an exceptional option. GDDR5 memory can offer speeds of up to 9 Gbps, and graphics cards based on it are available in various sizes: 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB. It is worth mentioning that the GDDR5 chips are being manufactured by various manufacturers such as Samsung, Hynix, ELPIDA or Micron.

GDDR5 has a new advanced version, the GDDR5X. This GDDR5X memory is a new evolutionary step, being able to reach a speed of up to 14 Gbps and a high bandwidth, which makes it an excellent option to use in high performance graphics cards like the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti.

GDDR6 is ready to take over

GDDR6 memory has been of recent origin. This is a new memory standard that has recently reached maturity, so it is ready to bring new graphics cards to life much more powerful than previous ones.

The current voltage for the memory standard is 1.3 volts, and is capable of providing transfer rates of up to 16 Gbps, with a supported bandwidth of up to 72 GB / s per chip. You should find the new era GDDR6 memory made by S amsung, Micron and Hynix. GDDR6 memory from Samsung and Micron has been planned to offer excellent speeds of up to 16 Gbps. Hynix's will cater to the mid-segment where speeds will be limited to up to 12-14 Gbps.

These features currently put GDDR6 memory at a similar level in performance to the GDDR5X but let's not be fooled, as it is a totally new standard, its potential to continue evolving is enormous, so over the next few years We are going to see much faster chips, let's not be surprised if we see it reaching 20 Gbps or even more in a few years.

The following table summarizes the most important characteristics of the GDDR5 and GDDR6 memories:

characteristics	GDDR5 / 5X	GDDR6
Voltage	1.5V	1.3V
Manufacturer	Samsung, Micron and Hynix	Samsung, Micron and Hynix
Transfer Speeds	8 Gbps GDDR5 14 Gbps GDDR5X	16 Gbps
Format	FBGA190, 0.65mm pitch, 14x10mm	FBGA180, 0.75mm pitch, 14 × 12mm
I / O configuration	X16 / x32	X8 / x16
Channels	one	two
Sizes	512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB and 8 GB	8 GB and 16 GB

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This ends our articles on the GDDR5 vs GDDR6 memories, we hope that it has been to your liking and that it has helped you understand the difference between both memories.