South Korean memory chipmaker SK hynix announced Tuesday the company will launch the fifth generation of DRAM chips, DDR5, as the first in the world.

Compared to its predecessor DDR4, the latest edition is 1.8 times faster and consumes 20 percent less power, making it optimal for big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions.

SK had embarked on development of the first 16-gigabit DDR5 in November 2018 and sought cooperation from customers like Intel to complete verification of its functions and compatibility.

“Intel partnered closely with memory leaders including SK hynix on the DDR5 spec development starting with early architecture concepts through JEDEC standardization,” commented Carolyn Duran, vice president of Intel’s data platforms group.

SK hynix’s DDR5 supports a transfer rate of 4,800 to 5,600 megabits per second, which is 1.8 times faster than DDR4, the company explained. It can transmit nine full high-definition movies per second at the 5,600Mbps transfer rate.

The operating voltage is 1.1V, lowered 20 percent from power consumption of DDR4.

The chipmaker highlighted a notable specification of the newest DRAM product is the Error Correcting Code inside the chip, which can correct even 1-bit-level errors by itself. This will raise reliability of applications by 20 times, it said.

“As SK hynix has launched the world‘s first DDR5 DRAM, the company could lead the future technology trend in the global DRAM market,” said Oh Jong-hoon, executive vice president of SK hynix. “SK hynix will focus on the fast-growing premium server market, solidifying its position as a leading company in server DRAM.”

According to market intelligence provider Omdia, DDR5 demand will begin to surge in 2021, and it will account for 10 percent of the global DRAM market in 2022, quickly rising to 43 percent by 2024.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)