Anandtech goes into the details with this one, after reading it people will have a much better understanding of how DDR5 actually works and what these changes mean.
https://www.anandtech.com/show/15912/ddr5-specification-released-setting-the-stage-for-ddr56400-and-beyond Case in point, a single DDR5 DIMM module now functions like dual-channel configuration.
I didn't realize it until reading the article, but all of the myriad of changes in the RAM functionality has been designed toward this purpose. So an 8-channel Threadripper PRO would be effectively 16-channel on DDR5 if the IMCs were adjusted accordingly.
The takeaway is increased parallelism, increased frequently, concurrent block refresh + operations are possible at the same time per DIMM, and each half of a DIMM can concurrently do independent operations. If we assume the IMC ratio remains at 1:1 then a typical dual-channel configuration CPU on DDR4 would effectively be quad-channel on the DDR5 platform. Also RAM VRMs will be moved off the motherboard and onto each module instead. It remains to be seen what this will do to thermals... Currently DDR4 maxes out at 32GB per single DIMM, but
eventually DDR5's specification will allow a DIMM to max out at 128GB per single DIMM...
There is one thing nobody knows for sure yet... how Intel and AMD plan to address this dual-channel per DIMM configuration. Until now Intel and AMD (for the most part) have kept the magic 1:1 ratio of one IMC per channel. This may change with DDR5, and there is the very real possibility we will see very different DDR5 IMC implementations between Intel and AMD on future chips depending on how they prioritize cost-vs-performance with their integrated memory controller implementations.
post edited by kougar - 2020/07/15 21:27:19