Thermaltake's CES booth was lit up with a vibrant mix of illuminated enthusiast PC memory modules, from its ToughRAM D5 RGB series. The company is going beyond boring black and white heatspreader color options, and now has die-cast aluminium heatspreader in a number of colors, including gold, red, and turquoise. Even the usual black and white ones come with new printed patterns, under the ToughRAM D5 RGB XG series. The ToughRAM D5 RGB XG comes in speeds of up to DDR5-6600, and per-module capacity of up to 32 GB along with 16-diode RGB LED setup; whereas the regular ToughRAM D5 RGB ticks at speeds of up to DDR5-5600, up to 32 GB density, and a 6-diode LED setup diffused through a silicone band.

According to Reuters, Samsung is gearing up to increase the chip production capacity at its P3 factory in Pyeongtaek in South Korea, despite the fact that there's a general slowdown in the semiconductor industry, in addition to the general economic downturn. Samsung is apparently planning on adding 12-inch wafer capacity for DRAM, while also adding more 4 nm chip capacity. The P3 fab kicked off production of Samsung's most cutting-edge NAND flash chips earlier this year and is the company's largest fab overall. According to Reuters, Samsung is aiming to add at least 10 new EUV machines in 2023.

In related news via The Elec, Samsung has seen costs increase significantly when it comes to materials costs relating to the expansion of the P3 fab. So far, the company has racked up extra costs of over a trillion korean Won, or more than US$786 million, largely due to all of its contractors having raised their prices. The report also mentioned that some parts of the expansion of the P3 fab has been delayed by as much as a year, which isn't good news for Samsung and it likely means that the company will see further increases in costs before the expansions are finished.

SK hynix Inc. announced today that it has developed working samples of DDR5 Multiplexer Combined Ranks (MCR) Dual In-line Memory Module, the world's fastest server DRAM product. The new product has been confirmed to operate at the data rate of minimum 8 Gbps, and at least 80% faster than 4.8 Gbps of the existing DDR5 products. MCR DIMM is an achievement coming from out-of-the-box thinking with an aim to improve the operation speed of DDR5. Challenging the prevailing concept that the operation speed of DDR5 relies on that of DRAM chip itself, engineers sought to find a way to improve the speed of modules instead of chips for development of the latest product.

SK hynix designed the product in a way that enables simultaneous operation of two ranks by utilizing the data buffer installed onto the MCR DIMM based on Intel's MCR technology. By enabling simultaneous operation of two ranks, MCR DIMM allows transmission of 128 bytes of data to CPU at once, compared with 64 bytes fetched generally in conventional DRAM module. An increase in the amount of data sent to the CPU each time supports the data transfer rate of minimum 8 Gbps, twice as fast as a single DRAM.

According to data from Gartner, the semiconductor market is expected to decline by up to 3.6 percent in 2023, from a growth of 4 percent this year and 26.3 percent in 2021. This might not be surprising to those that have followed recent developments in the semiconductor market, but it also looks like revenue for 2023 will be closer to that of 2021. This might in part be related to higher costs of manufacturing, but consumer demand is expected to be down in 2023, largely due to less disposable income, related to the current situation with rising inflation and increasing costs elsewhere.

Gartner claims that the enterprise market has been relatively stable and the consulting firm isn't expecting the enterprise market to decline as much as the consumer market when it comes to semiconductor demand. That said, Gartner is expecting the memory market to decline by up to 16.2 percent in 2023, as there's already an oversupply in the market. Likewise, it expects that the NAND flash market will see a decline by up to 13.7 percent in 2023. What isn't clear is how this weaker demand will affect retail prices, but as we've already seen, the DRAM and NAND flash manufacturers have already hit the brakes, to try and prevent a price crash.

Based on the latest data and research, TrendForce has further corrected down the projected YoY growth rate of whole server shipments for 2023 to 2.8%. Three factors are behind this revision. First, lead time has started to return to its usual length for most orders related to server components from 3Q23 onward. Seeing this, server OEMs and cloud service providers (CSPs) have also begun to correct the component mismatch issue by lowering demand for items that are in excess while maintaining a constant inventory level for items that are still in tight supply. This development, in turn, has reduced the flow of server orders going to ODMs. Second, the wave of demand that was generated earlier from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is dissipating. Hence, expansion activities have cooled off noticeably for services such as video streaming, e-commerce, etc. Among CSPs, Meta, Google, and ByteDance (TikTok) have lowered their server procurement quantities for next year. Lastly, the global economic outlook has remained fairly negative, so companies across most industry sectors have formulated a more conservative expenditure plan and scaled back IT-related spending for next year.

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced that in response to market conditions, the company is reducing DRAM and NAND wafer starts by approximately 20% versus fiscal fourth quarter 2022. These reductions will be made across all technology nodes where Micron has meaningful output. Micron is also working toward additional capex cuts. In calendar 2023, Micron now expects its year-on-year bit supply growth to be negative for DRAM, and in the single-digit percentage range for NAND.

Recently, the market outlook for calendar 2023 has weakened. In order to significantly improve total inventory in the supply chain, Micron believes that in calendar 2023, year-on-year DRAM bit supply will need to shrink and NAND bit supply growth will need to be significantly lower than previous estimates. "Micron is taking bold and aggressive steps to reduce bit supply growth to limit the size of our inventory. We will continue to monitor industry conditions and make further adjustments as needed," said Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra. "Despite the near-term cyclical challenges, we remain confident in the secular demand drivers for our markets, and in the long term, expect memory and storage revenue growth to outpace that of the rest of the semiconductor industry."

Global market intelligence firm TrendForce reports that for 3Q22, the revenue of the whole DRAM industry dropped by 28.9% QoQ to US$18.19 billion. This decline is the second largest to the one that the industry experienced in 2008, when the global economy was rocked by a major financial crisis. Regarding the state of the DRAM market in 3Q22, the QoQ decline in contract prices widened to the range of 10~15% as the demand for consumer electronics continued to shrink. Server DRAM shipments, which had been on a relatively stable trend compared with shipments of other types of DRAM products, also slowed down noticeably from the previous quarter as buyers began adjusting their inventory levels.

Turning to individual DRAM suppliers' performances in 3Q22, the top three suppliers (i.e., Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron) all exhibited a QoQ drop in revenue. Samsung posted US$7.40 billion and a QoQ drop of 33.5%, which was the largest among the top three. SK hynix's revenue fell by 25.2% QoQ to around US$5.24 billion. As for Micron, its revenue came to around US$4.81 billion. Since Micron marks its fiscal quarters differently, its DRAM ASP showed a QoQ decline that was smaller than the ones suffered by the two Korean suppliers. And as a result of this, Micron's QoQ revenue decline was also the smallest among the top three. TrendForce points out that the top three are still maintaining a relatively high operating margin at this moment. Nevertheless, the inventory correction period that has started this year will last through the first half of next year, so they will experience a continuing squeeze on profit.

SK hynix has developed LPDDR5X (Low Power Double Data Rate 5X), the world's first-ever mobile DRAM with an integrated HKMG (High-K Metal Gate) process, which was just recently introduced to the market. The LPDDR5X boasts the industry's highest energy-efficiency as SK hynix succeeded in reducing power consumption by 25% compared to the previous generation and operates in the ultra-low voltage range of 1.01 V to 1.12 V set by the JEDEC (Joint Electron Device Engineering Council).
For the LPDDR, which is also called a mobile DRAM, having a low power consumption is its greatest asset, just as its standard name—LP (Low Power)—suggests. As power is limited in mobile devices, it's necessary to reduce power consumption as much as possible to extend the usage time.

This is why lowering power consumption is just as important as increasing operating speed. LPDDR5X was the first among mobile DRAMs to integrate the HKMG process and see improved performance and a reduction in power consumption, essentially killing two birds with one stone. As the power consumption of DRAM gets lowered by LPDDR5X, mobile devices can be used for a longer time with a single charge. The reduction in power consumption of such products can subsequently lead to a reduction in the power used by consumers, which is in line with the value of SK hynix's ESG-centered business management.

SMART Modular Technologies, Inc. ("SMART"), a division of SGH and a global leader in memory solutions, solid-state drives and hybrid storage products today announced the addition of new DDR5 16 GB and 32 GB Very Low Profile Error-Correction Code Unbuffered Dual In-Line Memory Modules (VLP ECC UDIMM) to its lineup of blade memory VLP module products.

SMART's new DuraMemory DDR5 VLP ECC UDIMMs are designed for 1U blade servers and blade enclosure systems used in networking, telecom, compute and storage applications that are optimized to minimize space and power. DDR5 VLP ECC UDIMMs are designed to meet height, density, power, and performance specifications needed to enable the next generation of memory applications.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, is thrilled to showcase extreme memory bandwidth performance of high-frequency DDR5-8000 32 GB (16 GB x2) & DDR5-7800 32 GB (2x 16 GB) overclocked memory kits on the latest Intel Core i9-13900K Processor and ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z790 APEX motherboard. Working in close partnership with the ASUS motherboard team, a single G.SKILL memory module was overclocked to a staggering DDR5-10000 under air cooling.

Dedicated to developing the fastest possible DDR5 memory on the latest 13th Gen Intel Core processor and Intel Z790 chipset, G.SKILL showcases the high memory bandwidth performance of DDR5-8000 32 GB (2x16GB) memory kit on the ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z790 APEX motherboard. The following screenshots show the DDR5-8000 CL40 32 GB (2x16GB) and DDR5-7800 CL38 32 GB (2x 16 GB) memory kits validated on an Intel Core i9-13900K processor and ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z790 APEX motherboard (BIOS 0702) platform, with the DDR5-8000 CL40 32 GB (2x16GB) memory kit reaching memory bandwidth read speed of over 124 GB/s and write speed of over 120 GB/s on the AIDA64 memory benchmark.

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices, today excited to announce the partnership with leading memory brand Team Group to release the all new T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 VALKYRIE Edition desktop memory. The new T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 VALKYRIE Edition desktop RAMs are the collaborative effort of two leading tech brands, Team Group and BIOSTAR. Carrying the legendary DNA of BIOSTAR's flagship VALKYRIE design language and T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 desktop memory technology, the all new T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 VALKYRIE Edition RAMs bring superior design, technology, and next-level engineering with jaw-dropping performance unparalleled in its class.

Its stealth fighter-influenced look features the signature wide-angled heatspreader with mesmerizing RGB lightning, unlike any other RAM on the market. Powered by a next-generation intelligent RGB control chip, it allows users full reign over limitless lighting customization using BIOSTAR's Advanced VIVID LED DJ software to create a highly personalized ambiance inside the system. Furthermore, the signature golden wings logo of BIOSTAR's VALKYRIE, together with T-FORCE's iconic wings logo, signify the Norse warriors' majestic wings and stands as a symbol of power and authority with its sleek streamlined design elements.

According to the latest TrendForce research, pandemic-induced materials shortages abated in the second half of this year and the supply and delivery of short-term materials has recovered significantly. However, assuming materials supply is secure and demand can be met, the annual growth rate of server shipments in 2023 is estimated to be only 3.7%, which is lower than 5.1% in 2022.

TrendForce indicates that this growth slowdown is due to three factors. First, once material mismatch issues had eased, buyers began adjusting previously placed purchase order overruns. Thus, ODM orders also decreased but this will not affect the 2022 shipment volume of whole servers for the time being. Second, due to the impact of rising inflation and weakness in the overall economy, corporate capital investment may trend more conservative and IT-related investment will emphasize flexibility, such as the replacement of certain server terminals with cloud services. Third, geopolitical changes will drive the continuing emergence of demand for small-scale data centers and previous construction of hyperscale data centers will slow. The recent ban on military/HPC servers issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce on October 7 has a very low market share in terms of its application category, so the impact on the overall server market is limited at present. However, if the scope of the ban is expanded further in the future, it will herald a more significant slowdown risk for China's server shipment momentum in 2023.

According to TrendForce research, rising inflation has weakened demand for consumer products, flattening the peak of peak season. In 3Q22, memory bit consumption and shipments continued to exhibit quarterly decline. Due to a significant decline in memory demand, terminal buyers also delayed purchases, leading to further escalation of supplier inventory pressure. At the same time, the strategies of various DRAM suppliers to increase their market share remain unchanged. There have been cases of "consolidated Q3/Q4 price negotiations" or "negotiating quantity before pricing" in the market, which are the reasons leading to a ballooning of declining DRAM prices to 13~18% in 4Q22.

In terms of PC DRAM, due to weak demand for notebooks, PC OEMs will remain focused on destocking DRAM inventory. While the DRAM supply side has not actually reduced production since operating profit remains favorable, bit output continues to rise and pressure on suppliers' inventory becomes increasingly obvious. From the perspective of DDR4 and DDR5, the price drop forecast in 4Q22 is 13~18% with DDR5 declining more than DDR4. However, as the penetration rate of DDR5 continues to rise, coupled with a higher unit price, the penetration rate of DDR5 in the PC DRAM sector will increase 13~15% in 4Q22, which will buoy the average unit price of overall PC DRAM (combined DDR5 and DDR4) marginally and PC DRAM pricing in 4Q22 is estimated to drop by approximately 10~15%.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, is excited to announce two new extreme overclocked performance DDR5 memory specifications to its flagship Trident Z5 RGB series: DDR5-6800 CL32-45-45-108 32 GB (2x 16 GB) and DDR5-6400 CL32-39-39-102 64 GB (2x 32 GB). These memory kits come with Intel XMP 3.0 memory overclocking profiles and have been validated on the latest 12th Gen Intel Core desktop processor and Intel Z690 chipset platform.

Dedicated to developing extreme overclock speed memory kits, the G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6800 CL32-45-45-108 2x 16 GB memory kit is the ideal choice for overclocking enthusiasts to experience extreme DDR5 frequency performance. The screenshot below shows the DDR5-6800 memory kit validated with Intel Core i7-12700K desktop processor and ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero motherboard.

Kingston FURY, the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, announced today it has unleashed a new member of the pack, Kingston FURY Beast DDR4 RGB Special Edition. The white heatspreader with striking RGB lighting makes these modules unique amongst the Kingston FURY line.

Enhance not just the performance of your system but keep it fresh with the library of preset RGB lighting patterns and effects or personalize the settings to create a look that makes your system truly one of a kind with Kingston FURY CTRL software. Along with the patented Infrared Sync Technology, trust your tailored RGB effects stay aligned.

Montage Technology, a leading data processing and interconnect IC design company, today announced that it is delivering the world's first Gen1 DDR5 Clock Driver (CKD or DDR5CK01) samples to the top DRAM memory vendors for their development of memory modules used in new-generation desktop and notebook computers.

For a long time, the clock driver functions have been integrated onto the register clock driver (RCD) device, which is used in the server platforms, rather than the PC computers. With the boost of the DDR5 data rate, the frequency of the clock signal becomes higher and higher, and the signal integrity issue of the clock becomes more and more challenging. As the DDR5 data rate reaches 6400MT/s and above, the memory modules such as UDIMMs and SODIMMs used in desktop and notebook computers, will need an on-DIMM clock driver to buffer and re-drive the clock signal of the memory modules, to meet the signal integrity and reliability requirement of the high-speed clock signal.

JEDEC Solid State Technology Association and Compute Express Link (CXL) Consortium today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize collaboration between the two organizations. The agreement outlines the formation of a joint work group to provide a forum that facilitates communication and sharing of information, requirements, recommendations and requests with the intent that this exchange of information will help standards developed by each organization augment one another.

"The MOU between JEDEC and CXL Consortium will establish a framework for ongoing communication to align future efforts between the two organizations. The joint work group will collaborate on useful solutions for form factors, management, security, and DRAM and other memory technologies," said Siamak Tavallaei, CXL Consortium President.

According to TrendForce investigations into the DRAM market, under pressure from ever-increasing output, Korean manufacturers have significantly increased their willingness to compromise on pricing in order to stimulate buying from distributors and customers, leading to a steady expansion of falling prices. In addition to Korean manufacturers enthusiastically slashing prices, low-priced chips from the spot market are also circulating in the market. Other suppliers have no choice but to follow suit and fervently reduce pricing for sales, rapidly exacerbating the 3Q consumer DRAM price drop from the original estimate of 8~13% to a quarterly decline of 13-18%.

Looking forward to Q4, it will be difficult for stocking momentum to recover before terminal inventories have been completely depleted. TrendForce expects the price of consumer DRAM to continue to fall until oversupply in the market is alleviated. Thus, consumer DRAM pricing will carry on moving lower by another 3~8% in Q4 and the possibility of sustained decline cannot be ruled out.

As the world dives further into the high-speed DDR5 generation, DDR5 technologies are urged to meet the demands for more reliable and durable products. Team Group, a world-leading memory manufacturer, continues to pursue advancement and is dedicated to providing an upgraded DDR5 solution to offer higher frequencies to users around the world. Today, Team Group launches ELITE PLUS DDR5 Desktop Memory with a brand new heat sink design to effectively increase reliability. Furthermore, Team Group announces a new frequency of 6,000 MHz for ELITE DDR5 to further increase operating performance and deliver an ultra-smooth user experience. The ELITE PLUS DDR5 and ELITE DDR5 6,000 MHz Desktop Memory will be available to global users via Amazon and Newegg in North America soon.

ELITE PLUS DDR5 Desktop Memory is equipped with a sleek, simple, and asymmetric aluminium heat sink that has been specially designed to be non-conductive and to protect against scratches, acids, rusting and rotting to provide full protection for the DDR5 module. ELITE PLUS DDR5 Desktop Memory is also equipped with a 1.1 V standard working voltage which further reduces energy consumption for each unit of bandwidth comparing to the 1.2 V in DDR4, providing a more efficient power usage. The DDR5 module is equipped with PMICs for effective power distribution, reliable power supply, and minimal noise interference. The IC supports on-die ECC, a feature that self-corrects DRAM cells for enhanced stability and reliability by reducing risks of information errors.

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) commends and thanks the Biden Administration for their leadership and the bipartisan work of Congress for passing the "Chips and Science" legislation. This is a big step towards securing the future of semiconductor manufacturing in the United States and advancing American innovation and competitiveness for years to come.

This legislation will bring leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing to the U.S., creating tens of thousands of jobs and tens of billions of dollars of new investments - transforming U.S. semiconductor innovation and supply chain resilience.

As we approach the launch of Intel's upcoming Raptor Lake desktop processors, we are getting more leaks of testing performed by system integrators and 3rd parties that have early access to the engineering sample (ES) chips. A few days ago, we saw an Intel Core i7-13700K CPU run Geekbench 5 benchmark with the older DDR4 memory on ASRock Z690 Steel Legend WiFi 6E. Today, we are seeing a similar test performed on the same processor, with ASRock Z690 Steel Legend WiFi 6E/D5 equipped with DDR5 memory. While the previous DDR4 testing used modules running at 3200 MT/s, the DDR5 testing uses 5200 MT/s rated DRAM with unknown timings and setup.

As far as performance goes, the single-core result of the 16-core Intel Core i7-13700K processor was 2090 points with DDR4, while DDR5 showed a slight regression of 2069 points. Of course, this could be attributed to the margin of error. As far as multi-core performance goes, the DDR4 testing managed to produce 16542 points, whereas the DDR5-equipped platform scored 19811 points. This is an immediate 20% performance uplift in multi-core score. It shows that all the cores present in Raptor Lake processors are starving for bandwidth, and a faster memory protocol can bring quite an improvement. As usual, we have to wait to confirm this information with our testing so that we can draw more conclusions.

Kingston FURY, the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, announced today the release of Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 and Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 RGB memory. The Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 family is engineered to maximize the performance of your system.

Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 family pushes the performance of next-gen DDR5 platforms to the extreme with ultra-fast memory up to 6400MT/s1and quick CL32 timings. With premium components hand-tuned by engineers, rigorously tested for compatibility across the industry's leading motherboards, backed by 100% factory testing at speed, and Intel XMP 3.0 Certified, customers can enjoy the ultimate overclock experience.

Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Case, Cooling, Gaming peripherals, and enthusiast memory solutions, is delighted to announce a new series of DDR5 RAM, including TOUGHRAM RC DDR5, TOUGHRAM Z-ONE RGB D5, and the latest TOUGHRAM XG RGB D5 in black and white. In order to provide gamers with the most up-to-date tech, our new DDR5 lineups come with higher capacities, faster speeds, and better overall performance compared with the previous generation and will be compatible with mainstream hardware and the latest Intel motherboards. Let's have a look at our latest offerings:

To begin with, we have TOUGHRAM XG RGB D5 in black and white with a frequency of 5600MT/s recently released and are available for purchase. The TOUGHRAM XG RGB D5 series features a Hynix chipset, the built-in PMIC, On-die ECC, and XMP 3.0 one-click overclocking. However, what makes the TOUGHRAM XG series stand out is its 16 ultra-bright addressable LEDs that are fully compatible with TT RGB Plus 2.0 and NeonMaker, enabling users to highlight the aesthetics they pursue without any limitation. The series also features 2oz, 10-layer PCB, and 10μ Gold Finger, further reinforcing not only the overall quality of the product but its enhanced durability, for the package that's pleasing to look at and enjoyable to game on. Moreover, with its doubled bank group architecture, the new TOUGHRAM XG RGB D5 enhances access availability and brings you higher capacities without lag, paving the way for next-gen memory. Aside from that, the latest TOUGHRAM XG RGB D5 is also compatible with TT AI Voice Control and Amazon Alexa, allowing users to freely configure lighting effects through their voice.

Hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, etc., all run their cloud divisions with a specific goal. To provide their hardware to someone else in a form called instance and have the user pay for it by the hour. However, instances are usually bound by a specific CPU and memory configuration, which you can not configure yourself. But instead, you can only choose from the few available options that are listed. For example, when selecting one virtual CPU core, you get two GB of RAM and can go as high as you want with CPU cores. However, the available RAM will also double, even though you might not need it. When renting an instance, the allocated CPU cores and memory are yours until the instance is turned off.

And it is precisely this that hyperscalers are dealing with. Many instances don't fully utilize their DRAM, making the whole data center usage inefficient. Microsoft Azure, one of the largest cloud providers, measured that 50% of all VMs never touch 50% of their rented memory. This makes memory stranded in a rented VM, making it unusable for anything else.

At Azure, we find that a major contributor to DRAM inefficiency is platform-level memory stranding. Memory stranding occurs when a server's cores are fully rented to virtual machines (VMs), but unrented memory remains. With the cores exhausted, the remaining memory is unrentable on its own, and is thus stranded. Surprisingly, we find that up to 25% of DRAM may become stranded at any given moment.

World-leading memory manufacturer, Team Group is embracing the new DDR5 generation in full force by offering products that meet a wide range of user demands. In this case, T-CREATE, Team Group's label targeting content creators, is launching the EXPERT Desktop DDR5 RAM and CLASSIC SO-DIMM Laptop DDR5 RAM to serve the booming digital content market and join hands with digital content creators around the world to usher in the next generation.

T-CREATE's EXPERT Desktop DDR5 RAM, unlike its DDR4 iteration, uses a dedicated DDR5 cooling module and all-new cooling fin design to strengthen cooling under high-intensity applications and ensure digital content creators can continue to experience high-speed performances at the ideal operating temperature. Digital content creators require strong performances and large capacities. The EXPERT DDR5 has the specs to achieve speeds of up to 5600 MHz and dual-channel options available in 16 GB x2 or 32 GB x2, which can fulfill any multi-tasking needs and drastically enhances the creative experience.