The Exascale supercomputing race is now well underway, as the US-based Frontier supercomputer got delivered, and now we wait to see the remaining systems join the race. Today, during 79th HPC User Forum at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Terri Quinn at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) delivered a few insights into what El Capitan exascale machine will look like. And it seems like the new powerhouse will be based on AMD's Instinct MI300 APU. LLNL targets peak performance of over two exaFLOPs and a sustained performance of more than one exaFLOP, under 40 megawatts of power. This should require a very dense and efficient computing solution, just like the MI300 APU is.

As a reminder, the AMD Instinct MI300 is an APU that combines Zen 4 x86-64 CPU cores, CDNA3 compute-oriented graphics, large cache structures, and HBM memory used as DRAM on a single package. This is achieved using a multi-chip module design with 2.5D and 3D chiplet integration using Infinity architecture. The system will essentially utilize thousands of these APUs to become one large Linux cluster. It is slated for installation in 2023, with an operating lifespan from 2024 to 2030.

Nanya Technology, part of the Formosa Plastics Group, which is one of the largest conglomerates in Taiwan, will hold a ground-breaking ceremony for its new 12-inch fab that will be built in New Taipei City later this week. It'll be the biggest investment Nanya has done in the past decade, as the company is investing US$10.1 billion into building the new fab. This is obviously a lot less than TSMC is investing, but DRAM is made on different nodes to those that TSMC makes its customers products on, since DRAM doesn't benefit as much from node shrinking as other types of semiconductors.

The new fab will be located near one of Nanya's current fabs, in the Taishan district. Mass production is scheduled to start some time in 2025 and the fab is said to have a monthly capacity of around 45,000 wafers. Right now it's scheduled for a 10 nm technology node, but this might change by the time that the fab is up and running, especially considering that Nanya is already producing a range of 10 nm based products in some of its current fabs. Nanya's goal is to develop its next generation of 10 nm DRAM independently from other DRAM makers, as to avoid having to pay patent licence fees to its competitors.

According to TrendForce research, despite the significance of peak season and rising DDR5 penetration, the 3Q22 DRAM market still succumbed to the negative impact of weak consumer electronics demand resulting from the Russian-Ukrainian war and high inflation, which in turn led to an increase in overall DRAM inventory. This is the primary reason for a 3-8% drop in DRAM prices in 3Q22 and a more than 8% pricing dip in certain DRAM products for PCs and smart phones cannot be ruled out.

In terms of PC DRAM, sustained weakening of demand has led to PC OEMs adjusting their annual shipment targets and also caused DRAM inventories to soar rapidly. In 3Q22, PC OEMs remain focused on adjusting and destocking DRAM inventories, making a rebound in purchasing momentum unlikely. At the same time, since the overall DRAM industry remains oversupplied, even if PC demand is sluggish, suppliers still experienced difficulties in reducing their PC DRAM supply, resulting in a slight quarterly increase in the number of supplied bits. Therefore, PC DRAM pricing is forecast to drop by 3~8%

PC OEMs have revealed to market intelligence firm Trendfocus that Microsoft wants them to stop the use of hard-disk drives (HDDs, or mechanical hard-drives) as the main boot device in products powered by Windows 11, from 2023. It's not known how the company will go about enforcing this. One theory holds that it may amend the Minimum System Requirements for the operating system to specify a flash-based storage device, such as an SSD. If push comes to shove, the OS could even refuse to deploy on a machine with an HDD as the boot device.

What's also not known is how this affects SSHDs (hard drives with tiny flash-based storage media and an access-based data-juggling mechanism). Microsoft's decision should come as a boon for entry-level notebook and desktop buyers; as this segment sees OEMs use HDDs as the boot device, the most. There could be a push toward at least DRAMless QLC SSDs, or even single-chip SSDs. Regardless, it's clear that 2.5-inch HDDs are on their way out of the industry. HDD as a technology may still exist in the 3.5-inch form-factor, as they are in high demand from the data-center and surveillance markets as cold storage devices.

Although Micron is a predominantly US company, it also has some fabs in Japan, Singapore, the PRC and Taiwan, many of which became part of Micron after it bought other companies. Based on Micron's Computex presentation, it's getting ready to upgrade one of its three fabs in Taichung with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology later this year. This is in preparation for the company to move to what it calls its 1-gamma process node for DRAM. Initially this seems to be a R&D node to help the company prepare for a wider rollout of EUV technology. Micron's current DRAM is based on its 1-alpha node and it's planning to move its 1-beta node into volume production next year, in its Taiwan fabs.

Micron's current 1-alpha node is based on DUV technology and was introduced last year, with the company claiming it had a 40 percent improvement in memory density over its previous 1Z node. Micron no longer mentions its die size in the commonly used nanometer measurement, but its 1Z node is said to have been around 11 to 13 nm, so it's likely that the 1-beta node will end up below 10 nm, if its 1-alpha node isn't already below 10 nm. Micron's longer term roadmap also includes a 1-delta node, which was meant to be its first EUV product, but this now seems to have been moved forward to its 1-gamma node. It's likely that Micron will be moving its other fabs to EUV in due time as well, but DRAM has so far not benefitted as much from node shrinks compared to most other types of integrated circuits, so it'll be interesting to see what gains EUV might bring.

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 Beast DDR5 RGB memory. The Kingston FURY Beast family boasts the first DDR5 module used to break 10,000MT/s, this latest addition to the portfolio features enhanced RGB lighting effects with a new heatspreader design that provides bright and smooth illumination.

Kingston FURY Beast DDR5 RGB is the perfect solution to customise the style of next-generation DDR5 systems. Intel XMP 3.0-Ready and Certified, and qualified by the world's leading motherboard manufacturers, Kingston FURY Beast DDR5 RGB lets users build with confidence. With Kingston FURY CTRL2 software, users can choose from a library of preset patterns and effects. Alternatively, users can customise the smooth and vibrant RGB effects to make their system completely unique. All Kingston FURY Beast DDR5 RGB modules feature the patented Kingston FURY Infrared Sync Technology, which keeps the lighting effects in perfect lockstep.

Sabrent Rocket 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB DDR5-UDIMM's 4800 MHz Memory Modules for PC's. It seems like DDR4 has ruled the roost forever. Finally, new motherboards and architectures have allowed memory to grow wings with the advent of DDR5. Improved clock speeds promise up to twice the bandwidth of DDR4, all with lower voltage for better efficiency. To further help with that last bit, DDR5 has on-board power management to reduce motherboard cost and complexity. Sabrent's new DDR5 kits simply plug and play, install your memory kits of choice, enter the BIOS and hit AUTO, and reboot. For those that want to OC these kits, there is plenty of headroom to advance speeds if you want.

Reliability has also been improved by the introduction of on-die error-correction technology. Memory availability is improved by splitting the internal 64-bit (72-bit with ECC) channel into two independent, 32-bit channels (40-bit with ECC) and the addition of the same bank refresh. Combined with other features, including those that allow for up to four times the module capacity with consumer DRAM, DDR5 ensures your multi-core CPU won't be memory starved.

Transcend, released its industrial-grade 112-layer 3D NAND SSDs designed with DRAM cache. The outstanding random speeds and endurance are ready to serve the 5G communication and AIoT markets as digital transformation continues apace. Smart infrastructures have been deployed globally, and the demands for IoT, edge computing, and industrial automation heightened. Transcend's storage solutions are expected to satisfy these critical missions.

Transcend SSDs are built with high-quality 112-layer flash memory and a DRAM cache, which temporarily stores data, shortening the data processing time and increasing random read speed. As the data can be accessed on the DRAM cache instead of the flash, the number of NAND flash being written is reduced, prolonging the lifespan of flash memory while increasing the drive endurance. The drives come with a PCIe and SATA III 6 Gb/s interface, covering various form factors including 2.5", M.2, mSATA, and half-slim types. With 3K P/E cycles and capacities of up to 4 TB, the SSDs are capable of working under an extended temperature range (-20°C~75°C). Wide-temperature (-40°C~85°C) models are available to withstand harsh industrial conditions.

Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced its development of the industry's first 512-gigabyte (GB) Compute Express Link (CXL) DRAM, taking an important step toward the commercialization of CXL which will enable extremely high memory capacity with low latency in IT systems. Since introducing the industry's first CXL DRAM prototype with a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) controller in May 2021, Samsung has been working closely with data center, enterprise server and chipset companies to develop an improved, customizable CXL device.

The new CXL DRAM is built with an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) CXL controller and is the first to pack 512 GB of DDR5 DRAM, featuring four times the memory capacity and one-fifth the system latency over the previous Samsung CXL offering. "CXL DRAM will become a critical turning point for future computing structures by substantially advancing artificial intelligence (AI) and big data services, as we aggressively expand its usage in next-generation memory architectures including software-defined memory (SDM)," said Cheolmin Park, Vice President of Memory Global Sales & Marketing at Samsung Electronics, and Director of the CXL Consortium. "Samsung will continue to collaborate across the industry to develop and standardize CXL memory solutions, while fostering an increasingly solid ecosystem."

Despite rumours of both production issues and node delays, Samsung has assured its shareholders during its first quarter conference call, that the company is on track. Its yield rate from its 5 nm node was said to have entered maturity, meaning that yields have entered Samsung's expected levels. However, Samsung did admit that its 4 nm node had seen some delays with the ramp up, but it has now entered the expected yield rate curve. The company is also working on an new R&D line for its upcoming 3 nm node, but didn't go into any further details.

As for Samsung's DRAM products, there were rumours that its 12 nm 1b process node had hit some snags and that the company was going to skip ahead to its 1c node, something the company denied. Samsung added that the development of 1b was proceeding stably and that the 1c node is expected to be done on schedule. The company also said that media reports of issues at Samsung's foundry business were overblown and that order books are full, which is why some of its customers have had to produce additional parts with TSMC. Samsung's foundry business reportedly saw an increase in operating profit of 50 percent compared to last year, as well as an increase in revenue of 19 percent.

Viper, the trademarked gaming brand of PATRIOT and a global leader in performance memory, solid-state drives, and flash storage solutions today is proud to announce the market launch of their new VIPER VENOM RGB and non-RGB DDR5 high-performance DRAM memory kits. These brand-new VIPER VENOM DDR5 memory kits are available with and without the RGB illumination, it provides enhanced speeds ranging up to 6200 MHz with kit capacities of 16 GB-32 GB to meet the harsh demand for PC enthusiasts and hardcore gamers.

"Our VIPER Gaming fans waited quite a while for quality DDR5. The VIPER VENOM DDR5 is the first DDR5 DRAM that we distributed for hardware enthusiasts, hardcore gamers, and case modders addicted to unparalleled system performance and stability. VIPER's engineering team has put countless efforts to guarantee excellent compatibility and higher reliability across Intel 's latest platforms, currently." said Roger Shinmoto, Vice President of VIPER GAMING. "Our first launch of Venom DDR5 on 4/28 will feature the highest frequency version at 6200 MHz. We hope the enthusiasts or overclockers be able to experience the physical power of Viper Venom DDR5 at the market launch. However, due to the global shortage of memory chips, we have decided to launch the mainstream frequency models like 5200/5600/6000 MHz sometime in the coming months." He added.

Next week at Dell Technologies World, KIOXIA America, Inc. will be on hand to demonstrate how its innovative solid state drives (SSDs) are accelerating customer application performance and enabling product breakthroughs. From SSDs designed with PCIe 5.0 technology that boost power and performance to the industry's first lineup of Enterprise and Datacenter Standard Form Factor (EDSFF) E3.S SSDs, best in class drives from KIOXIA are used in a number of Dell product lines.

KIOXIA, the inventor of NAND flash, sits at the forefront of flash storage and SSD innovation. Achievements such as the introduction of 3D flash memory, XL-FLASH storage class memory, and new form factors and interfaces underscore the contributions the company has made toward enabling next-gen applications - and transforming the digital world.

AMD's upcoming Socket AM5 Ryzen 7000-series "Raphael" desktop processors will ship with native support for DDR5-5200 memory speed, according to a marketing slide by memory maker Apacer (which also owns the overclocking memory brand ZADAK). The "Zen 4" based desktop processors will feature a dual-channel DDR5 (4 sub-channel) interface, just like the 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake," but with no backwards compatibility with DDR4.

AMD already stated that Ryzen 7000 processors have a design focus on memory overclocking capabilities, including AMD EXPO, a custom memory module SPD extension standard rivaling Intel XMP 3.0, which will come with fine-grained settings specific to the AMD memory controller architecture. Until now, AMD relied on A-XMP, a motherboard vendor-enabled feature based in the UEFI firmware setup program, which translates Intel XMP SPD profiles of memory modules into AMD-approximate settings.

ADATA Technology (Taiwan Stock Exchange: 3260.TWO), a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories today announces the launch of a proprietary management software that supports TCG OPAL data encryption technology, A+ OPAL. It applies to all ADATA's industrial-grade NVMe and SATA III solid state drives that support TCG OPAL. With an intuitive and simple interface, it enables users to safely manage storage devices, especially for data centers, servers, surveillance, healthcare, and other applications and meets the strict data security requirements of enterprises and governments.

Compared with other encryption software systems, the "Self-Encrypting Drive (SED)" hardware technology defined by TCG OPAL can provide more efficient and convenient management. A+ OPAL software not only greatly reduces the high threshold set by the TCG OPAL specification for users with non-technical backgrounds, but it also saves time and simplifies encrypting through the host system, making information security protection more efficient.

CORSAIR, a world leader in enthusiast components for gamers, creators, and PC builders, today announced a new addition to its lineup of cutting-edge DDR5 memory: VENGEANCE DDR5 SODIMM. Optimized for the latest DDR5 gaming and performance laptops and small-form-factor PCs, these modules deliver groundbreaking DDR5 performance to compatible systems. Launching initially in speeds up to 4,800 MHz and capacities up to 64 GB (2x32GB), VENGEANCE DDR5 SODIMM pushes the boundaries of laptop and small-form-factor memory performance.

Modern DDR5 gaming laptops such as the Alienware x17 R2, MSI Raider GE66 12UHS, and ASUS ROG Zephyrus M16 need high-caliber memory to fully realize their performance potential. DDR5 ensures that today's high-end CPUs receive data as quickly as possible, elevating system speeds and processing power to greater heights. VENGEANCE DDR5 SODIMM modules harness the faster frequencies and greater capacities of DDR5 to improve load times and multitasking in a wide range of popular laptops and small-form-factor PCs, so you can bring DDR5 performance wherever you go.

ZADAK, a leading provider of PC gaming components and innovative water cooling solutions, today announced the launch of SPARK RGB DDR5 desktop gaming memory modules. SPARK RGB DDR5 is ZADAK's first module in the DDR5 format. The performance, capacity, stability and power saving efficiency have all been significantly improved. It delivers speeds from 5200 MHz to 6400 MHz, and it is available in capacities of 16 GB and 32 GB. It's sure to be a hit among early adopters and high-end gamers.

The SPARK RGB DDR5 gaming memory module features a matte white exterior with a frosted texture. The top of the module features a slender aluminium alloy dissipation array that releases heat from the heat sink. And the staggered design of the materials presents a hollow light-guide effect with gem-like decorations. The eye is inevitably drawn to the gem shape set in the center of the heat sink, which shows off the dynamic multi-zone RGB lighting. This stunning aesthetic will give it a place of honor in any high-end gaming rig.

Sabrent Rocket 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB DDR4 SO-DIMM 3200 MHz Memory Module for laptop, Ultrabook, and mini-PC. Expand your horizons with Sabrent Rocket DDR4 memory. Your favorite SSD company wants to make sure the rest of your system feels responsive, too. We provide affordable, high-capacity DRAM options to make sure you never feel left behind. Our passion for memory matches your desire to exceed the limits of your imagination. Our design is tight and cool, making sure never to get in the way of your dreams.

Running out of memory? Providing up to 32 GB of memory per stick, Sabrent's Rocket DDR4 has all your needs covered. You're just a single upgrade away from a lag-free experience. Don't let your lack of memory slow you down - realize the potential to multi-task like never before. Our DRAM will improve your productivity and your gaming experience, all at the same time.

SK hynix, was the only company that presented its HBM3, a high-end product known as the fastest DRAM in existence with the biggest capacity, at NVIDIA GTC (GPU Technology Conference) 2022, which took place on March 21~24. Known as the world's best-performing DRAM, HBM3 is the fourth generation of the HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) technology. SK hynix's HBM3 uses over 8,000 TSVs per stack (i.e. over 100,000 TSVs in a 12-Hi stack) and can feature up to 12-Hi stack, which is an upgrade from the previous HBM2E's 8-Hi stack. When fully stacked, it can offer up to 24 GB of capacity. With a 16-channel architecture, it runs at 6.4 Gbps, which is double that of HBM2E and which is the fastest in the world, expecting to further accelerate our digital life.

For instance, HBM has become a prerequisite for the Levels 4 and 5 of driving automation when it comes to autonomous vehicles, a topic that has garnered a great deal of attention nowadays. Also, HBM3 is expected to play an even bigger role along with the growth of High Performance Computing (HPC), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) markets fueled by the acceleration of digital transformation.

According to TrendForce forecasts, average overall DRAM pricing in 2Q22 will drop by approximately 0~5%, due to marginally higher buyer and seller inventories coupled with the demand for products such as PCs, laptops, and smart phones being influenced in the short-term by the Russian-Ukrainian war and high inflation weakening consumer purchasing power. At present, the only remaining source of demand is on the server side, so overall DRAM stocks will remain oversupplied in 2Q22.

In terms of PC DRAM, PC OEMs are adopting a conservative stocking strategy for orders in 2Q22 due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, which may continue affecting orders during peak season in 2H22, and revising 2022 shipment targets downwards. Additionally, the overall supply of bits is still growing, so the PC DRAM price slump in 2Q22 will further expand to 3~8% and may continue to deteriorate.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories has today launched new industrial-grade Registered DIMM (R-DIMM) DDR5 memory modules. This completes a full suite of industrial-grade DDR5 including U-DIMM, SO-DIMM and now R-DIMM modules designed for the latest Intel 12th Generation processors, and future DDR5 platforms.

ADATA industrial-grade R-DIMM DDR5 memory modules are suitable for a wide range of applications, including 5G backhaul equipment, AIoT, High-Performance Computing, Server, Data Center, Edge Computing, Networking, Surveillance and more. DDR5 is expected to account for 90% of the global memory market by 2026, and ADATA's DDR5 memory is ready to support the growing demand for reliable, high bandwidth memory.

ADATA Technology (Taiwan Stock Exchange: 3260.TWO), a global leading brand of industrial-grade memory, including flash storage products and DRAM modules, today announces that its in-house developed firmware for 112-Layer (BiCS5) 3D NAND PCIe solid state drives has become University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) NVMe 1.4 certified. The certification reaffirms ADATA's core competencies in R&D and commitment to offering high performance SSDs. UNH-IOL is an independent test facility that provides interoperability and standards conformance testing for networking, telecommunications, data storage, and consumer technology products.

The IM2P32A8 M.2 2280 and IM2P32A4 M.2 2242 industrial-grade solid state drives will benefit from the newly certified firmware. What's more, both SSDs feature 112-layer 3D TLC Flash memory developed by WD and KIOXIA, supports the PCIe Gen3x4 interface, and provides large capacities of up to 2 TB. With ADATA's firmware, they provide improved performance and interoperability. In addition to processing large volumes of data, the SSDs can also serve as storage devices or a boot disk, which can fulfill the needs of applications such as 5G, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), smart cities, and telemedicine.

Mushkin Enhanced MFG - An industry-leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance and high-reliability computer products, today launched its new Redline VORTEX Series of high-performance NVMe solid-state drives. Featuring a carbon nano heat dissipating label, the Redline Vortex delivers colossal throughput of up to 7415 MB/s sequential read and up to 6,800 MB/s sequential write. In combination with Dynamic SLC Caching and DRAM Cache Buffer, the Redline Vortex gives you a performance boost needed for content creators, gaming, and professionals alike.

The Redline VORTEX series, powered by Innogrit's IG5236 series (Rainier) controller, features the next evolution of the PCI-Express Gen4 interface offering an impressive range of performance, security, and reliability. Delivering up to 10 times the sequential read and sequential write speeds of some SATA SSDs and up to 50 times the speed of some traditional HDDs.

Nextorage Corporation will launch a PCIe Gen 4.0 x4 ("PCIe 4.0") M.2 2280 NVMe SSD "NEM-PA series" for the USA market from March. The products are initially sold on Amazon. Nextorage was established on October 1, 2019, as a company specializing in the memory storage solutions business led by engineers and staff who built on 20 years of history in memory storage at Sony.

The NEM-PA series is an M.2 2280 SSD equipped with a PCIe 4.0 / NVMe 1.4 controller and a 3D TLC NAND, and comes with a heatsink for heat dissipation. The drive achieves sequential read up to 7,300 MB/s, sequential write up to 6,900 MB/s, and random read/write up to 1,000 K IOPS (in a PC environment). The NEM-PA series delivers both high-speed loading and smooth gaming experience.

Intel and AMD will be releasing new CPUs that support DDR5 DRAM solutions for PCs and servers this year. In response, the DRAM industry led by South Korean suppliers is developing solutions to complement the arrival of the new CPUs. In the midst of the gradual shift to DDR5, DRAM suppliers will also scale back the supply of DDR3 solutions, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. With Korean suppliers accelerating their withdrawal from DDR3 production, Taiwanese suppliers yet to kick off mass production using newly installed capacities, and Chinese suppliers falling short of their expected yield rate, the global supply of DDR3 solutions will undergo an impending decline. With respect to the demand side, however, not only has the supply of networking chips been ramping up, but material shortage issues are also gradually easing. As such, buyers are now procuring DDR3 solutions ahead of time, resulting in a tight supply and demand situation in the DDR3 market. TrendForce therefore expects DDR3 DRAM prices to recover from a bearish first quarter and undergo a 0-5% QoQ increase in 2Q22.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. has validated Samsung's 14-nanometer (nm) based 16-gigabit (Gb) Low Power Double Data Rate 5X (LPDDR5X) DRAM for use on Qualcomm Technologies' Snapdragon mobile platforms.

Since developing the industry's first 14 nm-based LPDDR5X DRAM last November, Samsung has worked closely with Qualcomm Technologies to optimize its 7.5 gigabit-per-second (Gbps) LPDDR5X for use with Snapdragon mobile platforms. Delivering about 1.2 times faster speed than the 6.4 Gbps LPDDR5 deployed in today's premium smartphones, Samsung's LPDDR5X is expected to boost the performance of ultra-high-resolution video recording as well as AI features such as voice recognition, image recognition and natural language processing in next-generation smartphones. Furthermore, by adopting advanced circuit designs as well as dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS), LPDDR5X power consumption can be reduced by approximately 20%.