I'm a bit confused as to why they only validated Granite Rapids. Is Zen not worth it? Or maybe Granite Rapids was just the fastest to verify and they're working on other server CPUs?
The host controller needs to support the high-speed memory interface - Granite Rapids is first off the blocks with DDR5-8800 support (which is why it is able to support these MRDIMMs).
I suspect other server CPU vendors will follow suit in supporting these high-speed DIMMs. Currently, I am not aware of any other server CPU with this support.
Thanks. Even without Zen, it was still odd to me that no other Intel products were validated. I did not realize that the memory controllers of CPUs were not necessarily up to par with the latest high speed RAM.
I must admit I don't get the point of MR-DIMMs. We obviously already have chips that manage 8000 MT/s. I thought the whole challenge of DDR speeds in servers is about the memory controllers and mainboard routing, rather than the chips on the sticks, and I don't see how MR-DIMMs would alleviate those issues.
Think of it this way, if each DDR RAM chip has to run at 1/2 the speed of the DRAM bus then you can use much slower chips for your DIMMs. Of course the other things you mention matter, but we're also apparently reaching the point where the RAM chip's analog front end is having trouble keeping up.
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ballsystemlord - Thursday, July 18, 2024 - link
I'm a bit confused as to why they only validated Granite Rapids. Is Zen not worth it? Or maybe Granite Rapids was just the fastest to verify and they're working on other server CPUs?ganeshts - Friday, July 19, 2024 - link
The host controller needs to support the high-speed memory interface - Granite Rapids is first off the blocks with DDR5-8800 support (which is why it is able to support these MRDIMMs).I suspect other server CPU vendors will follow suit in supporting these high-speed DIMMs. Currently, I am not aware of any other server CPU with this support.
ballsystemlord - Friday, July 19, 2024 - link
Thanks. Even without Zen, it was still odd to me that no other Intel products were validated. I did not realize that the memory controllers of CPUs were not necessarily up to par with the latest high speed RAM.Dolda2000 - Saturday, July 20, 2024 - link
I must admit I don't get the point of MR-DIMMs. We obviously already have chips that manage 8000 MT/s. I thought the whole challenge of DDR speeds in servers is about the memory controllers and mainboard routing, rather than the chips on the sticks, and I don't see how MR-DIMMs would alleviate those issues.ballsystemlord - Monday, July 22, 2024 - link
Think of it this way, if each DDR RAM chip has to run at 1/2 the speed of the DRAM bus then you can use much slower chips for your DIMMs.Of course the other things you mention matter, but we're also apparently reaching the point where the RAM chip's analog front end is having trouble keeping up.