DDR5 memory has been available in very niche scenarios and server builds for a couple of years now, but it's not had much of a suggestion for when it might hit mainstream. Now, we have our first hint of not only when you can expect to be able to buy such memory kits, but consequently, when the CPUs that support such high-speed RAM could become available too.
Teamgroup has now announced that it will begin the rollout of its next-generation DDR5 memory in the latter half of 2021, based around its ELITE branding. These kits will start at 16GB at 4,800MHz and will lower the power demands from 1.2v for DDR4 memory, to 1.1v. This will help with overclocking, with Teamgroup expecting the first kits to be capable of hitting 5,200MHz without much difficulty.
While such speeds are already achievable with some DDR4 kits, they are the most high performance options available and suggest that DDR5 could help bring prices down for the fastest of memory kits, as well as make such speeds easier to achieve.
DDR5 will also help bring pricing down for systems where Error Correction Code (ECC) is necessary. That double checking of memory to make sure its data is accurate is particularly important in server and workstation builds, and typically demands an additional chip be present on each stick, raising prices over typical DDR memory. That won't be the case with DDR5, with all ECC kits enjoying error correction as standard.
With DDR5 expect to land as soon as Q3 2021, it could mean that AMD's Zen 4 CPUs, slated for an end of year 2021 debut, could well support the new standard. Especially considering Ryzen CPUs typically benefit massively from fast memory.
