Published in PC Hardware

Intel's new chips to support 128GB of DDR4

by on16 October 2018


Core 9th Gen Processors will remember everything 

Intel has confirmed that there will be an adjustment to the memory support of the 9th generation of desktop processors.

Normally mainstream processors only support 64GB, using two memory channels, two DIMMs per memory channel (2DPC), and the maximum size of a standard consumer UDIMM being 16GB of DDR4, meaning 4x16GB = 64GB.

But according to Anandtech the launch of two different technologies with double height double capacity 32GB DDR4 modules from Zadak and G.Skill, as well as new 16Gb DDR4 chips coming from Samsung, means that technically in a consumer system with four memory slots.

This would make up to 128GB possible.

AMD has said its memory controller can support future memory that comes to market but Chipzilla has been meaner limiting its memory support on its chips specifically within the specification.

A spokesChipzilla said: “The new 9th Gen Intel Core processors memory controller is capable of supporting DDR4 16Gb die density DIMMs which will allow the processors to support a total system memory capacity of up to 128GB when populating both motherboard memory channels with 2 DIMMs per Channel (2DPC) using these DIMMs.”

As DDR4 16Gb die density DIMMs have only recently become available, we are now validating them, targeting an update in a few months’ time, Intel said.

So far that only means the new Core 9th Gen processors that are set to hit the market on 19 October. Which means the Core i9-9900K, the Core i7-9700K, and the Core i5-9600K.

Pricing for the newest 32GB memory modules is not expected to be cheap. A current 4x16GB kit comes in at around $550 for DDR4-2666, which is a ‘maximum supported’ memory kit, so a 4x32GB kit could easily run be more than double that.

Anandtech predicts it will be $1200-$1600 range. That would put a single memory module at $300-$400 which is more than most DDR4-capable processors.

The idea of the memory modules is for prosumers that need 64GB in a small volume system.

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