SK hynix first to win Intel nod for 256GB server memory

SK hynix said Thursday it secured Intel's data center certification for a 256-gigabyte DDR5 server memory module, becoming the first in the industry to validate compatibility with the US firm's latest server platform.

The certified module, 256GB DDR5 RDIMM, is built on SK hynix's 32-gigabit, fifth-generation 10nm-class DRAM. SK hynix said it has completed compatibility and reliability validation for Intel's latest Xeon 6 server platform. Intel's certification is designed to ensure stable performance when components are deployed at scale by enterprise and cloud customers.

"We are now able to respond more swiftly to customer needs, solidifying our leadership in the server DDR5 DRAM market," said Lee Sang-kwon, head of DRAM Product Planning and Enablement at SK hynix. "As a full-stack AI memory creator, we will actively address the growing demand for high-performance, low-power and high-capacity memory solutions to further enhance customer satisfaction."

Dimitrios Ziakas, Intel Data Center Group's vice president leading platform architecture, noted SK hynix's certification marks the "culmination of collaborative engineering efforts" between the two companies.

"The high-capacity module addresses the increasingly demanding requirements of capacity-hungry workloads of AI applications, enabling our customers to unlock new levels of performance and efficiency in their data center operations," Ziakas said.

While much of the industry's AI focus has centered on high bandwidth memory chips used alongside graphic processing units, SK hynix said conventional server DRAM is also becoming a critical constraint as inference models grow larger and process more data in real time.

The Korean chip maker said servers equipped with the 256GB DDR5 can deliver up to 16 percent higher inference performance than systems using 32GB die-based 128GB products. By using 32GB DRAM chips, the design also reduces power consumption by about 18 percent compared with earlier 256GB products built on 16GB DRAM, improving performance per watt -- a key consideration for power-constrained data centers.

SK hynix has previously obtained similar validation from Intel in January for its 16GB fourth-generation 10nm-class (1a) die-based 256GB product.