This is exactly what Apple has done, but it does mean soldered memory, as socketed memory at these speeds still hasn't happened. In the server market that is pretty unpopular (even the hyperscalars are apparently reusing DDR4 with CXL in newer machines). DDR6 apparently has twice the memory bandwidth of DDR5 so that will bring it back in line, to around 1TB/s for 12 channels, so comparable but still with standard memory sticks.
If you don't have to worry about replaceable sticks and users choosing their own memory manufacturer, speed and size then you can shorten the traces and improve connectivity including the bus width and its latency. I can't help but think the DIMM format is coming to an end.
I don't expect them to change their entire pipeline. But surely they could offer a unified RAM lineup that caters to specific needs. Not everyone needs that fast RAM access but for those who do it could be nice to have an option. The writing is on the wall for years now.
I mostly see dollar signs. It's a very dense board and every square inch has a ton of high speed I/O. I imagine there are thousands of buried vias. Economies of scale help and the things being installed also cost a lot, but I'm still curious how much of their BOM cost is board fab.
1.2TB/s memory bandwidth from a CPU. Oh boy. What the fuck is Intel doing all this time and can’t deliver equivalent performance?
This is exactly what Apple has done, but it does mean soldered memory, as socketed memory at these speeds still hasn't happened. In the server market that is pretty unpopular (even the hyperscalars are apparently reusing DDR4 with CXL in newer machines). DDR6 apparently has twice the memory bandwidth of DDR5 so that will bring it back in line, to around 1TB/s for 12 channels, so comparable but still with standard memory sticks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAMM_(memory_module)
If you don't have to worry about replaceable sticks and users choosing their own memory manufacturer, speed and size then you can shorten the traces and improve connectivity including the bus width and its latency. I can't help but think the DIMM format is coming to an end.
I don't expect them to change their entire pipeline. But surely they could offer a unified RAM lineup that caters to specific needs. Not everyone needs that fast RAM access but for those who do it could be nice to have an option. The writing is on the wall for years now.
> What the fuck is Intel doing all this time
The thing is, it doesn't have to do anything. It is busy getting bailed out, I guess.
This is going to be a small fortune I imagine. The closest AMD processors is about 10k usd per cpu + ram etc. 35k - 60k depending on amount of RAM?
The design and symmetry of that PCB is oddly satisfying.
Also, does that mean that once the AI bubble pops, Nvidia come come to the consumer market with a powerful ARM gaming SoC?
I mostly see dollar signs. It's a very dense board and every square inch has a ton of high speed I/O. I imagine there are thousands of buried vias. Economies of scale help and the things being installed also cost a lot, but I'm still curious how much of their BOM cost is board fab.