Micron, the US computer memory and data storage maker, recently sent out official notices to its customers, informing them that its DDR4 memory products will finally be reaching end of life (EoL). The move is indicative of an industry that is moving forward with DDR5 and finally bringing the long tale of DDR4 production to a close.
Many of the top memory chip makers had already planned on ending DDR4 production, partially due to memory makers in China having flooded the market with more affordable alternatives. Micron winding down production of said memory also means that the world’s top three manufacturers will officially no longer supply the chips for the format.
In addition to Micron, Samsung already stated in April that it will also stop making DDR4 chips this year, and focus instead on the production of the faster, more current, and more profitable DDR5, LPDDR5, and HBM modules.
Another reason why Micron is ending the production of DDR4 might have something to do with the Chinese government asking one of its local DRAM manufacturers to forcibly phase out production of the memory standard and move on to DDR5. As for why, it’s probably the same reason we’ve just explained: times are a’changing, and the world of PCs and laptops are moving on.
But, as mentioned in the report, things aren’t looking so great for the Chinese memory makers, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT). The memory it currently has still suffers from instability issues whenever it hits temperatures of 60°C or higher, far hotter than what Samsung’s DDR5 memory modules are capable of operating in.
However, when all is said and done, none of us can say that we didn’t see the memory standard coming to an end. This writer remembers the day we went from DDR3 to DDR4. That is, unfortunately and inevitably, the price of innovation.
(Source: Tom’s Hardware)
