Samsung is now bringing the world’s first 3rd generation 16GB HBM2E which the company calls Flashbolt. Compared to the previous generation Aquabolt, Samsung Flashbolt HBM2E offers twice the capacity and 1.33x data transfer speeds and bandwidth. In future applications, the 3rd gen Flashbolt can also offer up to 1.75x bandwidth per stack than Aquabolt.
By vertically stacking eight 10nm-class (1y) 16Gb (Gigabit) DRAM dies, the latest Samsung HBM2E is able to achieve 16GB of capacity. Not only does it provide double the capacity, but also offers significant performance improvements and power efficiency over the previous technology.
Memory Performance
Unlike Aquabolt, Samsung Flashbolt HBM2E boasts 3.2Gbps transfer speeds instead of 2.4Gb/s. Additionally, Flashbolt offers 410GB/s memory bandwidth per stack which is 1.33 times more than what Aquabolt can offer (307.2GB/s). According to Samsung, the 3rd generation HBM2E bears the potential to offer up to 4.2Gbps transfer speeds as well as 538GB/s bandwidth per stack in future applications. As a benefit, the new generation High Bandwidth Memory 2E will be able to offer up to 1.75x performance improvements.
Availability
Samsung says that the production for 3rd gen HBM2E will begin during the first half of this year. As the company starts expanding its 3rd generation Flashbolt, it will not stop shipping the 2nd generation Aquabolt.
Flashbolt aims specifically at HPC, AI, Machine Learning, and demanding graphic applications. As of now, this 3rd generation DRAM offers the best performance in the market.
Samsung Flashbolt vs Aquabolt
Below, you can take a quick glance over the difference between Samsung Flashbolt and Aquabolt.
| Flashbolt | Aquabolt | |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 16GB | 8GB |
| Transfer Speeds | 3.2Gbps | 2.4Gbps |
| Bandwidth per Stack | 410GB/s | 307.2GB/s |
| No. of Dies per Stack | 8 | 8 |
| DRAM Die Capacity | 16Gb (Gigabit) | 8Gb (Gigabit) |
Two years after the announcement of Aquabolt, Samsung is launching its new 3rd generation HBM2E.
Check out this post on the latest Micron LPDDR5 DRAM.
