What is GDDR?
You must have seen the word GDDR while checking the specifications of the laptop. Various generations of GDDR graphics cards have been released to the market, the masterpiece of which is the latest version.
GDDR6, the latest generation of these cards, is a revolution compared to its previous generations! In this article, you will fully get to know the types of GDDR graphics cards and their history . Also, we thoroughly review GDDR6 graphics cards.
The advantage of GDDR graphics cards
GDDR is a high-performance DDR memory designed specifically for high-end graphics cards. These memories differ from standard DDR memories in the market with features such as working frequency, clock frequency and exclusive voltage. The frequency of GDDR graphics cards is much faster than DDR to display video and images more smoothly.
These types of graphics cards are optimized for the data stored on the graphics, which can handle more throughput. DDR, on the other hand, is built for the CPU, which can store programs and data being processed with less latency.
History of GDDR graphics cards
GDDR is short for Graphics Double Data Rate, which is used specifically for graphics cards. You might be interested to know the history of this type of graphics card, from GDDR2 to GDDR6, which is a great version of it:
GDDR2
The first generation of these cards is called GDDR2, introduced by Nvidia. This version offers a graphics memory with a working voltage of 2.5 volts. This value is the same as the voltage value of the previous generation of graphics memory, i.e. DDR, but you should also keep in mind that it works at a higher clock pulse, as a result, it generates more heat.
Because of this high heat loss, this generation of graphics memory was soon abandoned and replaced by the next generations. As an example for this type of graphics card, Geforce 5800 can be mentioned.
GDDR3
The next generation of GDDR graphics cards, called GDDR3, has been introduced by ATI, but again Nvidia’s name shines because it was the first company to use this new graphics card.
The first version of them is called Geforce FX 5700 ULTR. The positive point of this generation of graphics cards is that they offer the most used graphics memory. Other features of these cards are listed below:
- Higher clock speed
- Hardware reset capability of information in RAM
- Faster state change from read to write mode
- Lower voltage consumption for input and output buffers (1.8)
GDDR4
Nvidia and ATI have introduced the next generation of GDDR graphics cards. Of course, Nvidia company did not welcome this new generation as it should, instead decided to work on the same graphics card as before, GDDR3. But this graphics card didn’t last long, because almost a year after the next generation of GDDR graphics cards was introduced and it eliminated all competitors from the competition.
In general, the positive features of GDDR4 cannot be ignored. Lower operating voltage, doubling the amount of pre-called bits from 4 to 8, doubling the amount of burst Lemgth from 4 to 8, are among these features.
GDDR5
The next generation of these types of graphics cards are GDDR5, which require 1.5 volts to operate. This is one of the reasons why they are a good choice for use in laptops and other devices. The first graphics card with GDDR5 memory has been launched by AMD company, which offers a great speed for data transfer.
Regarding the features of the GDDR5 graphics card, we must say that its working voltage, prefetch and burst length are the same as its previous generation.
But the GDDR6 graphics card!
Computers and game consoles have been using GDDR5 graphics cards for about ten years, in 2016, GDDR5X cards were introduced to provide better performance than their predecessors, but the final straw for GDDR graphics cards is their latest generation, GDDR6, which was released in 2016. 2019 was released to the market.
Let’s have a comparison between the last three generations of these cards to realize how great the new generation is:
- GDDR5 memory with a maximum data rate of 8 GB/s
- GDDR5X up to 12 GB/s
- GDDR6 up to 16 GB/s
Of course, GDDR6 graphics cards are also available in higher quantities.
GDDR6 graphics card in the future
By studying GDDR6 graphics cards, you must have realized that this generation, unlike its previous generations that had normal performance, is considered a specialized technology that has different tasks. For optimal use of this graphic card, it is necessary to provide a high bandwidth, so that this card can perform its operations with the least delay. It’s no wonder that despite the desirable features of GDDR5 graphics cards, the next generation of GDDR6 is considered a huge improvement. In this generation, the number of data transfers per clock cycle has been doubled (from two to four).
According to the features we mentioned, we can conclude that GDDR6 graphics cards are the future. For example, the bandwidth-heavy parallel design is one such manufacturer, Microsoft, which has announced that it will use 16GB of GDDR6 RAM in the Xbox Series X.
Generally, this memory is used inside PS5 and Xbox Series X. This memory is also used in the TI series 2080 graphics processor.
Provision of cloud graphic processing infrastructure
Cloud graphics processing is a GPU-based computing service. GPU or graphics processing unit has a parallel structure that can perform calculations faster and thus increase efficiency. To learn more about GPU, the What is GPU article. read
Providing cloud graphics processing service will help you to render video games, 3D animations, deep learning and machine learning and all kinds of scientific calculations using this service.
The last word
Today, almost all cards have GDDR memory. During the past years, several generations of these graphics cards were released to the market, each of them offering better features and performance. But among these products, the latest generation of GDDR graphics cards called GDDR6 has attracted a lot of attention by providing extraordinary features
