SK Hynix is expected to expand its market share in the server memory replacement market as it has received compatibility certification from Intel for the latest 'Sapphire Rapids' server CPU with its latest server DRAM DDR5.

SK Hynix announced on the 12th that it has received certification that its 10nm-class 4th generation (1a) DDR5 server DRAM developed by the company can be applied to Intel's recently released new CPU.

1a DDR5 is a memory that uses the most advanced EUV exposure process, and SK Hynix is the first in the world to have its 10nm-class 4th generation DRAM certified by Intel. Server DRAM is a memory that is combined with a central processing unit (CPU) and goes into data centers, and the main product in this market has been DDR4.

On the 10th, Intel introduced the 4th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors (Sapphire Rapids), a new CPU that supports DDR5 for the first time.

The market expects that with the launch of Sapphire Rapids, the main server DRAM product will rapidly transition from DDR4 to DDR5.

SK Hynix said, “We view it as a monumental event that our DDR5, which has secured the industry’s highest competitiveness, has received the latest processor compatibility certification from Intel,” and emphasized, “We will actively supply DDR5 in line with market demand and strive to overcome the semiconductor downturn situation as soon as possible.”

The global semiconductor industry has been waiting for Intel's Sapphire Rapids to be released as the key to a business recovery. When a new server CPU is released, data center customers replace their existing servers, and this process usually increases the demand for memory.

The industry expects that DDR5 will sufficiently meet the needs of customers demanding high performance. In particular, SK Hynix's DDR5 is expected to provide server customers with excellent power efficiency and carbon emission reduction effects, as it reduces power consumption by up to 20% and improves performance by more than 70% compared to DDR4.

In addition, during this DDR5 certification process, SK Hynix also obtained certification from Intel for its 10nm-class 2nd generation (1y) DDR5 products.

With this, the company will be able to provide customers with a variety of DDR5 products, including 16Gb and 24Gb, and is expected to see a further boost in sales of server DRAM.

SK Hynix Vice President Ryu Sung-soo (in charge of DRAM product planning) said, “We are working closely to supply DDR5 to many customers in line with the launch of Intel Sapphire Rapids,” and “We will solidify our leadership in the server memory market, which is expected to continue growing in the future.”

“Intel has been working closely with SK hynix and JEDEC to ensure DDR5 is optimized for our latest CPUs,” said Dimitrios Ziakas, vice president of Memory I/O Technologies at Intel. “Sapphire Rapids, combined with DDR5, will enable dramatic performance improvements in data center servers.”

Meanwhile, SK Hynix also published a ‘DDR5 White Paper’ in collaboration with Intel. The white paper contains detailed information on the performance and special features of DDR5 operating in Sapphire Rapids.

SK Hynix added, “This white paper will serve as a reference for server customers when considering adopting DDR5.”