SK hynix ships first HBM4E memory samples: 48 GB at 86 Gbps per pin

HBM4E memory is experiencing its sweet moment given the high expectations it has generated for AI acceleration chips and other specific high-performance computing uses.

Now, SK hynix has announced the shipping its first HBM4E memory chips to its customerss. These are sample chips to be used in the development of future products with this type of memory. The company’s models offer a 12 stacked layers design with a bandwidth of 16 Gbps per pin connection, and an improvement of 6 Gbps compared to the current HBM4 standard.

memory chips SK Hynix HBM4E They achieve a capacity of 48 GB per 12-layer stacked chip, so manufacturers will be able to use several of these chips to achieve accelerators with very high amounts of memory. A system with four of these chips would offer 192 GB of capacity.

The new memories offer greater energy efficiency; Specifically, the company talks about 20% more than the last generation, along with a heat resistance greater than 17%.

Samsung already sent its first HBM4E samples last May, but with a lower bandwidth than those of SK Hynix

On this occasion, the company has gone behind Samsung in terms of deadlines, which already began shipping the first samples of its 12-layer HBM4E chips at the end of last May. However, Samsung memories offer lower bandwidth at 14 Gbps per pin, 2 Gbps less than SK Hynix’s solution.