 |
Hybrid Memory Cube Is Speedy And Compact
The Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC) multi-chip module (MCM) that aims to address one of the biggest challenges in high performance computing: scaling the memory wall.
(The actual Cube is on the far corner of the board)
The speedup and better energy efficiency is achieved principally through parallelism. Because the memory chips are stacked, there is more space for I/O pins through the TSVs. Thus each DRAM can be accessed with more (and/or wider) channels. The end result is that the controller can access many more banks of memory concurrently than can be accomplished with a two-dimensional DIMM. And because the controller and DRAM chips are in close proximity, latencies can be extremely low.
(IBM Will Chip in on Micron's 3D Hybrid Memory Cube)The Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC) is a new memory architecture that combines a high-speed logic layer with a stack of through-silicon-via (TSV) bonded memory die that enables impressive advantages over current technology. According to company figures, a single HMC offers a 15x performance increase and uses 70 percent less energy per bit when compared to DDR3 memory, and takes up 90 percent less space than today's RDIMMs. The Cube is also scalable per application, which is not possible with DDR3 and DDR4. System designers have the option of employing the HMC as near memory for best performance or in a scalable module form factor, as far memory, for optimum power efficiency.
Still a year away from production, pricing for Cube products has not been announced, but early adopters should expect to pay a premium for the benefits of increased performance, power efficiency and space savings. The exascale community, in particular, will be paying close attention. If they're to realize their goal of a 10^18 FLOPS machine within a 20MW power envelope, they'll need all the help they can get.
(Micron Readies Hybrid Memory Cube for Debut)
One way or another, we'll get to our favorite super science fictional memory systems. I was thinking about the Schrön Loop from Dan Simmons' 1989 novelHyperion, the memory diamond from Charles Stross' 2004 novel Iron Sunrise and the Welton Cube from Robert Heinlein's 1973 collection Time Enough For Love.
Via HPCWire.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/19/2013)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion (Back On) ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Data Storage ")
One Terabyte Thumbdrive - DataTraveler HyperX Predator 3.0
'The Schrön loop was tiny, no larger than my thumbnail, and very expensive.'- Dan Simmons, 1989.
DNA Data Storage Is Robust, Scalable
What knowledge would we seek to pass down the ages, encoded in life's DNA?
Hybrid Memory Cube Is Speedy And Compact
'One Welton fine-grain memory cube would record all I could say over the next ten years...'- Robert Heinlein, 1973.
Hitachi Quartz Glass Memory Lasts Forever
'The books were crystals with recorded contents.'- Stanislaw Lem, 1961.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
MIT Robot Cheetah Video Shows Gait Transition
'The legs are long, curled way up to deliver power, like a cheetah's.'
TrackingPoint Smart Rifle
Not your typical 'smart bullet' approach.
'Hello, Computer!' Google Now Highlighted at IO13
'Hello, computer!'
Sky City's 220 Stories Are Go
'It rested among green parklands and... stood in total isolation, a glittering block of whites and flashing windows dotted with colors.'
CARMAT Bioprosthetic Total Human Heart Replacement
'George Walt's corporate existence proved the workability of wholly mechanical organs...'
Personal Sniffer Robots
'...The ticking combinations of the olfactory system of the hound.'
Physical Exam? We've Got Apps
See the future of handheld, personal medical devices.
The Interplanetary Internet, Vint Cerf Speaking
'This was the center of Interplanetary Communications.'
Drosophila Robotica, The Mechanical Fly
'... the Scarab [flying robot] buzzed into the great workroom as any intruding insect might...'
Robo-Raven Flapping Wing Robot Bird
'When he had first built them, they had been crude indeed, flying mechanisms with little more than a reflex-response unit.'
Japan's Nursing Home Robot Plan
Let's make the Roujin Z-0001 Robotic Bed!
Samsung Smart TVs With Gesture Control
'He waved his hand and the circuit switched abruptly.'
Swiss HCPVT Giant Photovoltaic 'Flower'
'...leaning against one of the slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector.'
Mini-Livers Made By 3D Printer
Organleggers may experience an employment downturn.
Smartphone Sensor System Tracks Gunfire
'Sound trackers on the roof could zero in on weapons action...'
Bacteria Now Make Biofuel Like Oil
'They have ... germs that eat pretty near anything, and produce oil as a waste product.'
