256GB of RAM in consumer platform - MSI teases new Kingston 64GB UDIMMs on X670e and Z790

igormp · December 15, 2023

Summary

MSI has teased support for up to 256GB in consumer platforms using Kingston's new 64GB UDIMMs, with screenshots on both X670e and Z790 platforms. Asrock has also said similar stuff, but with no pretty screenshots to back it up so far.

Quotes

Quote

ASRock and MSI announced they now support higher capacity 64GB DDR5 RAMs on each DIMM slot, allowing up to 256GB on four-slot and 128GB on two-slot motherboards. ASRock also announced it can do the same.

[...]

Both motherboard makers use the 64GB x 4 Kingston Fury Renegade KF560C36-64 memory kits with DDR5 chips made by Micron. We aren't sure why MSI couldn't provide a full-size screenshot, but ASROCK provided screenshots showing the support on both chipset platforms. These kits support EXPO and XMP 3.0 profiles, which support up to 6000 MT/s with 36-38-38 latency at 1.350v.

This was made possible by Micron and its 1-Beta node, which provides higher performance, increased bit density, and better power efficiency. This new tech was originally designed for the LPDDR5X mobile chips. It is likely anyone making DDR5 rams with Micron chips made from 1-Beta nodes should be able to provide higher-capacity memory sticks.

My thoughts

As someone who mostly uses their PC for work and needs tons of RAM, this really does come in handy. I guess I'll soon me able to upgrade from my 128GB AM4 setup to a new 256GB DDR5 one without needing to spare a kidney for an HEDT platform.

The articles also mention that Micron is working on an even newer fab process for 2025, which means that we could likely see another bump in capacities for DDR5.

Sources

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ram/new-desktop-pc-chips-now-support-an-incredible-256gb-of-memory-asrock-and-msi-update-ddr5-support-on-intel-z790-and-amd-x670e-motherboards

https://www.extremetech.com/computing/msi-asrock-announce-motherboard-support-for-256gb-of-ddr5