Samsung develops new chip for high-end graphics cards

SEOUL, July 15 (UPI) -- Samsung Electronics announced it has developed a new chip for high-end graphics cards that can transfer 275 full HD movies in just 1 second.

The Seoul-based tech giant said Thursday it has begun sampling the 24Gbps GDDR6 DRAM, which was built on its third-generation 10-nanometer-class process.

A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. The width of a human hair is typically between 80,000 and 100,000 nanometers.

"The explosion of data now being driven by AI and the metaverse is pushing the need for greater graphics capabilities that can process massive data sets simultaneously, at extremely high speeds," Samsung Executive Vice President Daniel Lee said in a statement.

"With our industry-first 24Gbps GDDR6 now sampling, we look forward to validating the graphics DRAM on next-generation GPU platforms to bring it to market in time to meet an onslaught of new demand," he said.

Samsung said the new product would feature low-power options to help extend the battery life of laptops and would be compatible across all GPU designs.

The company said customer verifications would start this month to commercialize the chip with GPU platform launches.

Experts said the new product will stiffen the rivalry between Samsung and other chip makers like South Korea's SK hynix and Micron Technology in the United States.

"Graphics memories tend to consume much power. Hence, it is notable that Samsung developed a powerful graphics memory product with low-power options," Professor Han Tae-hee at Sungkyunkwan University told UPI News Korea.

"In the memory chip market, Samsung Electronics is the dominant player. When it comes to graphics memory chips, however, Samsung had a close competition with SK hynix and Micron Technology. The competition is expected to become more intense," he said.