When we are choosing smartphones, we often find LPDDR5 memory in the specifications. If you’re interested in digital products, you would also know that computer memory has entered the DDR5 era, and some graphics card products still use GDDR5 memory. From the names, these three have a clear common point, which is the presence of DDR5, with the difference lying in the prefixes.
DDR5, LPDDR5, and GDDR5 all represent a type of memory specification or standard, and they are all based on DRAM. However, there are some key differences among them, so let’s take a closer look and see what distinctions they have.
Different Application Scenarios
By observing their presence in different devices or products, it becomes clear that their application scenarios are distinct. To put it simply, LPDDR5 is the latest-generation memory specification for mobile platforms, commonly used in devices like smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches; DDR5 is the next-generation memory specification for computer platforms, which is not yet widely adopted; GDDR5, on the other hand, is the previous generation memory specification for dedicated graphics cards. These three represent dynamic memory specifications for three different platforms.
Different Specifications
The specification name for DDR is DDR SDRAM, which stands for Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory. The most widely used memory in the current PC market is DDR4 memory, and the JEDEC association officially announced the latest DDR5 in July 2020. It starts at a frequency of 4800MHz and can currently reach 6400MHz, and even 7200MHz.
LPDDR, which stands for Low Power Double Data Rate SDRAM, is a type of DDR SDRAM known as mDDR (Mobile DDR SDRAM). It features lower power consumption and a smaller form factor than the same-generation DDR memory. The LPDDR5 memory standard commonly used in smartphones was officially released by the JEDEC association on February 20, 2019. In comparison to the previous LPDDR4 standard, LPDDR5’s I/O speed has doubled from 3200 MT/s to 6400 MT/s.
GDDR is an extension of DDR with the prefix “G” standing for “Graphics.” It is primarily used for high-speed graphics processing, such as in computer graphics cards. It can be understood as memory specifically designed for graphics cards. Compared to DDR, GDDR features higher clock frequencies and lower heat generation. GDDR5 was the previous generation memory specification, and the latest GDDR6 is now integrated into NVIDIA’s RTX 30 series and AMD’s latest 6000 series graphics cards. However, in comparison to GDDR3 or GDDR4, GDDR5 operates at a reduced voltage of only 1.5V from the previous 1.8V, and it also incorporates new power management technologies for lower power consumption.
Different Development Paths
From their names, one might assume that LPDDR and GDDR are both derived from the DDR standard. While this was true for their initial generations, they have since diverged and are now evolving in different directions.
| DDR/LPDDR Voltage | DDR | LPDDR |
|---|---|---|
| DDR/LPDDR | 2.5v | 1.8v |
| DDR2/LPDDR2 | 1.8v | 1.2v |
| DDR3/LPDDR3 | 1.5v | 1.2v |
| DDR4/LPDDR4 | 1.2 | 1.1v |
| DDR5/LPDDR5 | 1.1 | 1.05v |
Starting with LPDDR and DDR, which have relatively similar application scenarios, LPDDR was developed based on the same-generation DDR standard until LPDDR4. However, after the fourth generation, they took different development paths. DDR primarily improved performance by increasing core frequency, while LPDDR chose to enhance Prefetch prefetching bit numbers. Furthermore, in terms of commercial deployment, LPDDR4 entered the mainstream consumer market before DDR4. The relationship between the two evolved from a similar dependency to two relatively independent specification systems, each advancing according to its specific application scenario requirements.
The latest LPDDR5 once again took the lead ahead of DDR5, entering the consumer market even before the DDR5 specification was officially established. LPDDR5 isn’t derived from DDR5 improvements; rather, it’s a new generation of low-power memory specification designed for mobile platforms, based on the foundation of LPDDR4X. This perspective indicates that the differences between the two will continue to grow.
Moving on to GDDR, the most current standard is GDDR6, which appears to be numerically ahead of LPDDR5 and DDR5. However, in reality, the previous generation GDDR5 had been in use for a decade and, like GDDR4 and GDDR3, was developed based on DDR3 technology. Even the latest GDDR6 is built upon the foundation of DDR4.
However, due to differing performance priorities, its development path is relatively independent from the other two. Although GDDR currently remains based on the relatively older DDR3/4 specifications, it has advanced on its own to the sixth generation with GDDR6. In terms of parameters that significantly impact graphics card performance, such as data bus width, GDDR6 boasts operating frequencies far surpassing those of contemporary DDR. Furthermore, its development trajectory is now less reliant on DDR technology to continue progressing.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we summarize the relationships among DDR, LPDDR, and GDDR. The latter two began their development and improvements based on the DDR specifications in their initial stages. However, they later evolved into independent specifications driven by their application requirements. Surprisingly, the earliest appearance of DDR led to the slowest pace of development. GDDR has undergone the most iterations, although this is largely due to GDDR4, which was formulated under ATI’s leadership and quickly became obsolete. On the other hand, LPDDR entered a rapid period of development and iteration, thanks to the rapid growth of mobile devices, especially smartphones.
Furthermore, the latest DDR5, LPDDR5, and GDDR6 cannot be simply compared in terms of performance or used as references for each other’s evolution. This is because while there are many shared reference standards in their respective latest generations, they each have their emphasis. Comparing certain performance metrics in isolation doesn’t accurately capture their respective strengths.
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