14 DAY TRIAL // Dynamic random access memory, or DRAM for short, is available in many incarnations, chip types, module types, and kit sets, so SMART Modular had lots of options when it developed its newest DDR4 RAM.
However, that doesn't mean that all of those options were viable at that point in time. Sure, it could have released some desktop DIMM or another, but it's still pretty pointless right now.
In essence, there are only a handful of consumer motherboards with support for DDR4, and only three CPUs for that matter, the Intel Haswell-E.
And without some stronger influence on the consumer front, SMART Modular isn't likely to sell many normal DDR4 products there, not until the market really takes off in late 2015.
The enterprise segment is a completely different kettle of fish, however, thanks to the Haswell-EP line, so RDIMM are safer to dabble in. Preferable actually, to a certain extent.
The SMART DDR4 RDIMMs
RDIMM stands for registered dual in-line memory module and is the sort of RAM you're likely to find on the enterprise front.
Currently, SMART Modular only has 8 GB and 16 GB capacities in the works, which are considered small for this form factor if you can believe it.
Really amusing in a way, since 16 GB is considered too high for consumer products, to the point where no modules in that capacity will be sold before the second half of 2015.
Then again, data centers and pretty much all other kinds of servers need more resources than any single desktop is likely to ever need.
We don't know what speeds the RDIMMs will exhibit, but they aren't likely to be any lower than 2,133 MHz. The power supported will, of course, be of 1.2V, like on every other DDR4 product out there.
It kind of makes us wonder how little energy will be needed by low-voltage DDR4 RAM, whenever that specification gets unveiled. Maybe 1V alone? But we digress.
Availability and pricing
SMART Modular didn't reveal the price tags of the 8 GB and 16 GB DDR4 RDIMM modules, and that's no surprise when the earliest availability time frame is pegged as January 2015. Then again, the official release will probably fail to mention the price as well, even then. The tag tends to depend on order size and haggle to a much greater extent than consumer products found in retail. We suppose we'll have to wait and see until next year.