Why HBM is the Hottest Thing in Memory

Doug O'Laughlin · 3 Mar 2024 · fabricatedknowledge.com ↗

2 korrents from this piece

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Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

Our reading
High-bandwidth memory costs roughly twice the capital per bit that ordinary DRAM does, because its dies are twice the size.

Their wordsHBM has the unique dynamic of costing a lot more than traditional DRAM, and the dynamic 2x higher capex is driven by the twice as large die size for HBM.

Interesting
Our reading
The rush to build high-bandwidth memory starves ordinary DRAM and NAND of capacity, so AI demand tightens the memory markets it never touches.

Their wordsThey will shift what cash they generate to HBM capacity, which will keep supply growth in DRAM and NAND low.

Interesting