Although cheaper than HBM4 or HBM4E, SPHBM4 still requires stacked HBM DRAM dies that are physically larger and therefore more expensive than commodity DRAM ICs, an interface base die, TSV processing, known-good-die flows, and advanced in-package assembly. These steps dominate cost and scale poorly with volume compared to commodity GDDR7, which benefits from enormous consumer and gaming volumes, simple packages, and mature PCB assembly.
That said, replacing many GDDR7 chips with a single advanced SPHBM4 may not reduce costs; it may increase them.
While a 512-bit memory bus remains a complex interface, JEDEC says SPHBM4 enables 2.5D integration on conventional organic substrates and does not require expensive interposers, significantly lowering integration costs and potentially expanding design flexibility. Meanwhile, with an industry-standard 512-bit interface, SPHBM4 can offer lower costs (thanks to the volume enabled by standardization) compared to C-HBM4E solutions that rely on UCIe or proprietary interfaces.
Compared to silicon-based solutions, organic substrate routing enables longer electrical channel lengths between the SoC and the memory stacks, potentially easing layout constraints in large packages and accommodating more memory capacity near the package than is currently possible. Still, it is hard to imagine routing of a 3084-bit memory interface (alongside data and power wires) using conventional substrates, but we'll see about that.
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Anton Shilov Social Links Navigation Contributing Writer Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.
thisisaname Maybe cheaper rather than "cheap" Reply
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/dram/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/dram/industry-preps-cheap-hbm4-memory-spec-with-narrow-interface-but-it-isnt-a-gddr-killer-jedecs-new-sphbm4-spec-weds-hbm4-performance-and-lower-costs-to-enable-higher-capacity#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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