Samsung Speeds up Graphics Memory

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is using a more advanced production method to push graphics memory chips to a higher speed.

The company, which is one of the world's biggest chip makers, said Friday it has managed to make GDDR4 (graphics double data rate 4) memory chips that work at 4G bps (bits per second). That's two-thirds faster than the current fastest GDDR4 chips generally available, which operate at 2.4G bps, Samsung said.

It managed to make the higher speed chips by using 80 nanometer production technology. A nanometer is a millionth of a millimeter and the measurement refers to the size of the smallest feature on a chip's surface. As these sizes get smaller, chips can be made more compact, use less energy and work at higher speeds.

Samsung's first 4G bps GDDR4 memory will be a 512M bit (64M byte) chip. The South Korean company will begin offering sample chips to customers this month and mass production will come later this year.