DDR3 SDRAM (Double Data Rate Three Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) is the third generation of DDR SDRAM.

DDR3 SDRAM improves on DDR2 SDRAM in several significant ways:

  • Higher bandwidth due to increased clock rate
  • Reduced power consumption due to 90mm fabrication technology
  • Pre-fetch buffer is doubled to 8 bits to further increase performance

The voltage of DDR3 SDRAM DIMMs was lowered from 1.8V to 1.5V. This reduces power consumption and heat generation, as well as enabling more dense memory configurations for higher capacities.

DDR3 SDRAM

Standard DDR3 SDRAM DIMM's

DDR3 SDRAM is normally packaged in DIMM modules.

DIMM Module Chip Type Clock Speed Data Rate Transfer Rate
PC3-6400 DDR3-800 400 800 6,400
PC3-8500 DDR3-1066 533 1066 8,530
PC3-10667 DDR3-1333 667 1333 10,660
PC3-12800 DDR3-1600 800 1600 12,800
PC3-14900 DDR3-1866 933 1866 14,930