Although we are used to the best RAM modules on the market using company chips Samsung, Micron or SK hynixthe situation is changing. Many Chinese memory manufacturers have already switched to domestic solutions, primarily to silicon chips from the company CXMT (ChangXin Memory Technologies).
This trend is no longer confined to the borders of China, as the world’s tech giants are beginning to incorporate these components into their premium products.
Why China is investing in its own chip production
Chinese manufacturers CXMT (which makes chips for working RAM memory) and YMTC (which makes NAND flash memory for data storage) have strong financial support and government subsidies. The goal of these companies is to achieve the technological independence of China. Because of this, making a pure profit is currently on the back burner.
While global technology leaders (Samsung, Micron i SK hynix) maximally divert capacities to profitable data centers and systems for the development of artificial intelligence, Chinese factories give priority to supplying the domestic market. Thanks to this, prices and stocks of memory chips in China are stable and protected from large price increases dictated by the Big Three.
Nelson Duanvice president of Silicon Motion, explained this situation.
„China is a completely specific market. They have domestic manufacturers of NAND and DRAM memory whose strategy differs from foreign suppliers. Because they receive government support, they have a responsibility to maintain the stability and health of the local market. Foreign suppliers pursue the most profitable opportunities and send most of their inventory to AI data centers. On the other hand, Chinese manufacturers have to follow the guidelines of the state and support the local industry“.
New DDR5 modules and breakthrough to the global market
Chinese memory brands, Gloway i KingBankrecently introduced new DDR5 memory modules that proudly highlight the use of domestic 24 Gb (3 GB) chips. Using a standard configuration of eight chips, these companies produce modules with a capacity of 24 GB. They are combined into two-channel or four-channel kits (kits) of 48 GB or 96 GB.
What is most important for the industry is the fact that Chinese chips, primarily CXMT, have successfully broken into the global market.
SK hynixThese chips are already used in several extremely important brands:
- Corsair has already started using CXMT DDR5 chips in certain memory kits of the Prestige and Vengeance lines
- HP has initiated the process of certification and testing of CXMT memory modules for installation in its finished computer configurations and
- Dell actively adapts systems and tests the compatibility of Chinese components to ensure stable supply chains.
Technological breakthrough despite harsh sanctions
CXMT’s achievements are all the more impressive considering that the factory has only been around for a decade and operates under strict sanctions. Chinese companies are completely cut off from access to advanced technology EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography.
Because of this, CXMT completed the development using older generation DUV (deep ultraviolet) manufacturing tools. Their current best and leading manufacturing process is the 16-nanometer (G4) node.
It is this technology that is used for the stable mass production of DDR5 and LPDDR5X chips that today end up in computers around the world. It remains to be seen whether the general shortage of AI chips will further accelerate the adoption of CXMT memory globally, concludes TomsHardware.