At the Embedded Systems Conference in San Jose this week Micron Technology has highlighted the importance of improving the energy efficiency pf memory systems and it estimates that memory consumes approximately 15 per cent of power in data centre server systems.

The DRAM manufacturer is expanding its Aspen Memory module portfolio with the addition of 1Gbit-based DDR3 modules operating at 1.35V as well as 2Gbit-based DDR2 modules operating at 1.5V.

This compares with standard next-generation DDR3 memory technology which operates at 1.5V, where standard DDR2 memory operates at 1.8V.

“Until recently, IT and data centre managers primarily looked at ways to reduce power consumption with energy efficient processors and power supplies, but they hadn’t looked at the additional savings they can achieve with low-voltage memory,” said Brian Shirley, v-p of Micron’s memory group.

Micron’s 1.35V DDR3 Aspen Memory server modules will be available in densities up to 4Gbyte using 1Gbit chips. According to Micron, the modules use 21 per cent less power in comparison to standard 1.5V, 1Gbit-based DDR3 memory modules.

While the 8Gbyte 1.5V DDR2 memory modules achieve a 58 per cent power reduction over standard 1.8V DDR2 memory modules.