
The rhythm of the machines has changed. And along with it, the way of dealing with memory. Instead of latency and limits, it is now bandwidth and speed. High Bandwidth Memoryor simply hbm, it’s one of the new ways to speed up everything that once seemed slow: from 4K videos to the simulations that run behind the scenes of artificial intelligence.
What are High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) memories
High Bandwidth Memory, ou HBMit is a very high speed memory technology, created to solve a bottleneck that has become an old acquaintance: the slowness in the data exchange between processor and memory.
Instead of spreading on the motherboard like traditional memories, HBM Stacks memory layers verticallygood next to the GPU or CPU. Such stacking creates a shorter and shorter way to the data, dramatically increasing the bandwidth available.
In other words, it delivers more speed, more capacity and less energy consumption. All in a compact and efficient format.
What are the specifications and key advantages of HBM?
For those who like numbers, HBM memories do not disappoint. The most modern versions, such as HBM3, even transfer data to impressive rates of 6.4 Gbps per pine – A giant leap compared to GDDR6.
With bus up to 1,024 bits, Each hbm3 stack can reach bandwidths that exceed 800 GB/s, which employs absurd speed for the most demanding applications.

In addition, the vertical stacking 3D architecture makes a total difference. The modules are so close to the processor that The latency falls, and the energy consumption falls together
Therefore, the combination of performance and also helps keep temperatures under control without sacrificing storage capacity, which can reach 64 GB per stack.
In short, the advantages are clear:
- More bandwidth: Data flow like never before.
- Lower latency: Less waiting time, more quick answers.
- Reduced consumption: energy efficiency that makes a difference.
- Greater capacity: Stacking that holds more memory in the same space.
- Compact Size: Ideal for Centers and AI accelerators.
The numbers show why HBM became synonymous with performance for critical applications.
Comparative table with the evolution of HBM technology
Nothing like seeing the evolution side by side to understand the difference between each generation. Below is a summary table to show how HBM has gaining strength and performance over time:
Generation | Launch year | Maximum transfer rate (per pin) | Maximum bandwidth by stack | Maximum capacity per stack |
---|---|---|---|---|
HBM | 2013 | 1 Gbps | 128 GB/S. | 4 GB |
HBM2 | 2016 | 2,4 Gbps | 410 GB/s | 24 GB |
HBM2E | 2020 | 3,2 Gbps | 460 GB/s | 32 GB |
HBM3 | 2023 | 6,4 Gbps | 819 GB/S. | 64 GB |
HBM4 | (Expected for 2026) | 9,6 Gbps | estimate of up to 1.2 tb/s | not yet disclosed |
With buses that exceed 1,000 bits and transfers above 1 Terabbyte per second, HBM redefines which means performance in critical applications
What are the advantages and disadvantages of HBM memories?
Advantages of HBM
Advantage | Description |
---|---|
Bandwidth | Incredibly fast data transfer |
Minimal latency | Direct access to the processor, reducing delays |
Energy efficiency | Consumes less energy and generates less heat |
Economy of Space | Vertical Stacking Saves Area on the Plate |
HBM Disadvantages
Disadvantage | Description |
---|---|
High | Expensive production due to the complexity of stacking and interposition |
Complex implementation | Demands advanced and expensive processes for perfect integration |
Restricted use | Limited Applications to Data Centers and IA; Little viable on ordinary PCs |
The difference between DDR, GDDR and HBM memory
While DDR is the traditional memory of computers and servers, designed to offer speed and stability in everyday tasks, GDDR focuses on high graphic performance, being the default choice for video cards.

Already HBM raises everything to another level, stacking memory layers directly to the processor or GPU to deliver the largest bandwidth and the lowest latency, something vital in AI and data centers.
Feature | Dr5 | GDDR6 | HBM3 |
---|---|---|---|
Architecture | Plana | Plana | 3D stacked |
Data bus | 64 bits | 32 bits por chip | Up to 1,024 bits |
Bandwidth | Up to 51.2 GB/s | Up to 84 GB/s per chip | More than 800 gb/s per stack |
Energy efficiency | Low | Moderate | Superior |
Main use | Computers and servers | Video Plates (Gaming and Professional) | IA and HPC (Data Centers, High Performance GPUs) |
Integration | Separate dimm module | Soldier on the video card | Mounted directly next to the GPU/CPU |
The origin and why the HBM memories were created
The concept of HBM was born from an old need: to find a form of physical limitations of traditional memories.
While DDR and GDDR offered acceptable performance for many tasks, they bumped into a difficult problem: The bandwidth.
HBM came from a simple challenge: shorten the physical distance between data and processor
In practice, this became a bottleneck for faster processors, such as the state -of -the -art GPUS and CPUS.
The first spark came in 2008, when AMD and SK Hynix began to draw the idea of stacking memory chips instead of spreading them. In 2013, the technology gained the blessings of Jedec and became a market standard.
But it was in 2015 that she arrived in the real world, feeding the GPU Radeon R9 Fury X. The debut was not perfect: limited to 4 GB, she was behind games, but the base was released.
Today, HBM is consolidated in the market: HBM2, HBM2E and HBM3 versions are already a reality in professional signs and artificial intelligence accelerators, which depend on extreme bandwidth to work. The lesson? Sometimes the most powerful solutions are born of those who decide to stack instead of expanding.
How is a HBM memory done?
The creation of an HBM memory is all based on high precision. See below a simplified step by step:
- DRAM Chip Manufacture: It all starts with the production of DRAM memory chips, which will form the stacked layers.
- TSVs perforation: os through-silicon vias (TSVS) These are tiny channels drilled in silicon chips. They create the vertical connection that connects the layers as if they were floors of a building.
- WAFERS TUNING: So that the pile does not turn a tower of Pisa, silicon tablets are tuned – reducing height and improving heat exchange.
- Dies Stack: DRAM layers are carefully stacked on each other. Each DIE is connected to others by TSVs.
- Integration with Interposer: The memories pile goes to a silicon interposition, which acts as a bridge between the memory and the processor.
- Micro-Bumps Training: Small spheres of welding, called micro-bumpscreate the electrical connections that guarantee communication between the stack and the interposition.
- Advanced encapsulation: The stack and interposition are encapsulated in a final module, which ensures the integrity and proper functioning of the entire structure.
- Quality Tests and Control: Each HBM module goes through strict performance, reliability and safety tests, so as not to let anything escape.
The repetition of this whole process is what transforms HBM into one of the most advanced memory technologies in the world.
Where are HBM memories used?
In the age of artificial intelligence, the speed of memory is what separates the possible from the impossible
Today, HBM memories are like superathletes in a data marathon: they appear where performance needs to be unbeatable and prolonged.
They are behind the scenes of many of the most advanced technologies we use, and those we don’t even know exist.
- AI accelerators: Plates such as Nvidia H100, H200 or AMD MI300 use HBM to deal with the hunger of data from large language models and neural networks.
- Professional GPUS: Although the gamer market still uses GDDR, graphic cards for rendering and heavy design already adopt HBM.
- Data Center servers: Artificial intelligence and scale data analysis need all possible bandwidth, and HBM delivers just that.
- High Performance CPUs: Like Intel Xeon Max processors, which have integrated HBM modules to deal with large amounts of data in tasks such as scientific simulations and complex data analysis.

HBM also begins to appear in research that goes far beyond traditional use, such as heterogeneous computing systems that bring together CPU, GPU and memory in a single package. A future where HBM will not only be for “large machines”, but for any application that wants to extract each drop of speed.
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What to expect from the future of HBM memories
The new generations of HBM – such as HBM3E and the expected HBM4 – intend to transform what seemed impossible into reality. With bandwidths that exceed 1.2 tb/if capabilities that triple what existed so far.
This means allowing increasingly hungry artificial intelligence models for data, training and operating in record time. It also means unlocking advances in scientific simulations that require immense volumes of information, such as climate research and drug development.
Today’s bandwidth is the window to the world of tomorrow
And don’t stop there: this new breath that HBM brings will rethink the way we create digital experiences. Rendering of more realistic virtual worlds, autonomous cars that make decisions in fractions of second, Big Data analysis that does not let a single pattern go unnoticed… All of this will become viable when the memory barrier disappears with great data.
Fonte: Simms International, Semiconductor Engineering e Micron
Source: https://www.adrenaline.com.br/hardware/o-que-sao-memorias-hbm-high-bandwidth-memory/