Gen 5 NVMe and DDR 5

It's hard to keep up with all the advances in storage technology. However, the latest and greatest seems to be PCIe Gen 5 NVM. I asked Google's Gemini about it and here is what it had to say.

PCIe Gen 5 NVM (Non-Volatile Memory) storage represents the cutting edge of storage technology. Here's a breakdown of what it is and how it differs from previous generations:

PCIe Gen 5 NVM in a Nutshell:

• Superfast Data Transfer: Utilizes the PCIe Gen 5 interface, boasting significantly higher bandwidth compared to older generations. This translates to blazing-fast data transfer speeds, enabling quicker loading times and improved responsiveness for applications.

• NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express): This refers to a high-performance storage access protocol designed specifically for solid-state drives (SSDs) connected via PCIe. It bypasses traditional storage bottlenecks, further optimizing performance.

Compared to earlier PCIe Gen NVM versions (e.g., Gen 3 & 4):

• Speed Boost: Gen 5 offers nearly double the data transfer speeds compared to Gen 4. We're talking about reaching up to 12.4 GB/s read speeds, compared to Gen 4's 8 GB/s. This significant jump translates to real-world benefits for demanding applications.

• Future-proofing: Gen 5 is built to handle the ever-growing data demands of applications like:

• High-resolution video editing

• AI and machine learning

• Professional content creation

• VR/AR experiences

• Faster game loading times

Here's a table summarizing the key differences:

Feature	PCIe Gen 3 NVM	PCIe Gen 4 NVM	PCIe Gen 5 NVM
Interface	PCIe Gen 3	PCIe Gen 4	PCIe Gen 5
Maximum Bandwidth	Up to 4 GB/s	Up to 8 GB/s	Up to 12.4 GB/s
Ideal Uses	Mid-range PCs, moderate workloads	High-performance PCs, demanding workloads	Cutting-edge PCs, future-proof technology

Keep in mind:

• Early Days: Gen 5 technology is still new (as of March 2024). While there are some Gen 5 NVM SSDs available, wider adoption and potentially lower prices might take some time.

• Compatibility: Ensure your motherboard and system support PCIe Gen 5 to leverage the full benefits of Gen 5 NVM storage.

Overall, PCIe Gen 5 NVM storage represents a significant leap forward in data transfer speeds, making it ideal for users who demand the absolute best performance from their storage solutions. As the technology matures and becomes more widely available, it's poised to become the new standard for high-performance computing systems.

I thought I'd clarify what is meant by PCIe as well and this is what Gemini had to say:

In computer storage technology, PCIe stands for Peripheral Component Interconnect Express. It's a high-speed interface that allows devices like storage drives to connect to the motherboard and communicate with the CPU.

Here's how PCIe plays a role in storage:

• High Bandwidth: Compared to older interfaces like SATA (Serial ATA), PCIe offers significantly higher bandwidth. This translates to faster data transfer speeds between storage devices and the CPU, ultimately improving system performance.

• Flexibility: PCIe is a versatile interface used for various components beyond storage, including graphics cards and network cards. This allows for a more modular and scalable system design.

Generations of PCIe:

• PCIe comes in different generations, each offering improved bandwidth and performance over the previous one. Current mainstream options include PCIe Gen 3 and Gen 4, with Gen 5 emerging as the latest cutting-edge technology.

Impact on Storage:

• The type of PCIe interface a storage device uses significantly affects its performance. For instance, a PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD (Non-Volatile Memory Express) will outperform a SATA SSD due to the higher bandwidth capabilities of PCIe.

Benefits of PCIe for Storage:

• Faster Loading Times: Faster data transfer speeds translate to quicker loading times for applications and games stored on PCIe SSDs.

• Improved Responsiveness: Overall system responsiveness benefits from the rapid data transfer capabilities of PCIe storage.

• Future-proofing: Opting for a PCIe interface with higher bandwidth (like Gen 4 or 5) prepares your system for future storage demands of increasingly data-intensive applications.

In essence, PCIe provides the high-speed connection critical for modern, high-performance storage solutions like NVMe SSDs. This allows them to unleash their full potential and significantly improve data transfer speeds compared to older interfaces like SATA.

I thought I'd ask about DDR 5 RAM while I was at and here was the response:

DDR5 RAM (Double Data Rate 5) is the latest generation of Random Access Memory, offering several improvements over its predecessors (DDR3 and DDR4). Here's a breakdown of the key differences:

Speed:

• Faster Data Transfer Rates: DDR5 boasts significantly higher data transfer rates compared to DDR4. We're talking about jump from around 3200 MHz for DDR4 to starting points of 4800 MHz and potentially reaching 8400 MHz for DDR5. This translates to quicker processing of information and improved system performance.

Capacity:

• Increased Density: DDR5 modules can hold more memory per chip compared to DDR4. This allows for the creation of RAM sticks with larger capacities, catering to the ever-growing memory demands of modern applications.

Power Efficiency:

• Lower Voltage: DDR5 operates at a lower voltage (1.1V) compared to DDR4 (1.2V). This reduces power consumption, leading to potentially improved battery life in laptops and more energy-efficient desktops.

Error Correction:

• On-die Error Correction (ODECC): A significant improvement in DDR5 is the integration of error correction (ECC) directly onto the memory modules themselves. This was previously handled by the CPU, and moving it to the RAM improves overall system performance and data integrity.

Other Improvements:

• Enhanced Channel Architecture: DDR5 features a more advanced channel architecture that allows for better data flow and improved memory access patterns.

• Burst Length: The burst length (the amount of data transferred in a single operation) has been increased in DDR5, further optimizing data transfer efficiency.

Here's a table summarizing the key differences:

Feature	DDR4	DDR5
Data Transfer Rate	Up to 3200 MHz	Starting at 4800 MHz (potential for 8400 MHz)
Capacity	Up to 32 GB per module	Up to (and beyond) 32 GB per module
Voltage	1.2 V	1.1 V
Error Correction	Handled by CPU	On-die Error Correction (ODECC)

Important Considerations:

• Early Days: Like any new technology, DDR5 is still in its early stages (as of March 2024). While some DDR5 RAM is available, it might be pricier than DDR4 for some time.

• Compatibility: Ensure your motherboard specifically supports DDR5 RAM. Installing DDR5 RAM in a system designed for DDR4 won't work.

Overall, DDR5 RAM represents a significant leap forward in memory technology, offering faster speeds, higher capacities, and improved efficiency. As the technology matures and becomes more widely adopted, it's poised to become the standard for high-performance computing systems.

On a final note, I exported the Gemini content of this post to Google Docs and thus retained all the formatting. This is quite useful as well as being executed very quickly. Tables within the Gemini content can be exported to Google Sheets if required.

Google Docs: Lesson Learned

I had a text document on Google Docs that had swelled over the years to 422 pages with numerous diagrams and my Pi 400 with its meagre 4GB of RAM would struggle to open it. Similarly my poor old 2013 MacBook Pro with 8GB of RAM would also have trouble. I finally decided that it was time to break it up into a series of smaller files. This was easier by the fact that I had already organised the content into alphabetical order. It was a simple matter of assigning the content under each letter to a new file. The original document just served as a master index to link to these new files. Figure 1 shows what it looks like now.

Figure 1: part of the opening page

Some of the files are still over 80 pages but the loading is now much faster. There seems to be a critical size for files and that, once reached, the loading time significantly increases. Figure 2 shows what the opening page of the P file looks like.

Figure 2: opening page of P document

The number of pages of the original document grew over a period of more than seven years and the lesson learned for me is that, if you're going to create something that will grow slowly but continually, make use of multiple, linked documents and don't go for the monolithic single document. It took me a good few hours to effect the changeover and the process was quite tedious and repetitive.

It's not that my Internet is too slow. Figure 3 shows the result of the speed test that I just ran.

Figure 3

I just think that there's something about Google Docs that causes it to not cope well with documents that have hundreds of pages and numerous graphics.

Practising with g(Math)

I’ve created this page in Google Docs using g(Math). I installed the much anticipated Equatio Chrome extension but it’s a disappointment as far as I can tell. Perhaps I’m missing something. The 12 point Verdana that comprises the text of this blog was chosen in Docs because it is more compatible in size with the images generated.

The links to the images of the mathematical expressions that are created are preserved in Blogger, so that’s an alternative way of getting mathematical expressions into a blog. It seems to be quite fast compared to the alternative in which javascript on a server is accessed and used to convert LaTeX code into mathematics.

The disadvantage is that you can't amend the LaTeX code because it's not there. It was used to create the image of the mathematical expressions and then it's no longer available.

I worked out after some fiddling how to get the equal signs in equations to align. Here is the proof:

Here’s another example of alignment using a different format:

Of course, if the images appear a little large, they can be easily resized:

When using Google Docs, the images do take a few seconds to be created but after that they display quite promptly. Here is a matrix.

The following matrix is identical to the one above but it is being displayed with javascript that accesses the MathJax website that renders the code to display the mathematical expression: $$M = \begin{bmatrix} \frac{5}{6} & \frac{1}{6} & 0 \\[0.3em] \frac{5}{6} & 0 & \frac{1}{6} \\[0.3em] 0 & \frac{5}{6} & \frac{1}{6} \end{bmatrix}$$The difference is time between displaying the image and getting the same result by rendering the code is considerable. Google Sites of course also creates images for any LaTeX code inserted but it's far clunkier than for Google Docs (read more about this on my Google Site). With Google Docs, the g(Math) does most of the work for you. Of course, if you're viewing the previous matrix on a device running Android, then all you will see is the LaTeX notation. This is a good reason to use the graphics rather than the LaTeX code in Blogger.

So in summary:

• Google Sites creates images of mathematical expressions from LaTeX code but it's a little clunky
• Google Docs creates images of mathematical expressions from LaTeX code but g(Math) makes the process easier
• Blogger will render LaTeX code if a link to MathJax is inserted into the head section of the template's HTML code OR, as I've done here, the mathematical content can be created first as images in Google Docs and then pasted into Blogger.

Google Classroom and Equatio

Google Classroom is apparently going to made available to everybody, not just teachers at registered schools. This change will roll out over the next few weeks, so I'll keep checking and hopefully have a chance to play around with it soon. Google stated:

We see value in bringing technology to people who want to learn, no matter the setting. That’s why we’re opening up Google Classroom to users without G Suite for Education accounts. Now, teachers and students in many different environments can teach or attend classes, manage assignments and instantly collaborate—all with their personal Google accounts. Starting today, these new Classroom users will be able to join existing classes and over the coming weeks, they’ll have the ability to create their own classes as well.

A change is also being made to Google Docs that it offers even better support for creating mathematical expressions. Here is what blogger Eric Curts of Control Alt Achieve had to say:

As a previous math teacher, I have a soft spot for the pains teachers and students can feel when trying to use math symbols and expressions in technology. The same thing can be said in science when typing chemical formulas. Technology seems to play best with normal letters and numbers, rather than exponents, subscripts, fractions, and such. 

Although there are many tools to help address these issues, one I have often recommended has been g(Math). This is an add-on for Google Docs, Sheets, and Forms, that provides a variety of ways to enter and insert mathematical expressions into these files. 

Recently I found out that g(Math) is getting an upgrade with a new name, new features, and new format! The new version is called Equatio and it makes it easier than ever to write with math and science symbols in Google Docs and Forms. Rather than being an add-on, this version of the tool is actually a Chrome extension, meaning eventually it will be able to work in many apps beyond just Docs and Forms. 

This new version is launching April 4, 2017, but you can see below for a sneak peek of this new tool complete with detailed directions, screenshots, and animations (click here).

So just to summarise what Equatio is all about, let's add the following excerpt from the same site that was just quoted from:

Equatio is a Chrome web extension that makes it easier to create and insert mathematical symbols and expressions, as well as scientific formulas when using Google Docs and Google Forms. Because it is a Chrome web extension, you need to be using the Chrome browser on a PC, Mac, or Chromebook to use Equatio. 

Equatio will be available for installation from the Chrome Web Store as of April 4, 2017. There will be a free version of Equatio that works in Google Docs, and a premium version that also works in Google Forms. 

I've been playing around with g(Math) and it makes adding LaTeX code easy but the resulting output is a graphic that can be resized and around which text can be wrapped. This is the same approach as adopted by Google Sites but not Blogger that makes use of Javascript to render the LaTeX characters. Equatio will operate by offering various options:

• The Equation Editor allowing you to enter math and science content with natural language and predictions.
• The LaTeX Editor allowing you to enter LaTeX characters
  
• Handwriting Recognition
• Speech Input
• Symbol Galleries

All mathematical expressions and chemical formulae created using Equatio will be inserted as images that can be resized and about which text can be wrapped.