Memory manufacturers are shipping samples of DDR4 memory chips, the next generation of computer memory technology, and preparing to produce them en masse.

That means that memory modules based on the faster, more power-efficient memory technology could start shipping  on servers (where its benefits are in the greatest demand) by 2013.

DDR4 memory will operate at a less-energy-demanding maximum of 1.2 volts (20 percent less voltage than current DDR3 memory) and achieve data transfer rates of 3.2 billion transfers per second (double that of the top-end speed of DDR3’s memory bus). DDR4 also reduces overall power requirements

Theoretically, since Micron’s initial memory units are “x8” (having 8-bit storage areas), the memory will have a throughput of 2.4 gigabits per second.

But the gating factor for DDR adoption will be how quickly CPU manufacturers adopt the technology and integrate it into CPU memory controllers. Intel’s latest statements indicate the company doesn’t have DDR4 on the roadmap for its processors until the Xeon Haswell-EX processor — in 2014.

Desktop and notebook users may have a bit longer to wait. And the timeframe for a low-power version of DDR4 for mobile devices hasn’t even been set.