A system, method, and computer program product are provided herein to manage DRAM bank activation per cycle. A memory controller with embedded scheduling logic is employed to manage the system, method, and computer program product and to restrict the quantity of active banks in a given cycle, resulting in power savings with minimal performance loss, if any. The scheduling logic provides instructions to manage the state of associated DRAM banks. Each bank is either in an idle state or an active state, with the idle state consuming less power than the active state. The scheduling logic restricts the quantity of active banks in any cycle, with all other banks being in an idle state, which provides power savings to the associated system.