Embodiments of the invention are generally directed to systems, methods, and apparatuses for transferring data mask bits to a memory device. In some embodiments, an integrated circuit includes logic to issue a partial write command to a memory device. In addition, the integrated circuit may include logic to transfer a write frame to the volatile memory device over an N bit wide data bus, wherein the write frame includes one or more data mask bits to be transferred over the N bit wide data bus.