Most modern laptops use one of two types of RAM: LPDDR memory that’s soldered to the motherboard or DDR-based SODIMMs that are removable. Samsung’s new LPCAMMÂ (Low Power Compression Attached Memory Module) technology combines the best of both worlds.
Like LPDDR, it’s a low-power, high-speed memory solution. But like DDR, it’s removable, allowing PC makers and end users to replace or upgrade memory without replacing the entire motherboard.
According to Samsung, the result is a system that:
- Takes up 60% less space on a motherboard than SODIMM-based memory
- Improves performance by up to 50%
- Offers up to 70% better power efficiency
Samsung says it plans to release its first LPCAMM modules in 2024, with support for speeds up to 7500 MT/s and capacities up to 128GB by soldering as many as four 32GB memory packages on a single module.
While one obvious target would be laptops, Samsung also notes that LPCAMM could be useful in servers, which can benefit from compact, low-power memory solutions that are more easily replaced than LPDDR memory soldered to the mainboard.
That said, soldered LPDDR still takes up less overall space, which could still make it attractive to PC makers that are looking to produce thin and light laptops. And LPCAMM being a brand new technology, I wouldn’t expect it to be as easy to buy replacement or upgrade modules as it is to find a stick of DDR memory.
And while LPCAMM uses the same CAMM (Compression Attached Memory Module) technology that Dell introduced in 2022, and which could become a standard in the future, as AnandTech points out, LPCAMM is not interchangeable with other CAMM. So even if we do start to see CAMM and LPCAMM production ramp up in the coming years, you may have to pay close attention to what’s inside your computer in order to find the right type of memory for upgrades
It will be interesting to see if any laptop makers actually implement this.
Laptops with LPDDR RAM are often not designed to be easily opened, or upgraded, due to the construction methods that are used in thinner laptops.
Although, maybe we’ll see some models with a removable panel to access the RAM and SSD alone, like we sometimes see already for SSDs.
Question isn’t how, but when 🙂
I think AMD will be last which integrate that solution 🤔 I feel bad for AMD because it looks great.
Well, it seems like there’s more of a point to replacing SODIMMs with LPCAMM compared to CAMM, so ideally LPCAMM would take over both SODIMM and soldering down the memory all the time.
But because it’s what I’d like to see happen, I know that the most disappointing thing is going to happen instead.