MSI benchmarks reveal CAMM2 memory performance on par with DDR5 DIMMs

MSI recently ran performance tests comparing Kingston's DDR5-7200 C38 CAMM2 memory with Compute Express Link Dynamic (CKD) against typical DDR5 DIMMs. The benchmarks were carried out on MSI's CAMM2-compatible Z790 Project Zero Plus motherboard.

Both memory configurations were set to identical specifications: DDR5-7200 with CL38-44-44-105 timings and a command rate of 2. AIDA64 benchmarks revealed nearly equivalent performance between the two formats.

The CAMM2 setup achieved memory read speeds of 105.83 GB/s, write speeds of 88,637 MB/s, and copy speeds of 94,772 MB/s, with a latency of 66.3 nanoseconds. In contrast, the standard DDR5 DIMM kit posted a slightly higher read speed of 106.76 GB/s, a write speed of 91,821 MB/s, and a copy speed of 94,619 MB/s, with latency at 65.3 nanoseconds.

While the traditional DDR5 DIMM modules marginally outperformed CAMM2 in most metrics, the differences were minimal. The most notable disparity was in write speeds, where DDR5 DIMMs showed a 3% advantage.

These results suggest that CAMM2 memory can deliver performance on par with standard DDR5 DIMMs when configured identically. However, further testing in real-world applications and gaming scenarios will be necessary to provide a comprehensive performance comparison.

CAMM2 technology is available in both DDR5 and LPDDR5X variants, with the latter offering bandwidth comparable to high-end XMP memory kits. Current LPDDR5X versions of CAMM2 can reach speeds up to DDR5-9600, surpassing their DDR5 counterparts.

The benchmarks indicate that CAMM2 does not suffer from inherent performance limitations. However, questions remain regarding its overclocking potential and widespread adoption by motherboard manufacturers and memory vendors for XMP-enabled products.