Notebooks with up to 256 GB of upgradeable RAM: CAMM2 opposes soldered RAM

The organization responsible for the standardization of memory standards, JEDEC, has published the final specifications of CAMM2, the potential successor to the well-known SO-DIMMs, which were introduced in their original form back in 1997 and have since been used as modular RAM in most notebooks. Over the past few years, however, manufacturers have increasingly used soldered RAM, which saves space and energy but means that subsequent upgrades by the user are no longer possible.

CAMM2 should now at least partially compensate for these disadvantages of SO-DIMMs compared to soldered memory. According to the standard, a CAMM module, which can currently accommodate up to 128 GB of memory, may only be 78 millimeters long and 29.6 to 68 millimeters wide but is considerably thinner than two SO-DIMMs stacked on top of each other. Laptop manufacturers can either use a CAMM2 module in dual-channel operation or stack two single-channel modules on top of each other to install even more memory.

These modules support both DDR5 for desktop computers and mobile workstations, as well as the more economical LPDDR5X RAM for thinner and lighter notebooks - an important advance, as LPDDR5X previously had to be soldered, but in the future the more energy-efficient memory type can also be implemented as an upgradeable module. However, JEDEC warns that although all memory types use the same connector, they do not use the same pins - differences in the slots are intended to prevent the wrong type of memory from being installed by mistake. Dell has been offering selected mobile workstations with CAMM modules since 2022, and corresponding notebooks from other manufacturers are expected next year.