LPCAMM2

[Aaron44126]

Saw this article.

https://www.ifixit.com/News/95078/lpcamm2-memory-is-finally-here

 

A new CAMM memory standard has materialized, LPCAMM2, which allows for modular LPDDR5 modules finally.  Hopefully, laptop manufacturers actually start using this.  (LPDDR chips are more energy efficient than regular DDR chips which you would see on SODIMM modules, and previously LPDDR has only been shipped in soldered-onto-the-motherboard form.)

 

[TreeTopsRanch]

Good news.

[Sandy Bridge]

Interesting.  I remember reading about CAMM a year or 18 months ago and wondering if it would ever go anywhere.  Perhaps it will.  That Lenovo is shipping a laptop with LPCAMM2 gives it some promise, it's not just Dell anymore.

 

I'd never actually realized that the "LP" stood for "Low Power", thinking it was "Low Profile" due to being soldered in, allowing for thinner laptops.  Which had made it a no-go for me.  I am curious what the practical level of difference from the lower power consumption would be.  I see that at load, it's 1.05V vs 1.1V, or about a 9% reduction in power usage, although "at idle" LPDDR5 can go down to 0.9V?  Which would equate to a 33% reduction in power.  Though "how much of the time is it 'at idle'?" and "how's that reduction compare to overall system power usage?" remain questions.

 

I don't suppose any manufacturer is going to be kind enough to design two identical laptops, one with SO-DIMMS and one with LPCAMM2, to give a scientific answer to this question, but it's the other part of the "is it worth it?" question.  If it's a two-minute difference in battery life but costs 30% more, I'll stick with SO-DIMM.  If it's a half-hour difference in battery life and costs 5% more, I'll probably figure that extra half hour will come in handy some day.