Micron Shrinks RAM, Boosts Power: LPCAMM2 Revolutionizes Laptops

Micron has announced the launch of the industry’s first standard Low Power Compression Attached Memory Module (LPCAMM2), with capacities ranging from 16GB to 64GB. This innovation elevates PC performance and energy efficiency, conserves more space, and incorporates a modular design. The LPCAMM2 memory modules have been sampled and are slated for production in the first half of 2024, marking the first introduction of a revolutionary new form factor in client PCs since the debut of the SO-DIMM specification in 1997.

The new LPCAMM2 memory modules support data transfer rates of up to 9,600 MT/s, significantly surpassing the 6,400 MT/s of DDR5 SO-DIMMs. Although LPDDR5X has a higher latency compared to DDR5, it compensates with its superior data transfer rate. In comparison to soldered LPDDR5X memory subsystems, the modular form does not increase the latency of LPDDR5X memory.

Micron states that integrating LPDDR5X DRAM into the LPCAMM2 form factor, compared to SO-DIMM products, results in a 61% reduction in power consumption, a 71% increase in performance for basic workloads like web browsing and video conferencing as measured by PCMark 10, and a 64% space saving. Under the same speed as DDR5, LPDDR5X reduces active power consumption by 43%-58% per 64-bit bus and standby power consumption by 80%. Like DDR5 memory modules, LPCAMM2 modules also feature a power management IC and voltage regulation circuit, offering manufacturers more avenues to reduce power consumption in their products.

In December last year, JEDEC announced that Dell’s CAMM had officially become a JEDEC standard specification, named “CAMM2,” and is set to replace SO-DIMM memory modules. CAMM2 comes in two designs, supporting both standard DDR5 and LPDDR5(X). Samsung had already launched LPCAMM memory modules based on LPDDR design in September of the previous year, although the final standard specifications had not yet been established by JEDEC at that time.