LPCAMM2 (Low-Power Compression-Attached Memory Module 2) is a new RAM memory standard presented by Micron and designed primarily for “ultraportable” systems. LPCAM2 RAM modules use memory LPDDR5X and are available in sizes from 16 to 64 GB (the standard still allows up to 128 GB). Compared to traditional SODIMMs, LPCAM2s take up up to 64 percent less space, consume 61 percent less power, and deliver up to 71 percent faster performance. In another article we saw what LPCAM2 memories are and why they mark an important step forward in the laptop sector.
iFixit: LPCAMM2 memories are future-proof
In the IT field it is not really possible to predict future trends. Or in any case certainly not in the medium to long term. How many times have you found yourself in your hands with devices, electronic components and technologies that, on paper, seemed promising but which instead quickly lost value because they were transformed into something else?
iFixit is a company that focuses on repairing and promoting the concept of repairability of electronic devices. It offers detailed repair guides, specialized tools and replacement parts for a wide range of devices. The company’s main mission, known throughout the world, is to educate people to restore the functioning of their devices rather than replace them, thus promoting the sustainability and the waste reduction electronic products (WEEE) produced every year.
According to iFixit technicians, LPCAM2 technology will – this time – really have the merit of revolutionize the market of hardware on a global scale. The memory standard, originally developed at the laboratories Dell (the specifications were donated to the standards organization, JEDEC), it is in fact totally modularrepairable and upgradeable.
iFixit explains that anyone who buys a notebook based on LPCAMM2 memories today is making a “future-proof” move. And for iFixit, this is certainly not a endorsement “every day”.
The image reproduced above is from the iFixit post.
Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 is the first notebook based on LPCAMM2
A system arrived on the iFixit table early Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7. Already available on the market, it is the first laptop ever to integrate LPCAM2 RAM memories.
Disassembling the system, one aspect immediately catches the eye: machines like the ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 are evidently destined to have a long life. Thanks to the modularity of the LPCAM2, users will be able to replace memory modules that should present malfunctions or extend the RAM memory in a very simple way, exactly as it has been possible to do on desktops since time immemorial.
It is difficult to predict how many notebook manufacturers will get on the LPCAMM2 train but, according to iFixit, the fate of soldered RAM memories on the motherboard and not repairable in any way, it now seems damaged.
Presented in this YouTube video, the ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 system is currently the only model in the P1 range equipped with LPCAMM2 memory, with a maximum capacity supported by 64 GB. It is true that the SO-DIMM based versions can push to higher capacities, but the Gen 7 version allows the use of modules LPDDR5X that work a 7467 MT/s. In another article we saw the differences between MHz and MT/s.
ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 uses a 16-inch chassis with a display OLED (aspect ratio 16:10). It is powered by a CPU Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Meteor Lake with integrated GPU, which can in turn be combined with a dedicated NVIDIA graphics card. The most powerful, which users can choose, is the NVIDIA RTX 3000 Ada.
Why manufacturers solder LPDDR memories
As we noted previously, anyone who has ever assembled a desktop PC or found themselves in the need to upgrade its RAM memory knows well that DDR modules (also known as DIMM o Dual In-Line Memory Modules) are manageable in a practical way. From home user systems to multi-million dollar industrial servers, the Upgradable RAM and replaceable is a concept that is now taken for granted.
For many years, laptop manufacturers also applied the same approach: they used a slightly more compact version (SO-DIMM) of the widely known RAM modules, for example, on desktop PCs.
In more recent times, however, there has been an increasingly widespread diffusion of RAM memories low consumption energetic. Of type LPDDRwhere “LP” obviously stands for low powerthese memories are created primarily for smartphones and tablets, mobile devices in which the battery life it is a parameter of primary importance.
The main downside of LPDDR memories, however, is that they must be soldered onto the motherboard, physically close to the processor. This scenario makes repairs and upgrades virtually impossible.
LPDDR works at lower voltages than DDR memories, offering the advantage ofenergy efficiency. The downside is that lower voltage makes it more difficult to preserve thesignal integrity between memory and processor. That’s why these types of memories are soldered as close as possible to the central processing unit.
With LPCAMM2 memories everything changes
As the acronym LPCAMM2 suggests, the memory chip in this case resides on a compact card, physically located very close to the CPU. By joining theefficiency and the speed of LPDDR with a thin, light, upgradeable design and an interface directly in contact with the processor, explains iFixit, users have a prodigious solution in their hands.
Finally we find ourselves faced with one modular laptop memoryhigh-performance and energy efficient, usable on any device.
It is therefore no longer necessary to make compromises because the LPCAMM2 allow you to play the role of the old SO-DIMMs with a clutter much smaller and better thermal conditions.
The challenge brilliantly won by Dell engineers
Finally, it is worth underlining that – although the first LPCAM2 modules are signed by Micron and arrive in a Lenovo branded product – this promising technology owes its existence to Dell engineers. They were confident that their proposal would have a good chance of becoming an approved and universally widespread standard.
So, they chose to hand over all of its “secrets” to, rather than maintain, a standards organization LPCAMM a closed and proprietary solution. And they were right because a few years after their intuition, the LPCAM2 memories were able to make their debut on the “mass” market.
The opening image is from iFixit.