Your Desktop PC May Soon Use The New CAMM2 Standard For RAM Modules

Your Desktop PC May Soon Use The New CAMM2 Standard For RAM Modules

One of the leading DRAM manufacturers, SK Hynix, has hinted that the new Compression Attached Memory Module, or CAMM, may be making its way to future desktop PCs. The new memory standard was recently made official by the standardization body JEDEC, which also gave it a new official name CAMM2, to differentiate it from the original design by Dell.

At CES 2024, the Korean YouTube channel ITSub잇섭 visited SK Hynix’s booth, where the company’s representative stated that CAMM2 is coming to desktop PCs. The implementation is reportedly underway for desktop platforms (according to translation via @harukaze5719), but there are no details just yet.

As spotted by leaker and insider HXL (@9550pro), the recent press release from JEDEC has briefly mentioned the use cases for the new CAMM2 standard. The article makes a clear distinction between the standard DDR5 CAMM2 modules and the laptop-bound LPDDR5(X) CAMM2 modules, and the key paragraph reads:

DDR5 and LPDDR5/5X CAMM2s cater to distinct use cases. DDR5 CAMM2s are intended for performance notebooks and mainstream desktops, while LPDDR5/5X CAMM2s target a broader range of notebooks and certain server market segments.

While JESD318 CAMM2 defines a common connector design for both DDR5 and LPDDR5/X, it is crucial to note that the pinouts for each differ. To support different motherboard designs, intentional variations in mounting procedures between DDR5 and LPDDR5/X CAMM2s prevent the mounting of a module where it should not go.

Image: Micron

The change could see one of the biggest motherboard design changes in decades – the venerable DIMM form factor has pretty much stayed the same for the past few decades, as evidenced by the fifth generation of DDR DIMM modules that are currently in use today. That means we could be seeing motherboards with this all-new slot to accommodate the new standard, although given the flexibility of the PC DIY market, any kind of adapters that can allow CAMM2 to be installed to DIMM slots via an adapter can’t be ruled out yet.

Source: Wccftech

Pokdepinion: BTF connectors, CAMM2 standards – the next few years in motherboards could look quite different.