LPCAMM2 will be the biggest update to the RAM format in 25 years and could replace current computer memory designs in the future. One of its great advantages will be can be easily replacedas shown by repair company iFixit.

LPCAMM2 memory was approved by JEDEC last year and we recently saw it released in Micron’s solution for the ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 that Lenovo will launch soon. Although the new memory can also be used in desktops and servers (with the CAMM2 standard), its preferred segment of use is notebooks, as it retains the advantages of LPDDR DRAM and SO-DIMM designs (most used in PCs) and overcomes its shortcomings.

Although it’s too early to tell how far this format can go, This is a breath of fresh air compared to manufacturers who are welding these components in increasing numbers. More for commercial reasons than anything else. Whether you’re looking to upgrade your RAM or have to do it due to RAM failures, you’ll be amazed when you go through the box of one of these…

This is how the LPCAMM2 memory changes

Although the industry has accustomed us to buy laptops with a fixed amount of memory, soldered or non-removable, there are other more interesting formats such as LPCAMM2, a format defined as “modular, repairable and upgradeable” and that it uses the latest LPDDR chips, so its use does not reduce performance.

According to iFixit, a well-known repair site, the problem with low-power LPDDR memory chips is that the lower voltage they operate at requires more attention to be paid to signal integrity between the CPU and memory. In practice, this meant shorter track distances on the motherboard, resulting in LPDDR being soldered as close to the computer’s processor as possible.

LPCAMM2 tries to solve this problem by placing LPDDR on a circuit board module that is “cleverly designed to mount right next to the CPU”with “very short footprints to help maximize signal integrity”explains the iFixit team in a video reviewing the current standards and installation of LPCAMM2 memory in the ThinkPad P1 Gen 7.

In the video, iFixit shows how the LPCAMM2 module of a Lenovo laptop can be exposed by simply removing the bottom cover of the system. The module itself is hidden under a cover that can be removed using three screws and then simply lifting up the cover and module. Below that is a removable compression connector, a kind of interposer, between the module and the motherboard connectors. The truth is, it’s not that complicated and replacing a memory module is simply a matter of inserting a new one and replacing the cover and screws.

“They have higher performance than the old SODIMMs, are much more efficient, save space, and should even help with the thermal part. And it’s as upgradeable/repairable as anything we’ve ever seen.”, say iFixit and welcome the new RAM format. Very interesting, but with acceptance dependent on the will of producers and users who reward its merits.