The LPCAMM2 memory gets the thumbs up from the team at iFixit, who hailed it as a throwback to the upgradeable laptop and say the writing is on the wall for models with soldered-down, non-serviceable memory.
New laptop memory is here! LPCAMM2 changes everything!
The LPCAMM2 form factor gets its first outing in Lenovo's ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 system, as reported by The Register last month. While users are used to buying laptops with a fixed amount of memory fitted at the factory, the latest format is "modular, repairable and upgradeable" and uses the latest LPDDR chips so there's no need to compromise on performance.
According to repair biz iFixit, the problem with the low-power LPDDR memory chips is that the lower voltage they operate at requires more attention to signal integrity between the CPU and memory. In practice, this has meant shorter track spacing on the circuit board, which has led to LPDDR being soldered down as close to the processor as possible.
LPCAMM2 is intended to address this by putting LPDDR on a circuit board module that is "cleverly designed to mount next to the CPU," with "very short traces to help maximize signal integrity," the iFixit team explains in a blog and video describing their practical solutions with the ThinkPad P1 Gen 7.
