Hands-On With Dell's Controversial CAMM Memory

Gordon looks inside of a Dell Precision 7670 workstation laptop to check out a CAMM memory module in person. In this video he also compares it to traditional SODIMM approach and explains why this might be the future of laptop memory.

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#dell #laptop #memory

00:00 - Intro
00:26 - Unboxing & Specs
05:04 - Teardown
06:15 - Physical inspection
09:05 - Design Explanation VS SODIMM
14:25 - Potential Problems

[RN]

As someone who remembers the dark days of the early 1990s with RAM shenanigans in IBM, Compaq, Dell, etc. machines, I was horrified to hear that vendors were again developing proprietary memory standards, but reading that this has been submitted to JEDEC makes me much more optimistic. I'll avoid machines with this until it's formalized as a standard and shown to be actually interoperable, not a standard in principle only.

[korbensc]

Question: if the distance between memory socket and CPU is that important, why not just rotate the SODIMM slot by 180 deegrees so they are close to the CPU (like with CAMM)?

[ChristianStout]

If this is what it takes to keep laptop memory non-soldered and it's an industry-wide replacement for DIMM then I'm all for it.

But if parts and upgrade modules are difficult to find or overpriced, Dell can go pound sand.

[tkpenalty]

It'd be good to switch to these so that soldered memory becomes a thing of the past, and forces dual channel configs universally

[AndreiNeacsu]

That older laptop brings back good memories of easy to upgrade/service/maintain hardware. It's not really doors, but I like those covers too. Also, everything on the lower side is a nice bonus too. I've had some horrible experiences with laptops wehere you had to remove the motherboard (and everything else) to repaste the CPU.

[annihilatorg]

I like that pin-to-pin interposer as long as the replacement cost is negligible. SoDimm was great due to the cost to have a simple socket was just a couple dollars. Now you're looking at the interposer, screws, rivets or whatever for the guide, and a stiffening plate as additional costs and manufacturing complexity. You can see why direct soldering ICs has become the norm with fully automated pick-and-place capabilities in the factory.

[benjytom]

I could not care less about the thickness of a laptop. As long as it's not over 2" thick, it's thin enough for just about anything I could want. But the performance increase is intriguing.

[nnasab]

I am happy to see new technology in memory technology. I am old timer and my first computer had dim ic memory that you had to pry out of socket to replace with the same model. Then 30 pin memory was the big jump in technology. Now this is my 3rd memory technology jump in my life time. 😊

[arminbreuer]

You don‘t HAVE to stack SO-DIMMs; Lenovo has had them side-by-side for a while, and a single SO-DIMM slot is hardly thicker than this, maybe a millimeter or so.

[alc]

Dell uses the LGA interposer for a lot of their high density cables as well and I love the idea. It turns a motherboard destroying catastrophe into a few dollar part.

[TheDoubleBee]

Very interesting that it has pads both on the memory module and the motherboard and the pin interface sandwiched between. Would be extremely useful if the same same could be done with CPU sockets, so you wouldn't need to replace the whole motherboard if one or more pins in the LGA were bent.

[rhuephus]

at this time of checking, Dell's CAMM 128GB is about $2, 500 and is only for the Precision line, so I do not believe the "old" SODIMM type is going away anytime soon.

[xud]

It actually took more space than modern SODIMM design. It only useful when you are design a system with large screen, in other word large board space, but want to made it thin.

[n.shiina]

good idea as long as it become an open standard. the advantage over 1~2 SODIMM slot might be negligible but when you're going 4 SODIMM slot, this one have advantage on standard dual-channel configuration (i know DDR5 have 2x32b per each module but i still consider them as 1 main channel). less power traces going around, less contact points

[andycampbell]

In the 2nd laptop if the SODIMM slots were rotated by 180degrees the connection distance to CPU would be the same as CAMM wouldn't it ?

[arudanel]

That's actually impressive, I'm actually wondering how that would work on an ITX motherboard, having the camm under the pcb like the second M.2 on many boards, freeing up space on top for other things. Heck, on ATX boards it could solve data issues, being right next to the cpu. Plus, having a flat ram module they could make waterblocks by EK, etc, for even higher overclocking. I hope this catches on, this could really fix a ton of issues with memory slots that have cropped up over the years.

[doculabd]

This is cool! I'd like to see more about new interfaces/standards like this. I saw your article on SD Express, a hands on video would be helpful to explain more about the pcie nvme interface and compatibility.

[technicallyme]

I would rather do this then have it soldier to the board. Does it need to be torqued specifically like some server cpus ?

[mrlithium]

I am very attuned to hostile hardware, and this does not bother me one bit. Consider the fact the alternative was Soldered on (terrible upgrade/repair) or SODIMM (weaker performance).
I would be perfectly happy if this could be adapted into a standard, it would be similar to MXM for laptop GPUs (very weird at first but now very normal and nice)

[Blackrhyme]

If design engineer would reverse the socket so the connection would be on the cpu side distance would be the same, they could also turn it 90° and have each beside each other so it would be flat as that camm module and space wise probably would not be that much different