A new format of RAM “strips” for portable computers is supported by Dell and, recently, JEDEC.
The CAMM format initiated by the American company Dell could eventually replace the current SO-DIMM. This is of course the wish of its promoter, and it seems that the JEDEC has decided to approve it before the end of the year.
The limits of the SO-DIMM
During the 90s, we moved from SIMM to DIMM in order to make RAM modules more practical and more efficient. Shortly after the release of DIMMs, the laptop world experienced its own revolution with the arrival of the SO-DIMM.
Its name, for “small outline DIMM”, perfectly illustrates the objective of this format which aims to make the DIMM more compact to better integrate it into laptops. Alongside the DIMM, the SO-DIMM has since undergone many developments.
Still, that’s not enough for Dell. From April 2022, the manufacturer decided to replace the SO-DIMM with its CAMM format, for “compression attached memory module”. Already used in several of its machines, the CAMM format should make it possible to overcome technical limits that Dell explains by the old age of the format. To pc worldTom Schnell, engineer at Dell, explains that DDR5-6400 is a kind of limit for SO-DIMM.
No proprietary format
He specifies that the CAMM will authorize a significant increase in the memory density of the kits and an increase in the operating frequencies. Logically, these two elements are likely to make the CAMM evolve well beyond what the SO-DIMM could ever achieve.
Tom Schnell also specifies that the support of JEDEC, the organization in charge of harmonizing formats, is only a matter of time. According to the Dell engineer, the CAMM 1.0 specifications will be validated in the second half of 2023.
While voices were raised against the arrival of a proprietary format, Tom Schnell refutes this point: “ Dell is a huge company, we don’t keep the lights on because we get royalties for a patent […]. We basically want to recoup the cost of inventing and implementing it. »
He also insists on the global side of the PC world: “ We’re part of the PC industry, and the PC industry is built on an ecosystem of partners [et] of suppliers who supply everything […]. Yes, Dell makes its own innovations in its systems, but we also incorporate many innovations from many people. »
Source : pc world
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