Compression Attached Memory Module (CAMM) is a

memory module In computing, a memory module or RAM stick is a printed circuit board on which Computer memory, memory integrated circuits are mounted. Memory modules permit easy installation and replacement in electronic systems, especially computers such as ...

form factor which uses a

land grid array The land grid array (LGA) is a type of surface-mount packaging for integrated circuits (ICs) that is notable for having the pins on the socket (when a socket is used) — as opposed to pins on the integrated circuit, known as a '' pin grid array' ...

, and developed at

Dell Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports personal computers (PCs), Server (computing), servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals including printers and webcam ...

by engineer Tom Schnell as a replacement for

DIMM A DIMM (Dual In-line Memory Module) is a popular type of memory module used in computers. It is a printed circuit board with one or both sides (front and back) holding DRAM chips and pins. The vast majority of DIMMs are manufactured in compl ...

s and SO-DIMMs which use

edge connector An edge connector is the portion of a printed circuit board (PCB) consisting of signal trace, traces leading to the edge of the board that are intended to plug into a matching jack (connector), socket. The edge connector is a money-saving devic ...

s and had been in use for about 25 years. The first SO-DIMMs were introduced by JEDEC in 1997. CAMM was created to overcome technical limitations of traditional slotted

. The CAMM module allows for shorter traces on the motherboard PCB as compared to SO-DIMM, allowing the memory to be run with less power and at higher speeds. The memory module is pressed and held in place against a bar with

pin contacts which connect to the

motherboard A motherboard, also called a mainboard, a system board, a logic board, and informally a mobo (see #Nomenclature, "Nomenclature" section), is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in general-purpose computers and other expandable systems. It ho ...

. Advantages of CAMM include lower thickness, allows for replaceable LPDDR modules, faster speeds above 6400MT/s, higher capacities up to 128GB per module and higher memory bandwidth. Disadvantages are that it cannot be mounted without tools and uses screws. Systems with CAMM memory already installed cannot be expanded through adding additional CAMM modules in the same way that two DIMMs can be added alongside two existing DIMMs to expand total system memory. Instead, the entire CAMM module must be replaced with one with a higher capacity. So CAMM may be of benefit for laptops and ITX systems. The total number of interface contact points of CAMM is 616 (44 per row times 14 rows).

History

In April 2022, Dell launched laptops in the Dell Precision 7000-series that used a custom form factor of CAMM for

DDR5 SDRAM Double Data Rate 5 Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DDR5 SDRAM) is a type of synchronous dynamic random-access memory. Compared to its predecessor DDR4 SDRAM, DDR5 was planned to reduce power consumption, while doubling bandwidth. Th ...

. In June 2023, ADATA demoed an updated design CAMM memory module, which looks different (and more compact) than Dell's 2022 design. The Compression Attached Memory Module specification was finalised and published by

JEDEC The Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) Solid State Technology Association is a consortium of the semiconductor industry headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia, Arlington, United States. It has over 300 members and is focused ...

as CAMM2 on December 5, 2023. The first computer, and laptop, to use CAMM2 memory modules is the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 released in April 2024. In May 2024, MSI announced the first desktop consumer motherboard with CAMM2 support, the Z790 Project Zero Plus. At Computex 2025, various companies unveiled CAMM2 products. Chiefly,

Gigabyte The gigabyte () is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The SI prefix, prefix ''giga-, giga'' means 109 in the International System of Units (SI). Therefore, one gigabyte is one billion bytes. The unit symbol for the gigabyte i ...

showed new motherboards, on which various RAM manufacturers demonstrated their new modules: G.Skill demonstrated prototype 5300 MHz (DDR5-10600) kits, Kingston showed 32-128 GB kits from their "Fury Impact" line. TeamGroup also demonstrated 4000 MHz (DDR5-8000) CAMM2 kits.

References

External links

JESD318
Compression Attached Memory Module (CAMM2) Common Standard (Ver. 1.02 Nov 2023) * Computer memory form factor Computer-related introductions in 2022 Dell {{compu-stub