The only thing missing are CAMM2-compatible motherboards.
Teamgroup has unveiled its latest CAMM2 (Compression Attached Memory Module 2) memory targeted at both mainstream and industrial consumers. Under the T-Create lineup, these modules operate at remarkable speeds while offering all the bells and whistles of the compact CAMM2 form factor.
The memory designed for the mainstream segment operates at DDR5-7200 CL32-42-42-48 specifications, partly due to the factory overclock. Nonetheless, Teamgroup boasts read, write, and copy speeds of 113GB/s, 108GB/s, and 106GB/s, respectively, around 10-20% higher than JEDEC specs. Likewise, post-tuning, the latency dropped to 55ns from 73.5ns, impressive for DDR5. The industrial-grade offering runs at a more conservative speed of DDR5-6400, but that’s expected given its market.
CAMM2 offers many advantages, making it a worthy successor to the standard SO-DIMM, UDIMM, and RDIMM form factors. One of them is that these modules run in dual-channel mode while only occupying a single slot – physically. Likewise, the built-in CKD (Client Clock Driver), like the one found in CUDIMM memory, enables CAMM2 modules to run reliably at high speeds thanks to enhanced signal integrity. Laptops should benefit significantly from CAMM2 because currently, SO-DIMM modules can only run so fast and don’t get us started on non-upgradeable soldered LPDDR5/5X memory.
Since this is a first-generation product, Teamgroup is confident it will reach DDR5-8000/9000 speeds. All of this sounds promising on paper, but a key challenge in CAMM2 adoption is the lack of CAMM2 motherboards. MSI’s Z790 Project Zero is one of the few motherboards right now with CAMM2 support, and surprisingly, that same board was used to conduct these tests.
Motherboard manufacturers will gradually phase in this new design for obvious reasons. Pricing should also play a massive role in standardizing CAMM2; many users might not be willing to pay a premium when they can have cheaper and faster UDIMM memory.
Note that this was just an announcement, but we expect Teamgroup to launch these modules sometime in Q1 2025. Given that AMD and Intel are rumored to announce their budget CPUs at CES 2025, motherboard manufacturers might also chip in with mid-ranged B850/B860 offerings compatible with CAMM2.