Technology @lemmy.world ylai @lemmy.ml 2 wk. ago

iFixit hails replaceable LPCAMM2 laptop memory as a 'big deal'

www.theregister.com iFixit hails replaceable LPCAMM2 laptop memory

So long SODIMM? Only in new Thinkpad so far, but memory format may well spread across market

72 comments

I won’t hold my breath on Apple using this. It’d destroy their upsell from 8gb process in one fell swoop.
- Apple only do consumer friendly when forced by the EU.
  
  And even then they'll think of the most malicious way to comply:
  
  Forced to change the connector to USB C? Better only give it USB 2.0 speeds on the regular and Plus model.
  
  Forced to allow third party app stores? Better give it as many restrictions and limits as possible. I assume/hope they'll eventually be forced to open up more, but they'll fight it for as long as possible.
- It’d destroy their upsell from 8gb process in one fell swoop.
  
  There's a video where someone upgrades the memory of an iPhone by cnc'ing the existing memory chip. So basically using a drill to more or less drill the existing chip to get rid of it. Requires crazy precision.
  
  What the fuck? Like its not even bga or some other kind of soldering?
- They'd have to redesign their SoCs. The memory chips are right next to the SoC with the M chips.
  
  Not much redesign would be required tho, many laptops have hybrid memory like one slot of replaceable ram and soldered ram near it, so they could still keep things (soldered ram on chip) the way they are and just add in soc architecture interface for additional slots of replaceable ram, edit: but we all know that they wouldn't do it unless they forced by EU
- I could 100% see them offering user replaceable memory, but with a slower max speed than factory installed. Gotta have something to point to when the regulators come a-knockin.
- They could always lock in memory limits until you pay. But i don’t think they will anyway coz doing so won’t increase their sales.
  
  If users have the "I can always upgrade later" option, that screws with the purchases of the higher end models "just in case I need it in the future".
Good news I guess as I’ll never again buy a new computer which can’t be upgraded in the long term.

It ain’t my vision anymore and I hope more and more consumers think about buying second hand or buying upgradeable computers.
- How about phones? They are a computer after all.
  
  I'm in the proces of choosing a new one (forced by hardware failures of current one) a I hate having to choose all of its parameters with no possibility of any upgrade or meaningful configuration at the time of purchase.
Bring back THE RAMBUS!
- I remember learning about this in the early 00's but then the textbooks were saying about this newer memory technology which the world has moved to known as DDR! Makes me feel so old now 👵
I wonder if it means something for handheld devices like Steam Deck.
Now let's see it on an sff PC mobo.
If you're a manufacture, what incentives LPCAMM2 gives you over soldering the RAM? With soldering, you can upsell the upgrades and force ppl to replace the whole machine every 1-2 years. How does LPCAMM2 benefits the company? I'm talking in general, not some niche manufacturers like Framework.

TBH, I don't think many will adopt this. Maybe it will show up in some expensive laptops like high end gaming and workstation, but majority of them wouldn't.
"we created the problem of soldered-on ram! now we have the solution: a new standard, for no fucking reason!" -every memory, board, and system company
- But the article explains that there is a technical reason.
  
  For the curious (and lazy):
  
  According to repair biz iFixit, the issue with the power-frugal LPDDR memory chips is that the lower voltage they operate at calls for more attention to be paid to signal integrity between the CPU and memory. In practice, this has meant shorter track distances on the circuit board, leading to LPDDR being soldered down as close to the processor as possible.
  
  LPCAMM2 is intended to address this by putting LPDDR onto a circuit board module that is "cleverly designed to mount right up next to the CPU," with "very short traces to help maximize signal integrity," the iFixit team explains in a blog and video detailing their hands-on with the ThinkPad P1 Gen 7.
  
  I still don't understand, why this is seemingly no problem in any other application.
  
  Desktops, servers and even some chonkier laptops manage to work with regular (SO)DIMMs just fine.
  
  "they did it to save power!!! 111 one eleven"
  
  there was perfectly fine memory that was upgradable before. They (system integrators/oems) saw it as a way to kill the upgrade market, boosting profits.
- Yeah if you are clueless you’d think they done it for no reason

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