A new form factor and performance boost make SOCAMM appealing, especially for AI use.
Samsung last month unveiled a SOCAMM2 LPDDR5-based memory module designed specifically for AI data center platforms.
SOCAMM2 is a new memory form factor that comes with a performance boost. CAMM (Compression Attached Memory Module) was originally developed by Dell as a type of memory technology for laptops, and it has since been turned over to a standards body to promote industry adoption. The CAMM2 version is the first generation developed as an industry standard.
SOCAMM2 is based on LPDDR5 memory, a high-performance, high-bandwidth memory design used in smartphones and tablets. It gives DDR memory performance with less power consumption.
Samsung notes that SOCAMM2 has twice the bandwidth of standard DDR5 RDIMMs used in servers while consuming less power. Other estimates say that SOCAMM2 has 1.5x to 2.0x the performance of standard DDR5 memory while consuming 55% of the power.
The SOCAMM2 modules are smaller than a standard DDR5 memory stick because the memory chips are extremely dense, using stacking technology to put layers of memory on one chip. As a result, it takes up much less space on the motherboard than an equal amount of DRAM. SOCAMM2 can be used in conjunction with DDR memory or by itself as system memory.
Dell brought in partners to help co-design the CAMM memory spec and then turned it over to the JEDEC standards body, so SOCAMM2 is viewed as an industry standard and not one vendor’s solution. JEDEC has in turn added features to the CAMM spec, including ECC and other error-correction features aimed at enterprise users.
SOCAMM is not a repackaging of existing hardware or a solution in search of a problem. Rather, it’s addressing real problems and is needed and wanted by the industry, said Jim Handy, president of Objective Analysis.
“The server processor manufacturers and Nvidia are really behind SOCAMM because of the fact that they [gain] a faster interface and it gets a lot of memory into a small area with a little bit lower power consumption,” he said.
As previously noted, SOCAMM2 uses stacked memory, which can be more expensive to manufacture, but Handy says that’s not the case. “[Memory vendors] sell different stack configurations for the same price as these DRAM guys, and they are using the same packaging technology that the NAND flash guys do, so I wouldn’t expect there to be any noticeable price difference,” he said.
SK Hynix, another major memory manufacturer on the market, has also announced plans to support SOCAMM2 memory but has not given any release details and is believed to be behind Micron and Samsung. SOCAMM2 is expected to launch around the second quarter of 2026 when Nvidia launches its Vera Rubin platform.
