MSI is teasing a concept Z2 motherboard with Camm790 memory. The board is called Project Zero Plus. We reviewed the B650 Project Zero system a while ago. It is the main feature that all major connectors are repositioned to the back of the motherboard, including power connectors, system headers and SATA ports, but CAMM2ME

CAMM stands for Compression Attached Memory Module. This is a new standard designed to replace SO-DIMM memory in laptops. Its advantage is that it saves space because it incorporates what is usually a dual channel configuration into a single module. This space saving is not much for X and Y dimensions, but for Z dimensions, so it is suitable for thin form factors.

The question is why MSI and Kingston spend their resources to come up with this concept. I can see that it is beneficial for large CPU coolers by eliminating RAM compatibility concerns. It also creates possibilities for some creative use of space on top of the module.

CAMM2 provides an optimized trace layout and may be beneficial as the speed of DDR5 increases towards the 10,000MT/s mark. DDR6 memory is also under development, and given the sensitivity of the DDR5 trace design, you may actually need some new standard. It also supports LPDDR5X, which has already been scaled to a level far beyond the SO-Dimm limit. 

Desktops with CAMM2 may allow laptops and desktops to use interchangeable RAM. Perhaps you can "retire" the 32GB module from your desktop to your laptop and upgrade it. 

Questions like this are hardly relevant at this time. Laptops are increasingly adopting soldered RAM, so whether CAMM2 memory will take off even in laptop space (not to mention desktops) is an open question.

Whatever the future of CAMM2 memory is, it will be interesting to see how it works in a desktop environment, as desktop memory usually has lower latency at more aggressive timing. On paper, however, there is little reason why the CAMM2 implementation does not match at least the dual-channel DDR5DIMM configuration.

We don't know anything specific about the implementation itself, such as speed, timing, chip used, capacity, power, or whether there are thermal concerns. And the big unknown is how much the CAMM2 module will cost compared to an equivalent dual-channel DDR5 kit.

We'll know more at Computex in a few days. There are some members of the PC Gamer hardware team on the ground, and this is one of those concepts that is really interesting.1 Is it a glimpse into the future of desktop memory? Or after a project in time by some of MSI's enterprising engineers we would like to find you soon.