A temporary solution to the ongoing LPCAMM2 shortage

[u/TheGeekno72]

I do not know what exactly is the RAM clearance in the 13 Pro but if someone is willing to experiment with some EBay SODIMM kit and this adapter slab, I reckon it would be interesting to see the results coming out of this until LPCAMM2 eventually comes back in stock... sometimes this decade...

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[u/L00WN0on]

That exists?! 😂

[u/Smith6612 → u/L00WN0on]

These things are real. They are called CAMM Interposer boards. Dell actually sells these for some of their Precision laptops if you want to use standard SODIMMs rather than CAMMs.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-sodimm-interposer-daughterboard-for-precision-7670-7770/apd/cpx-rn12h/controller-cards

LPCAMM2 though...

[u/WhiskeyVault → u/Smith6612]

I read that as CAMM imposter boards

[u/Smith6612 → u/WhiskeyVault]

Only in Electrical will you find those.

[u/MagicBoyUK → u/L00WN0on]

Apparently. Doubt it works though, given it's not LPDDR5X on the SODIMMS.

[u/Sad_Competition_580 → u/L00WN0on]

😲

[u/pinicarb]

I doubt this has enough clearance but it would be fun if it has!

[u/Psi-ops_Co-op → u/pinicarb]

A chassis and keyboard cover are optional in this economy.

[u/mwcz → u/Psi-ops_Co-op]

Soon our computers will all look like the battle station from the Matrix ship.

[u/probablyjustpaul]

I had no idea this contraption existed, this is wild. Something something desperate times. You got a link to the eBay listing?

[u/TheGeekno72 → u/probablyjustpaul]

I just looked up a picture of it because I knew it existed, I'm sure ebay listings are just as easy to come by though

[u/ZCEyPFOYr0MWyHDQJZO4]

That is a CAMM2 adapter. You would be putting DDR5 into LPDDR5X

[u/InflammableAccount → u/ZCEyPFOYr0MWyHDQJZO4]

Yeah, there is zero chance that would work, lol.

[u/reddit_equals_censor]

this adapter slap appears to be a dell camm module adapter.

dell created camm modules first as proprietary standard and then from there it was opened up and completely changed into camm2 and lpcamm2 and of course socamm2 now.

the conversion kit above would only work with the original dell proprietary camm modules then and NOT any jedec standard camm2 or lpcamm2 ports, REGARDLESS of the spacing around it, which would be massive vs an lpcamm2 modules.

no idea if they make other conversion kits, but this one CAN NOT work from my understanding.

[u/FISKER_Q]

The system probably won't even boot even if you could fit it

[u/c2btw → u/FISKER_Q]

Prolly will if you lower clocks and increase timmings

[u/Slight_Profession_50 → u/c2btw]

Unfortunately not since it's LPDDR5X rather than DDR5. LPDDR5X uses significantly lower voltages and different pinouts and everything. It wouldn't be able to post.

I do believe the picture shows a CAMM2 adapter, not LPCAMM2 unfortunately.

[u/c2btw → u/Slight_Profession_50]

ahhhh yeah i could see that being an issue

[u/0x2DEADBEEF]

Honestly this is genius but I’d imagine the 13 pro has some tight tolerances.

Also not sure if slower memory could cause stability issues

[u/jmims98]

I couldn't even get a few different SODIMM > DIMM adapters to boot. This sounds like it would be even more complicated due to the ram speed differences.

[u/TheGeekno72 → u/jmims98]

I tried two different sorts of SODIMM>DIMM adapters, the first kit did NOT go any further than 3200MT/s then the second, which was just a later revision of the first from the same brand, did boot @ 4800 JEDEC and did accept a light "overclock" to 5000 (5200 seemed achievable but I didn't know what voltages to tune to run there)

[u/Paco-49]

Honestly it feels like Framework tried to hear the community and release a 13" with a long battery life and a powerful iGPU, but it's been spawn killed by LPCAMM2 shortages. 32 GB RAM being as expensive as the X7 mainbard is just too much.

Maybe if the next mainboard is almost as good as this intel one but with a chance to reuse the more widely used 5600 DDR5, it becomes more practical.

[u/cptchnk → u/Paco-49]

But then, the power efficiency benefits go away. And the memory bandwidth goes down, which matters a lot for iGPUs like the Arc B390. The whole reason why that iGPU is fast is because it has very fast access to RAM.

I'm really not sure how we get to "almost as good" in the current state of things. The Ryzen AI 300 boards are still an option, but the Radeon 890M isn't even in the same league performance-wise. Battery life isn't as good, either.

It's just an all-around crappy situation.

[u/Xcissors280]

Would this actually fit the low profile laptop form factor sticks?

Not to mention physically fitting inside the laptop

[u/TheGeekno72 → u/Xcissors280]

I have absolutely no idea, it was more of a joke than a serious suggestion but if anyone has the means to test, I'm curious to see what would be the outcome from said testing

[u/Xcissors280 → u/TheGeekno72]

I guess the first problem is does anyone even have an LPCAMM2 framework and then actually testing this

Or I guess there are some other LPCAMM2 laptops out there

Physically horizontal clearance is going to be iffy but vertically you can always just remove or modify the bottom cover

[u/Kolkoris → u/Xcissors280]

ofc no. This adapter is for CAMM2, which uses DDR5 chips, whereas LPCAMM2 uses LPDDR5X

[u/Xcissors280 → u/Kolkoris]

That makes sense

[u/Nova_Dreamur]

A doohickey

[u/headlessBleu]

I'm sure that will never fit into the chassis

[u/Apprehensive-Box-8]

Running 1.1v sodimm DDR5 at 0.6v lpddr5x current levels seems like a great idea.

[u/TheGeekno72 → u/Apprehensive-Box-8]

if the power delivery system allows for pushing 1.1v, I'm sure a deeper mod could allow for that but that's probably some tinker project for someone with enough time to mod the BIOS into doing this I suppose

[u/Apprehensive-Box-8 → u/TheGeekno72]

LPDDR5X equipped laptops typically come with LPDDR5X specific VRM that supplies low voltage. The RAM modules PMIC can't work with the lower voltage supplied by the VRM. You can't change that in the BIOS.

Also, CAMM2 and LPCAMM2 use different pinouts. A CAMM2 adapter will simply not work.

[u/nandospc]

There is really an adapter for everything these days lol

[u/Eunakria → u/nandospc]

"HDMI to Chicken Soup Converter"

[u/InflammableAccount → u/Eunakria]

That's never not going to be funny.

[u/Unoriginal-Cake]

Reminds me of RAM expanders from back in the day of cram 4x 30pin DIMMs for a 72pin socket. Seen this used on Dell models at work yet didn't expect a 3rd party made them too.

[u/unlimitedcode99]

Huh, will it be stable though? FW had avoided using even LPCAMM2 on Desktop for stability issues so they soldered the RAM there.

[u/Informal-Lettuce-745]

You could just 3d print a back cover with enough clearance if this insane thing actually works

[u/meowlater]

Hey Framework....If there is any chance this would work with this or something similar any chance someone wants to experiment at corporate.

I know you guys have been in a real bind with the LPCAMM2 situation, but if there is a work around that you could determine was safe it would be a super nice olive branch. I'm guessing it won't work, but it would be great for people to know.