I've been anxious to get a look at CAMM2 DDR5 in the flesh, so to speak, at this years Computex, and Kingston has just provided me with a good look at what to expect from the new RAM form factor in a desktop motherboard.
Along with some AI-generated Formula One drivers, a sim rig setup, and a race car theme that was very difficult to miss. Yep.
Each AI-gen race driver was supposed to represent a different facet of Kingston's current product line-up, with "Lightning Fury" being of most interest to us PC gamers. Alongside Kingston Fury Renegade 6,000 - 8,000 MT/s DDR5 in the more traditional form factor, there were also several examples of CAMM2 DDR5, also under Kingstons's "Fury" branding.
The CAMM2 standard first saw light of day last year, as a flat, more "flush-to-the-board" alternative to traditional SO-DIMM sticks used in most laptops.
Advantages include the ability to fit larger and more varied cooling systems, higher memory module sizes (the units I was shown were 32 GB per model, but there was talk of 64 GB modules to come) and optimised trace layouts, which will become important as we see DDR5 "racing" towards faster and faster speeds.
I also got a good look at the new RAM in situ, with two ATX motherboards from MSI and Asus on display. It's a little strange to see desktop RAM lying flat on the board, and this in combination with the module size makes for RAM that seems somehow smaller in person than you initially expect.
What I also wasn't expecting was a car racing theme delivered with relentless enthusiasm. Alongside a model F1 car festooned with RGB-emblazoned DDR5, I was also shown a full on sim rig running F1 23 to demonstrate gaming performance, and an AI PC processing all sorts of F1-style data.
At the end I was invited to take a pit stop, while my hosts delivered as many race car metaphors as they could think of in relation to RAM products. Of which, it turns out, there were many.
Computex ey? I was told there was nothing quite like it, and so far it's more than surpassing my expectations. New RAM form factors and race car metaphors? Count me well and truly in.
