Revolutionizing Desktops: MSI's Bold Move with New CAMM2 Memory Standard

Computer technology today is a work in progress, and innovativeness is what keeps one company moving ahead of the others. MSI is in the forefront of computer developers when it comes to pioneering. The company recently introduced its concept of a desktop motherboard based on a radical new standard in memory technology: CAMM2 (Clustered Computing Memory Module). The new type of memory could usher in a new era in desktop computing that some say presages the coming of the age of the personal computer.

Introducing CAMM2: The Future of Memory Modules

Before we start examining MSI’s new innovative approach, it’s first good to know what CAMM2 memory really is. CAMM2 is a new standard for laptop memory that is much smaller than it has been previously, yet it’s able to work with modern DDR5 memory, and its much smaller form factor would be great for replacing both of the large SO-DIMMs or the factory-soldered memory modules that you can’t normally replace on a laptop. However, MSI isn’t stopping there with CAMM2. The company wants this small, efficient memory solution for desktops as well, and promises that Kingston is on board to make that happen.

A Glimpse into the Future: MSI's Concept Motherboard

Most daring of all was the motherboard, which was effectively a desktop motherboard based on Z790 Intel motherboard circuitry but using the new CAMM2 memory standard – half-sized compared with standard DIMM modules – that needs to be installed using screws, rather than pushed into sockets. That approach makes installing memory faster and cleaner, as CAMM2 makes for a sleeker memory installation, and the Project Zero design put all power and data connections for the memory modules in the back, behind the 4in module, for a cleaner and neater install.

Advantages of CAMM2 in Desktops

Then you might ask: what makes CAMM2 better than standard desktop RAM, especially since desktops have a lot less spatial constraints than laptops? This is where the innovation lies: MSI sees a future where desktops can remain powerful and rather upgradeable while getting significantly thinner. The slim profile of CAMM2 could enable true miniaturisation of desktop computers, opening up completely new possibilities for small form factor PCs without sacrificing the performance and flexibility for which enthusiasts have come to love them.

The Computex Revelation

And MSI and Kingston will fully reveal their design at the Computex trade show in Taipei, the epicentre of desktop tech. The CAMM2 was originally revealed as a concept at last year’s E3, not its first appearance but not a full unveiling either – and yet it’s been invited to Computex this year, where it will be the first fully hovering desktop memory standard to appear at the world’s biggest show of its kind. Maybe the desktop memory standard conversation is about to change again.

Overcoming Challenges: Cost vs. Innovation

First is price – CAMM2 will probably be much more expensive than DDR5 sticks, since the modules are newer and smaller. But MSI is not pitching CAMM2 as a cheap solution. Cost is not the point. It’s ingenuity, and the ability to see what can be made to work when the constraints of what ‘has to be’ fall away.

The MSI and Kingston Partnership

There’s good reason the project is a collaboration between MSI and Kingston. It shows the benefits of synergy. MSI’s roots lie in hardware. The company, founded in 1986 in Taiwan, once created power supplies and motherboards for ABS, an obscure brand of PC that’s now defunct. Kingston, on the other hand, is a memory company. If anyone can pull off getting the technology into desktops, it’s this duo. It would be a milestone in computer hardware evolution.

The MSI Legacy: Leading Through Innovation

Understanding MSI

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of MSI pushing the limits. The company produced the world’s first gaming motherboard capable of overclocking to speeds over 9GHz, and it has today one of the fastest gaming laptops on the market. The CAMM2 memory benchmark is just the latest example of MSI feeling out the new-hardware boundary lines.

Why MSI's Bold Move Matters

MSI’s work testing CAMM2 in desktops is just one part of a wider philosophy about computer technology: that we should innovate faster if we can. Whether or not CAMM2 gains a foothold in desktops in the future, MSI’s stance reaffirms that ideology of rapid innovation in a field that is constantly changing.

So wherever Computex 2017 and the future take us with this vanguard MSI concept, we can be sure of one thing: desktop computing is in for an aesthetic refresh that might involve a thinner footprint but, in theory at least, a fragrant foothold on going larger. Cue a gaggle of enthusiasts rubbing their hands with excitement in the hope that the (new) future is also there for the (potentially) improved.

Whether, in the end, CAMM2 lives to become the next desktop memory blockbuster, or dies a slow death on the altar of further refinement and innovation, MSI’s bet is a sign that the esoteric world of computer technology is indeed a dynamic, ever-changing one.