Glossary
DDR5
The current generation of system memory (DRAM). Higher bandwidth and lower voltage than DDR4. Standard in laptops since 2023 and desktops since 2022.
DDR5 raised baseline bandwidth from DDR4's 25.6 GB/s to 38.4 GB/s and supports denser modules (up to 128 GB DIMMs).
Why it matters
- iGPU performance. Integrated GPUs share system memory and scale directly with memory bandwidth. DDR5-6400 vs DDR4-3200 nearly doubles iGPU performance.
- Gaming. Most discrete-GPU titles see 5–10% from DDR5 vs DDR4 at matched timings.
- Productivity. Compile, photo batch, video encode — modest gains, 0–7%.
LPDDR5X
Soldered DDR5 used in laptops and Apple Silicon. Higher bandwidth (8533 MT/s and up), lower power, but not user-upgradable. Apple Silicon's unified memory is LPDDR5X.
CAMM2 / LPCAMM2
A new modular form factor delivering LPDDR5X-class speed with user-upgradability. Adoption growing in premium laptops.
Where this matters
Categories that use ddr5
See it compared
DDR5 on real comparisons
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