Today I Learned about LPCAMM2, which is refreshing, seeing soldered-on memory always felt like some kind of slide into disposable barbarism.
[0] https://www.ifixit.com/News/95078/lpcamm2-memory-is-finally-...
I’m no expert but it sounds plausible to me. From a manufacturing perspective, it makes sense that they’d want modular RAM so they can configure them at point of sale instead of having to manufacture multiple motherboards with only RAM sizes being different.
Regarding the T14 and T16, I'm frustrated that in my market (AU), they don't sell better screens than 1920x1200. I'd like to have a brighter 3k or 4k screen.
The LPCAMM2 seems to be limited to the Intel models, according to the pc mag article.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/lenovo-thinkpad-t14-gen-7-hands-o...
That is usually my concern with things like the modular ports and replaceable keyboards too. By the time I actually need to replace anything it could be 10 years from now, could I actually source these parts easily?
Regardless, that is a excellent problem to have compared to other less repairable laptops. I have been running my current laptop for 10 years, by the time it's unrepairable I might switch to this.
I imagine it will be kind of like USB-C. It's new and uncommon for a few years until suddenly everywhere you look has piles of it.
Edge connector RAM may one day be looked back on as "old style memory" like SIPP and DIPP is now.
Cool how memory converged on the same grid-of-pins solution as CPUs.
I don’t have the tools or skills to replace soldered on memory chips when they fail. Nobody at my place of work does. Nobody was doing that type of work in a warranty centre I worked in either.
I’d need to buy an entire motherboard which will much more expensive, and likely more time consuming, than swapping a couple of memory modules.
One time upgrading workstations, 4 of the 20 Corsair kits were sent for RMA. Those aren’t great odds.
I would guess that soldering them to the board reduces the points of failure, the slots can and do fail. However, I’ve also seen soldered components coming off as the cause of failures, but it is usually a part that gets hot combined with a design flaw.
That being said, I really did have one bad stick of RAM once in my life, and it really does cause strange seemingly random problems.
Plus, no way to put more RAM/replace RAM with larger module if it's soldered on.
I think making it impossible to upgrade is a somewhat bigger problem, at least while the machine is still in-warranty.
Traditionally, RAM has been one of the more-common upgrades to make as needs or budgets change, so soldering it in looks like planned-obsolescence.
99% of people will not be replacing the USB-C port, they'll just bin the device and buy a new one or live with a dead port. So the effort is 80% PR 20% actual usefulness.
I am waiting to jump ship to a different manufacturer, but nobody is challenging ThinkPad on keyboard quality/layout and Linux support, the two factors where I'm totally unwilling to compromise. (Tuxedo is close but still not the better alternative.)