Intel may be going on package memory (ie non-upgradable), like Apple

Framework Laptop 13
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Intel recently released a PR video which was focusing on their server chips. It seems like they mistakenly included some shots of 14th gen Meteor Lake laptop CPU’s. The writeup can be found Here. Apparently the original video has been taken down by Intel.

The interesting thing is this is Intels first “Tile” Design, in which the CPU and iGPU would be separately created then combined onto the same substrate. The big surprise was the product shots also showed 16GB of LPDDR5 bundled into the same package. This is the same approach as Apple.

If this is the direction Intel takes, this might have an impact on the repairability/customizability of future Intel based Framework products.

What do you think will happen?

  • It wont happen. Intel will stick with SoDIMM
  • It will only partially happen. Intel will have products with and without SoDIMM (and FW would use the former)
  • It will happen and FW will become AMD only.
  • It will happen and FW will offer Intel motherboards with fixed ram.

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I don’t see any reason to believe that this leak means that the option for separate memory will be dropped. Even entertaining the possibility that intel somehow lost their minds, AMD would be delighted to take the market segment that intel would be just handing to them.

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I thought this was meant as a next level cache. In any case impossible for Intel to consider considering the very real segment of people who need more than a single IC of memory.

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I think it would hand them the segment that would buy something like a FW, but looking at how it’s not an issue for Apple with the general public, I think it is possible. It’s not something I 100% want however.

Interesting Intel had this kind of approach on some models of their Sapphire Rapids (Mid 2021 Server line. Short lived). Each of the 4 CPU core clusters on the chip shared 1GB of HBM2e (very high bandwidth) ram.

At 16GB however, I’m guessing that would be all the system RAM as a joint memory controller for both LPDDR5 and DDR5 sharing resources I don’t think would be practical.

PS: Also, in the product shot it showed 2 IC’s which I would imagine would imply dual channel.

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