Intel's New Lunar Lake Laptops Only Support 32GB of RAM—And That's Critical

Intel’s Lunar Lake processors have generated a lot of excitement with their promise of efficiency and high performance for thin and light laptops. However, there is one big limitation that bothers many users: the maximum RAM capacity for these devices is 32GB. Let’s explain why this limitation exists and why it is important.

Why are Intel Lunar Lake laptops limited to 32GB of memory?

The 32GB maximum RAM in Lunar Lake laptops is directly tied to Intel’s design choices. Instead of traditional upgradeable memory slots, Intel has embedded the RAM directly into a system-on-chip (SoC). Integrating the RAM into a SoC reduces the processor’s power consumption and heat. While this makes LPDDR5X memory faster and more efficient when compared to more traditional designs, it also limits the maximum amount of RAM that can be embedded into a SoC.

Intel claims that Lunar Lake offers up to 20 hours of battery life thanks to these improvements. However, this move leaves no flexibility for users who may need more than 32GB in the future. Furthermore, there are other limitations that come with using SoC-integrated memory in x86 processors. These are:

• No upgrade possible: Unlike traditional laptops, which allow you to add more RAM as needed, this device only has RAM configured for it. This becomes a problem if your needs grow over time.
• Still x86 processor: Apple’s unified memory architecture makes ARM processors significantly more power efficient. However, Intel’s version of this design doesn’t scale well because it’s still an x86 processor running on CISC, not RISC like the Mac. This makes the tradeoff between power efficiency and performance less palatable than Apple’s solution.
• Premium users are excluded: Power users, such as video editors, AAA gamers, and 3D designers, often need more RAM. Even with the fast LPDDR5X memory, 32GB limits performance when handling large data sets or multitasking with memory-intensive applications.

Additionally, Lunar Lake processors have Hyperthreading disabled, further limiting the overall capacity of the processor.

Why 32GB of RAM is a big drawback

Many people are interested in purchasing these new and upcoming AI CPUs to future-proof their setups. However, Intel’s upcoming Lunar Lake CPUs are not upgradeable and do not offer any options for memory configurations higher than 32GB. While 32GB is perfectly fine by our current standards, as someone who runs multiple virtual machines and loves to experience quantized LLMs on my laptop, this makes it hard for me to see Lunar Lake laptops as something I would buy and feel confident that I won’t have to upgrade over the next few years.

What makes this such a big deal for me?The reason for this is that Intel didn’t have to follow something like Apple’s unified memory architecture. Changing TSMC’s N3B process node, disabling multi-threading on both Intel’s P and E cores, and incorporating a newer, more power-efficient CPU would make Intel more power-efficient. The GPU and NPU could have been enough to deliver significant improvements in power efficiency without compromising RAM capacity.

Laptop users who invest in premium hardware want it to last for years. With software development trends pushing toward more resource-intensive applications, having a higher RAM option ensures your machine can handle future software updates and continue to perform optimally. Limiting the RAM to 32GB puts Lunar Lake laptops at a disadvantage compared to systems like AMD’s upcoming Strix Point processors, which can be expanded to 64GB or more.

Intel’s decision to cap the RAM capacity of Lunar Lake laptops at 32GB reflects its focus on making these devices more power efficient. This may not be a problem for regular consumers or office workers. However, for power users, developers, gamers, and content creators, this limit is something many cannot ignore.