Intel’s first Optane memory modules available next month

Called Optane, the first 16GB and 32GB memory modules will be available on 24 April, for those users who can install them in Optane memory ready motherboards or systems.

The first PCs to ship with the memory installed will come from manufacturers HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus and Acer in the next few months.

It is a non-volatile memory, perhaps based on phase-change, but more likely bulk-resistance based, which is designed for low latency and supporting high capacities through a 3D structure. Intel and co-developer Micron are hoping it could change the cost/capacity issues associated with solid-state memory in PCs.

This is Intel’s way of increasing the capacity of solid-state storage in PCs.

Intel has announced its first solid state drive (SSD) based on 3D XPoint technology which has a 375GB capacity.  A 750GB SSD is planned and a 1.5TB SSD for later this year.

Solid-state storage provides faster access to data stored in memory when compared to traditional PCs which rely on mechanical disk drives for high capacity data storage,.

Solid state memory is faster but not yet cost competitive with the very high capacities provided by hard disk drives.

Intel hopes its 3D XPoint memory in the Optane modules will address the cost performance issues.

Navin Shenoy, general manager for the Client Computing Group at Intel claimed, the Optane memory with a 7th Gen Intel Core processor-based system could “improve overall system performance up to 28% faster with storage performance up to 14x faster.”

It does this by being solid-state memory rather than hard disk drive storage.