Earlier this year, Intel launched its Optane memory storage accelerators. The new drives, based on 3D XPoint technology, aren't really faster than the SSD cache drives we've written about in the past, but the standard is relatively new and the technology is still under development. Now, Intel is hoping to boost adoption of Optane memory by bundling it with multiple NUCs (Next Unit of Computing) or, as we call them, "Desktops for People Who Hate All the Great Things About Desktops."
There are three new models: A Core i3-7100U (NUC7i3BNHX1(Opens in a new window)), a Core i5-7260U (NUC7i5BNHX1(Opens in a new window)), and a Core i7 (NUC7i7BNHX1(Opens in a new window)). Price on the three kits is $324, $414, and $529 respectively. Keep in mind that while Intel calls these kits, they aren't finished PCs -- you'll still need to add storage, an operating system, and RAM.
Pushing Optane out into the wider market makes sense for Intel, who is undoubtedly trying to improve its economy of scale on Optane itself. We've started to see motherboard manufacturers bundling Optane as well, with qualifying purchase of a Kaby Lake CPU and 200-series motherboard, both of which are required for Optane to work.
Optane's usefulness in target markets.f
If you're going to look into one of these three NUCs, be advised that the Core i5 and Core i7 options have integrated EDRAM on-package (64MB in both cases). Both are dual-core systems, and the Core i5 is probably going to be quieter than the Core i7, since the i5-7260U is a 2.2GHz base, 3.4GHz boost, compared with 3.5GHz base and 4GHz boost for the Core i7. And these systems can be quite noisy -- that tiny form factor doesn't leave much room for thermal dissipation.
Also, bear in mind that Optane memory support is really only useful if you plan on using an older, slower mechanical hard drive. Caching an SSD with Optane doesn't make much sense; the drive can be faster than an SSD cache in small file transfers and sizes, but it won't accelerate performance over and above a full-sized SSD unless you run very specific workloads on the drive.
The addition of Thunderbolt 3 via USB-C, however, does make these boxes interesting for high-speed connectivity. It's not impossible that one could hook an external graphics adapter up to them; it's not clear if this is unofficially supported, officially supported, or functionally not-possible. Granted, you'd still have an easier time hooking components together into a desktop, but if you need a tiny desktop and an external graphics chassis several times larger than the internal volume of said PC, it should work.
Absent the above approach, the 64MB of EDRAM in the upper-end NUC SKUs should make 720p gaming fairly zippy, and 1080p should be possible in some titles, provided you're willing to turn graphics details down. We've come a long way from the era when it was basically impossible to play 3D games on Intel's integrated solutions. But there's still no substitute for a dedicated GPU with considerably more RAM.
