In the quest for ever-faster computers, Intel is constantly introducing new upgrades to its products to try and get a bit of extra cash out of enthusiasts and corporate customers. One of the company’s most dramatic introductions as of late has been its branded Optane memory, launched alongside the seventh generation of Core-series processors.
Unfortunately, Optane as a technology and an implementation is quite confusing, even once you get past the basic requirements. Here’s a primer on what Optane is right now… and what it might become later.
What Optane Memory Is
Optane is Intel’s trademarked term for a new class of hyper-fast memory modules. The name refers specifically to the memory itself, not an individual format, but at the moment it’s being marketed primarily in a specialized M.2 card, compatible only with supported motherboards that can use Intel 7th-gen Core processors (i3, i5, and i7 chips in the 7XXX series). Optane memory uses 3D NAND fabrication techniques and various proprietary technologies to achieve super-low latency—as fast as 10 microseconds.
What Optane Isn’t
Optane memory isn’t a type of conventional random-access computer memory, or RAM. And it isn’t a technology that’s being used for conventional storage—at least not at the consumer level, and not yet. Instead, the consumer M.2 Optane modules sold in 16GB and 32GB capacities are meant to work as a cache memory bridge between RAM and storage, allowing for faster data transfer between the memory, storage, and processor. This accelerates more or less every operation for the end user, especially when paired with caching software that intelligently stores relevant data on the Optane drive for near-instant retrieval.
Imagine an Optane memory add-on as a supercharger for a conventional gasoline engine: it’s not a required component to make the engine work, and it doesn’t replace any existing parts, it just makes the whole thing run faster.
The idea of using a small amount of super-fast flash storage to augment the performance of a primary storage drive isn’t new. In fact, Optane is basically a next-gen version of Intel’s Smart Response Technology (SRT), which could use cheap, low-capacity SSDs to cache data for slower, high-capacity conventional hard drives. The difference is that Optane uses memory manufactured and sold by Intel, in conjunction with special hardware and software components on compatible motherboards.
Why Not Just Make Faster Storage?
Funny you should ask that. While the Optane branding is currently limited to super-fast M.2 cache memory modules on the consumer side of things, Intel is already selling “Optane” storage drives for corporate data centers. These are closer to conventional SSDs, bringing that expensive, speedy memory right to the storage component of mission-critical servers. Right now, the only industrial-class Optane storage drive mounts just 375GB of storage directly to a PCI express slot, and those drives are selling…
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