Skip to main content

Intel, Micron to bring 3D XPoint Optane drives to consumer PCs by end of 2016

The PC industry continues to work toward new technologies that can bridge the gap between fast RAM and slower storage. A new consortium was recently formed, in fact, for just that purpose, and last year Intel and Micron announced a new intermediate technology called 3D XPoint. More details about 3D XPoint surfaced Monday, and they point to a new class of high-performance intermediary memory, according to Tech Report.

Some previous details about 3D XPoint were released over the summer during Intel’s quarterly financial report. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich revealed that Optane solid-state drives based on 3D XPoint technology would roll out by the end of 2016. In fact, 3D XPoint and other memory technology were held up as a near-term solution to a slowdown in Intel’s memory business.

Recommended Videos

Related: Intel 3D XPoint Optane drives will be superfast

Potential applications for 3D XPoint range from integration into consumer and enterprise SSDs to use in machine learning and big data cloud applications. Gaming could also be a beneficiary of the technology, which could provide a 5x to 10x improvement over current SSDs.

According to the information revealed Monday, 3D XPoint will be incorporated into consumer Optane models that use two PCIe 3.0 lanes to pass data and 16GB and 32GB versions. Titled the Intel Optane 8000p, performance will range from 1.4GB/s 128KP read and 300MB/s write for the 16GB unit, and 1.6GB/s read and 500MB/s write for the 32GB unit.

Optane will only work with Kaby Lake and newer CPUs, although Intel will support 64-bit versions of Windows 7 through Windows 10. This should help move the industry off of previous generations of silicon and help cement Kaby Lake as the processor of choice.

Intel and Micron intend for the 3D XPoint-based Optane products to provide a higher density and non-volatile alternative to DRAM, while providing better writing endurance and performance than today’s SSDs. As Intel’s CEO indicated over the summer, Intel and Micron hope to have Optane available for purchase by the end of 2016.

Mark Coppock
Mark Coppock is a Freelance Writer at Digital Trends covering primarily laptop and other computing technologies. He has…
AMD’s upcoming Ryzen 5 5600X3D could completely dethrone Intel in budget builds
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D box.

If you thought that Zen 3 was over, think again -- AMD is releasing a brand new Zen 3 processor that might be powerful enough to rival some of the best CPUs on the market. The Ryzen 5 5600X3D will harness the power of AMD's 3D V-Cache to deliver solid gaming performance at an affordable price.

AMD's new CPU might challenge Intel at a price point where it currently dominates. There's a catch, though -- the CPU is a limited edition model, so those who want to upgrade will need to act fast. Here's everything we know about the Ryzen 5 5600X3D.

Read more
3D printed cheesecake? Inside the culinary quest to make a Star Trek food replicator
a slice of 3D printed cheesecake

Along with jetpacks, holograms, and universal healthcare, one of the great unfilled promises of the Star Trek-style future is the food replicator. Few concepts hold more sway over both the keen foodies always on the lookout for the latest trend in dining and those of us who can barely be bothered to put a frozen pizza in the oven than a box in your home which can create any meal you desire.

You press a button, and the machine whirs and beeps and creates the delicious dish of your choosing, no tedious chopping or marinating or pan-searing required. It’s an idea far too good to be true — but we might be one step closer to this paradisiacal utopia than you think.
How to 3D print a cheesecake
Researchers from Columbia University recently managed to 3D-print a cheesecake, in a process that is exactly as delightful as it sounds. They detailed their discoveries in an article in npj Science of Food, and we spoke to lead author Jonathan Blutinger to learn how they did it.

Read more
What is AMD 3D V-Cache? Extra gaming performance unlocked
The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D installed in a motherboard.

AMD launched the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in 2022, bringing the world's first processor with 3D V-Cache to market. It remains one of the best gaming CPUs available in 2023, offering credible competition to AMD's Ryzen 7000 series and Intel's Raptor Lake processors. It's no longer alone, though, with newer Ryzen 7000-series 3D VCache CPUs poised to offer even greater gaming performance.

With AMD's latest Ryzen 7000 generation now launched, here's everything you need to know about 3D V-Cache.
What is AMD 3D V-Cache?

Read more