[News] Intel spills the beans on Optane requirements

[StyM]

http://www.fudzilla.com/news/42917-i...e-requirements

If you were hoping to get your paws on Chipzilla?s delayed Optane non-volatile memory devices you might need to also invest in a Kaby Lake system.

While Intel first unveiled Optane in 2015, it told us that the tech would appear in 2016. The tech is a an implementation of 3D Xpoint technology and is designed to bridge the gap between fast-but-small volatile DRAM and the slower non-volatile mass storage which can store more.

Chipzilla claimed Optane would offer performance similar to dynamic RAM (DRAM) but with the benefit of keeping its data when the system is powered off, like a traditional solid-state drive (SSD).

Intel was the first to promise a product range that would benefit not only the server market but also desktop users. At the time Intel said that a Optane-equipped desktop PC could run on a sixth-generation Skylake processor.

But according to Bit-Tech now Intel is getting closer to launching the devices, Skylake support appears to have been dropped.

It looks like Optane will require a seventh-generation Kaby Lake processor at minimum. So you will need a 200-series chipset motherboard with an M.2 type 2280-S1-B-M or 2242-S1-B-M storage connector linked to a PCH Remapped PCIe controller with two or four lanes and B-M keys meeting Non Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) v1.1 standards.

The motherboard will also need to have a BIOS supporting Intel's Rapid Storage Technology (RST) driver version 15.5 or above.

Still we have no idea how much the technology will cost.

[Charles Wirth]

There are several "Optane Ready" Z270 motherboards for sale now, not sure if they all are.

[AliG]

Looks like Intel is pulling an Apple. CPU sales aren't strong enough? That's fine, just force people to upgrade in order to use your fancy memory.

[Metroid]

Looks like Intel is pulling an Apple. CPU sales aren't strong enough? That's fine, just force people to upgrade in order to use your fancy memory.

With AMD dropping few bombs on Intel factories. Now more than ever!

[zanzabar]

There are several "Optane Ready" Z270 motherboards for sale now, not sure if they all are.

dont those use the extra 4 lanes for the optane, and since the 6th gen does not support those it would not work for a normal DIY setup. if you did something like use some of the 16X from the cpu on a 6th gen i would bet it could work. i just dont see why you would do that when the 7th gen is the same price as the 6th gen and this is not targeting the enthusiast market.

or there are going to be low end 6th gen socket 2066 since they are going to have 6/7/8th gens on one new socket.

[zalbard]

So Optane doesn't work with AMD CPUs, then? Unlike RAM and SSDs it is attempting attempting to beat/replace...

[zanzabar]

So Optane doesn't work with AMD CPUs, then? Unlike RAM and SSDs it is attempting attempting to beat/replace...

it is just next gen RST. you need an intel chipset for it to work.

[AliG]

So Optane doesn't work with AMD CPUs, then? Unlike RAM and SSDs it is attempting attempting to beat/replace...

My guess is their initial testing shows a significant improvement over the current commercial storage technologies. That's the only reason I can think of that they could get away with forcing you to get a new motherboard (which usually also implies new CPU with the way they change sockets).

[StyM]

Intel Launches Site Detailing Optane Requirements: Skylake Users Need Not Apply