Intel announces superfast 3D Xpoint based Optane SSDs

For instance, in one test the 3D Xpoint tech delivered 402,000 iOPs while the 750 Series delivered just 80,100.

The exact release date for these products hasn’t been announced but Intel again confirmed they will be arriving in 2016. However, the SSD looked like another high-end SSD in a PCI Express card form-factor.

Intel explained that its Optane solid-state drive based on the 3D XPoint non-volatile memory media also features its own advanced system memory controller, interface hardware and software IP.

Crucially, unlike traditional DRAM and NAND, it doesn’t rely on the storage of electrons but rather data is retained by changing the state of the pillars of material.

During the opening keynote of the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, CEO Brian Krzanich unveiled the first brand to make use of Intel’s revelatory 3D XPoint storage technology.

Intel announced the 3D XPoint technology with Micron Technology a few weeks ago, and it expects to ship the technology next year.

Intel says the first Optane chips will be “a new line of high-endurance, high-performance Intel SSDs” that will be available for a wide range of devices including services, desktops, and portable computers. While performance of 3D XPoint is an order of magnitude below that of DRAM, it is still exceptionally high by modern storage standard.

We don’t yet know how much Optane-based drives will cost or anything of that sort, but given the density advantages Intel is claiming for it, it’s possible 3D Xpoint storage could reach parity with the cost of NAND fairly soon.

The chipmaker also revealed that its new class of memory technology will power a new line of Intel DIMMs for its next-generation data center platforms.