Intel Optane roadmap shows three new SSD lines

Posted on Monday, June 13 2016 @ 16:20 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
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Asian tech site BenchLife delivers exclusive news about Intel's Optane launch plans.

It appears the first products based on the 3D XPoint memory technology will be launched alongside the Kaby Lake processors, towards the end of this year. Interestingly, the first Optane products will focus on two very different markets. There will be no mainstream models but there will be a "Stony Beach" release for "system acceleration" purposes.

The upper end of the enthusiast workstation segment will be served by "Mansion Beach", while the "Brighton Beach" will be a notch below this. The slide also talks about a future "Mansion Beach Refresh" as well as "Carson Beach".

As mentioned above, there will be no Optane for the mainstream market in the near-term future. Instead, this market will be served by second-generation 3D NAND.
Leading the pack is the Optane "Mansion Beach" SSD, positioned in the upper-end of the "Enthusiast Workstation" segment, with PCIe gen 3.0 x4 interface, and NVMe support. A notch underneath this is the Optane "Brighton Beach" series, featuring PCIe gen 3.0 x2 interface. Interestingly, Intel doesn't have a mainstream SSD based on the 3D XPoint tech around this time, yet has an entry-level "System Accelerator" segment drive codenamed "Stony Beach," which also takes advantage of PCIe gen 3.0 x2. This drive comes in M.2 form-factor. Some time later (2018?), the company plans to launch a single-chip successor to "Stony Beach," codenamed "Carson Beach."
Intel Optane roadmap

Via: TPU


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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