Hi LNuzz,
Thank you for posting in the Intel® communities.
Indeed you can accelerate your secondary SATA drive with the Intel® Optane™ Memory. I will try to clarify all your concerns so that you can set it up.
It is correct that the secondary drive must use GPT partition style. Actually, if you have additional drives, it’s recommended to convert them to GPT in case they are using MBR partition style. Since the system must be set to UEFI mode (not Legacy mode), sometimes the drives that are using MBR partition style stop from being recognized by the system, so even though you are not accelerating these other drives, it’s better to have them in GPT too.
In addition to this information, I recommend you to check the following article that includes the system requirements to accelerate a secondary drive: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000027987/memory-and-storage.html
Regarding to which application you can use, it is basically the one that you prefer. Both applications work to set up the Intel® Optane™ Memory and to accelerate the secondary drive. As you can also see in the article mentioned above, you can choose the drive that the module will accelerate in both applications.
If you don’t have any preference, then you may use the Intel® Optane™ Application which was designed specifically for the module. The Intel® RST Application will work too, but it includes additional features for RAID arrays that you won’t use. Anyhow, you can download the one you prefer from the following links:
- Intel® Optane™ Application: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28401/Intel-Optane-Memory-User-Interface-and-Driver-for-System-Acceleration-for-Intel-7th-8th-Gen-Platforms
- Intel® RST Application: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28400/Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technology-Intel-RST-User-Interface-and-Driver-for-Intel-7th-8th-Generation-Platforms
Finally, you can proceed as you stated. Just make sure the BIOS is configured correctly for the module to work properly. This configuration depends on the motherboard’s manufacturer, however ASUS* has created a document that you may find useful for this purpose. Please check it here: http://dlcdnmkt.asus.com/microsite/Optane-Memory-SOP.pdf.
Make sure as well that you have updated the BIOS version. Please check if there are updates in the ASUS* website for your BIOS.
If you will re-install Windows* OS, make sure you are reserving at least 5MB of unallocated space at the end of the booting drive. This space is necessary for the module to work properly. The picture below is how the partitions in the primary drive should look like. Notice the unallocated reserved space at the end of the drive:
I hope you find this information useful.
If you have any issues, please feel free to ask.
Note: The community support is only provided in English.
Have a nice day.
Regards,
Diego V.
Intel Customer Support Technician
Under Contract to Intel Corporation
Link Copied
Hi LNuzz,
Thank you for posting in the Intel® communities.
Indeed you can accelerate your secondary SATA drive with the Intel® Optane™ Memory. I will try to clarify all your concerns so that you can set it up.
It is correct that the secondary drive must use GPT partition style. Actually, if you have additional drives, it’s recommended to convert them to GPT in case they are using MBR partition style. Since the system must be set to UEFI mode (not Legacy mode), sometimes the drives that are using MBR partition style stop from being recognized by the system, so even though you are not accelerating these other drives, it’s better to have them in GPT too.
In addition to this information, I recommend you to check the following article that includes the system requirements to accelerate a secondary drive: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000027987/memory-and-storage.html
Regarding to which application you can use, it is basically the one that you prefer. Both applications work to set up the Intel® Optane™ Memory and to accelerate the secondary drive. As you can also see in the article mentioned above, you can choose the drive that the module will accelerate in both applications.
If you don’t have any preference, then you may use the Intel® Optane™ Application which was designed specifically for the module. The Intel® RST Application will work too, but it includes additional features for RAID arrays that you won’t use. Anyhow, you can download the one you prefer from the following links:
- Intel® Optane™ Application: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28401/Intel-Optane-Memory-User-Interface-and-Driver-for-System-Acceleration-for-Intel-7th-8th-Gen-Platforms
- Intel® RST Application: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28400/Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technology-Intel-RST-User-Interface-and-Driver-for-Intel-7th-8th-Generation-Platforms
Finally, you can proceed as you stated. Just make sure the BIOS is configured correctly for the module to work properly. This configuration depends on the motherboard’s manufacturer, however ASUS* has created a document that you may find useful for this purpose. Please check it here: http://dlcdnmkt.asus.com/microsite/Optane-Memory-SOP.pdf.
Make sure as well that you have updated the BIOS version. Please check if there are updates in the ASUS* website for your BIOS.
If you will re-install Windows* OS, make sure you are reserving at least 5MB of unallocated space at the end of the booting drive. This space is necessary for the module to work properly. The picture below is how the partitions in the primary drive should look like. Notice the unallocated reserved space at the end of the drive:
I hope you find this information useful.
If you have any issues, please feel free to ask.
Note: The community support is only provided in English.
Have a nice day.
Regards,
Diego V.
Intel Customer Support Technician
Under Contract to Intel Corporation
