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1343 Discussions

Intel Optane memory in M.2 SSD enclosure

User1574912651790285
3,921 Views

Hi, It seems like a hypothetical question can Intel Optane memory be used in M2.SSD enclosure if the laptop supports Intel RST.

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n_scott_pearson
Super User
3,538 Views

So all you have is the M.2 slot? Optane is then out of the question. Get a good NVMe SSD and use a SSHD in an USB 3.0-based external drive bay. You can also get external SSDs, but, dollar for dollar, you won't get the same amount of storage.

 

...S

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n_scott_pearson
Super User
3,538 Views

You mean a USB-based M.2 SATA or NVMe SSD enclosure? Not a chance. RST supports two or three PCIe-based M.2 NVMe SSDs or two to six SATA-connected SSDs/HDDs. There is no support for USB, however.

 

...S

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User1574912651790285
3,538 Views

Hmmm...is it possible to use intel optane in M.2 of a laptop (which supports RST, etc) and use external SSD hard drive to boot and work.

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n_scott_pearson
Super User
3,538 Views

Provided this laptop's BIOS provides supports for Optane (something *you* need to verify with the laptop vendor), you can use an Optane module to accelerate the performance of a SATA HDD/SSD/SSHD. Unless you have an additional M.2 Type M socket in your laptop, this HDD/SSD/SSHD would likely need to be your boot device. While it is possible to boot and run Windows 10 from a USB device (see this article: https://uk.pcmag.com/windows0-2/88253/how-to-run-windows-10-from-a-usb-drive). I do not recommend it as an everyday thing.

 

Honestly, I consider this whole ting a waste of time. You have a bay for a M.2 NVMe SSD and a bay for a 2.5" SATA SSD/HDD/SSHD. My recommendation is to (a) get a good, reasonably-sized (i.e. 512GB or better) M.2 NVMe SSD to use as your boot/system/primary data drive and (b) get a 2.5" SSHD to use as your secondary data drive and (c) forget about the Optane module (sorry if you already bought it). The prices for M.2 NVMe SSDs are falling while their performance is rising. While Samsung was leading the performance parade for quite some time, other manufacturers are catching up to them and at more friendly pricing. On the other side, Seagate is making 2TB SSHDs which have a built-in SSD portion that is used to accelerate the performance of the HDD portion. These are currently selling for only US$60 at Amazon and other leading storefronts. If you go with this scheme, your reasonably-sized SSD can be home to your often-accessed data and executable files and the SSHD for less-often-accessed files.

 

Hope this helps,

...S

User1574912651790285
3,538 Views

Thanks Scott much appreciated your thoughts. Firstly, my XPS 15 has a bigger battery that means the space for SSD is gone so i'm left out with M.2 slot. The reason i wanted Intel Optane memory because of my ERP application S4 hana so i thought if there is a way to boot my system externally in parallel utilize Optane memory to boost the applications.

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n_scott_pearson
Super User
3,539 Views

So all you have is the M.2 slot? Optane is then out of the question. Get a good NVMe SSD and use a SSHD in an USB 3.0-based external drive bay. You can also get external SSDs, but, dollar for dollar, you won't get the same amount of storage.

 

...S

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User1574912651790285
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