Questions about Optane Drives

[GCarl3]

I attended the Spring 2017 Intel Virtual Conference and they marketed Optane as an addition to DRAM in Desktop computers. I was under the idea originally that this was suppose to be a replacement for DRAM. Is Intel really going to try to position Optane as a supplement to DRAM now? Who would go for that and why?

[idata]

Hello George,

Intel® Optane™ Memory has never been intended to replace DRAM modules, as these are two very different technologies. However, this is a common misconception which we have made sure to address in the https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/memory-and-storage/intel-optane-memory/000024018.html Frequently Asked Questions for Intel® Optane™ Memory article.It may be important to point out that there are two main markets that will show interested in this product:1. OEMs and System Builders. People looking to design systems that will perform better, at a fraction of the price.2. End users. People who are building their own computer or are looking to upgrade their current build. People who would like to build a computer with a large capacity boot drive, but don't want to spend the extra dollars that a large NVMe* SSD may cost.The picture that you have shared with us is more than likely aimed at the first group, as an end user would already have the 8GB of DRAM installed and then simply add the Optane™ module on top. While an OEM may want to find ways to build a better and cheaper computer instead. This can be achieved by alleviating the bottleneck created by the more affordable, but slower, spinning drives. Best regards,Carlos A.