Difference between H10 and H20 Optane storage?

[GRIFFCOMM]

Hi, i notice there are 2 types of Optane with storage, H10 and H20, whats the difference between the 2?

Also what will fit the NUC 12 Pro (NUC12DMCi9 and NUC12DCMv9) hardware?

I am correct that the H10 and H20 will only accelerate the local onboard storage of the local memory only (not the other drives in the system)?  So i assume really its just a fast RAM speed local drive cache?

Many Thanks

[BrusC_Intel]

Hello, GRIFFCOMM.

Thank you for posting on the Intel community Support Forum.

I received your case regarding Optane Memory H series and also NUC compatibility, and I will be assisting you with this.

In this particular case, both Optane series are pretty similar products, with the Optane H20 being a newer revision with some performance and endurance improvements over the Optane H10.

You can use the comparison tool in the Intel ARK site for reference, for example, comparing the 512GB versions side by side:

- https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/compare.html?productIds=189613,205316

Regarding the Intel NUC, you can review compatible hardware using the Intel Compatibility Tool, and here both units list support for Optane H10 and H20 series:

- https://compatibleproducts.intel.com/ProductDetails?prodSearch=True&searchTerm=NUC12DCMi9#

- https://compatibleproducts.intel.com/ProductDetails?prodSearch=True&searchTerm=NUC12DCMv9

I recommend reaching out to the dedicated NUC support team directly if you require additional information regarding these platforms, but if I can help you with any other questions regarding Intel Optane Memory, please let me know.

- NUC support forum: https://community.intel.com/t5/Intel-NUCs/bd-p/nucs

- Other NUC support methods: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/contact-intel.html#support-intel-products_98414:98414

I will follow up on July 17th in case additional time is required.

Regards,

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[GRIFFCOMM]

Hi

Thanks for the links, there all good (i posted in the NUC forum incase you wanted to keep these separate).  The H20 appears way faster and uses so much less power, can see its really just a advanced update of the H10.

Is your timezone radically different? we are in August here...

This ticket can be closed, will ask about what the H20 can do in the NUC forum.

[BrusC_Intel · Accepted solution]

Hello, GRIFFCOMM.

Good day,

My apologies, I forgot to address your question regarding the capabilities of the H series and acceleration.

Also, what I meant by Opening a thread with the NUC team was for questions about the NUC themselves, like the necessary BIOS configuration, recommended/compatible hardware, supported operating systems, and troubleshooting.

I will close the other thread as a duplicate of this one since your inquiries are related to Optane in general.

Regarding your questions:

1. "I notice that H10 and H20 optane says it only accelerates the local storage (i assume on the optane card), so is there any point is using this in a NUC11 / NUC12 when it has SSD as its main storage?".

The purpose of the unit is to be used as the main storage drive, if the system is already working with an NVMe SSD, there is no reason to add an Optane H series, unless you are looking to upgrade/replace the existing SSD for a particular reason, like the specs of the Optane H series being better than the specs of the existing drive.

2. "This seems to imply that optane is really just RAM speed cache for the 256/512/1Tb local memory on that card, did i miss something here?"

This is correct, the Optane Memory portion of the Optane H series is designed to accelerate the NAND/storage portion, helping it reach the performance numbers you have already seen. There are more details about the Optane Memory types in this link:

- https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000058286/memory-and-storage/intel-optane-memory.html

3. "Did optane go end of life due to SSD speeds?"

If you are referring to the Intel Optane Memory and Intel Optane Memory M10 no longer being supported after the 12th generation of platforms, this would be correct. These units were designed to accelerate slow SATA HDD and SSD that could really benefit from a boost, and also with NVMe becoming more common and more accessible every day, there is really no reason to keep pushing or working on support for these products in newer platforms.

- https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000057951/memory-and-storage/intel-optane-memory.html

If you have other questions, please let me know, and I will follow up on August 18th (not July, sorry about that) in case additional time is required.

Regards,

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[GRIFFCOMM]

Thanks, this answers all questions, this can be closed.