Intel’s first 3D XPoint SSD has arrived

This week, Intel officially launched its very first SSD to make use of its new 3D XPoint technology. This tech was first demonstrated back in 2015 and is faster/denser than any other type of memory right now. In all, it is said to be several hundred times faster than the NAND architecture in use today. The first SSD to make use of 3D XPoint is the Optane DC P4800X, which won't necessarily excite consumers with its 375GB of storage, but it could be a game changer for data centres.

The Optane DC P4800X is roughly five to eight times faster than many leading SSDs and should help fill the gap created by DRAM shortages. According to Intel, this drive is particularly ideal for “critical applications with aggressive latency requirements”. This makes sense, as 3D XPoint is built to offer extremely low latency while being built to last.

In terms of read and write speeds, this SSD offers up to 2GB/s over a PCIe connection. It consumes around 14 watts under heavy load, making it very power efficient, another thing that is increasingly important for server farms and data centres.

In all, Intel's $1520 375GB drive offers a combination of high throughput, low latency and high QoS, while being built to endure and alleviate the bottlenecks data centres currently face. In the future, there will be a 750GB version of this available, along with a 375GB model in a U.2 form factor. Eventually. 1.5TB SSDs will also hit the market.

KitGuru Says: This technology is excellent for data centres but won't be of much use to consumers until prices come down and capacities go up. Still, 3D XPoint seems like quite the innovation, though it has hit the market later than initially hoped. What do you guys think of Intel's new 3D XPoint SSD? 

Become a Patron!