Intel OPtane

[aeon187]

If I install the Module do I need to reformat my pc?

[AskTJ]

If you want to have your operating system to boot of it, yes.

 

If it's just a storage device, then no.

 

But I highly recommend you take all your files and save them on an external hard drive, and format all your drives.

 

Then do a clean install of Windows/Linux/MacOS and install the OS on the Optane drive, and keep the other drives as pure storage.

 

Make sure you have a hard drive paired with your Optane drive.

[aeon187]

@tj_420

Will I see any improvement in boottime and loading from a 960 pro?

 

[AskTJ]

1 minute ago, aeon187 said:

@tj_420

Will I see any improvement in boottime and loading from a 960 pro?

 

Is the drive you have now a 960 pro? Or a hard drive?

[aeon187]

I have a 960 pro.

 

I have at least 15 apps running on boot Could that make it instant?

[aeon187]

@tj_420 forgot to tag you <3

[Alesek]

the improvements will not be noticeable. it is not worth it

[AskTJ]

45 minutes ago, aeon187 said:

@tj_420 forgot to tag you <3

Going from an SSD to an Optane drive, I doubt you'll see any improvements. Maybe a few seconds on the fast side at most. Not worth it if you already have an SSD. Don't buy it.

[Psittac]

Optane is meant for caching hdd's not ssd's and esp not nvme m.2 ssd's

 

I believe there are now full on optane drives which are not cache disks and hold some of their own merit's, but it's going to be difficult to match a 960pro.

 

I'm hopeful for the future of optane, though it's not there right now given the price.

 

 

 

[porina]

1 hour ago, aeon187 said:

I have a 960 pro.

 

I have at least 15 apps running on boot Could that make it instant?

The 960 Pro is already a high end NVMe SSD. Optane is faster at some things, slower at others. I wouldn't worry about the difference. Stick with the 960 Pro and be happy you have a high end SSD already.

48 minutes ago, Psittac said:

Optane is meant for caching hdd's not ssd's and esp not nvme m.2 ssd's

Intel did market it as potentially speeding up flash SSDs too, but realistically the gains will be so minimal it isn't worth it.

 

48 minutes ago, Psittac said:

I believe there are now full on optane drives which are not cache disks and hold some of their own merit's, but it's going to be difficult to match a 960pro.

Depends on what you do. The 960 Pro will be faster in sequential tasks, as M.2 format Optane devices are currently limited to 2 lanes I think. However Optane will destroy any flash SSD at low QD random reads, if that is important.

 

48 minutes ago, Psittac said:

I'm hopeful for the future of optane, though it's not there right now given the price.

Likewise... I bought the 280GB one for storage, got the insane benchmark scores, but it made no noticeable real world difference in my use cases. For the same cost I could have got TB class flash SSDs.

[kirashi]

12 hours ago, aeon187 said:

I have a 960 pro.

I have at least 15 apps running on boot Could that make it instant?

12 hours ago, Alesek said:

the improvements will not be noticeable. it is not worth it

100% agree based on experience and just general common sense having researched technology and been doing IT Consulting for 10+ years. In certain isolated cases, a cache drive like Micron's Optane modules (because they're the ones who developed the technology, not Intel) can certainly speed some processes up. However, if you already have a 960 pro NVMe drive, the difference in real-world consumer use-cases is completely negligible and a complete waste of money to go with Optane.

 

I am an AMD convert now using an i7-4960K, and am waiting until my processor no longer meets my needs to decide upon Intel or AMD's then-current offerings, so I'm not "allergic" to Intel's products, nor do I fanboy over any particular brands. However, in my opinion, Optane is one of the biggest shams to come out of the consumer PC category because of what's required to use it.

• You can't put an Optane module into an older PC since the CPU and motherboard chipset need to support it. OK, no problem, new computer time.
• If you're building a new PC, spending money on an SSD, even SATA, would be a better choice. You'd have enough left for at least a 1TB HDD too.
• If buying a prebuilt PC, don't buy one without an SSD, period. Means you'll probably be getting a better CPU and more RAM to grow into later.
  • Optane only makes sense if you can't find any prebuilt PC's with SSD's in your area, and don't know how to reinstall Windows on an SSD.

To me Micron's 3D X-Point technology has huge potential, but consumers won't see this in non-Optane products until Intel's licensing deal expires, just like when Thunderbolt 3 first launched. On a positive note, what Optane provides Intel is a lucrative product with high profit margins and a really uninformative marketing campaign, so I can certainly applaud their business decision as a fellow business owner.