Intel has announced at Intel Developer Forum (IDF) 2015 that it will bring its new 3D Xpoint
memory to market next year under the brand name Optane.
Optane will be 7 times faster than today's solid state drives.
Optane drives will include a specialized software stack, Intel’s custom storage controllers,
and the 3D Xpoint memory.
3D XPoint doesn’t just boost speed: it increases storage density, too.
Its stacked design keeps things compact, and the memory doesn’t need to make room for
transistors.
3D XPoint can read from or write to individual memory cells by simply altering voltages.
Intel says the technology is affordable enough that Optane drives will be made available
next year for uses ranging from large corporate data centers to lightweight laptops.
They would improve gaming, supercomputers, and data analysis.