As you know, the first models of Intel Optane consumer drives based on a new type of non-volatile 3D XPoint memory have a small capacity - from 16 to 32 GB, which is comparable in volume with the first SSD, but it is not enough even to install the operating system. Intel suggests using these drives as caching for work in conjunction with traditional HDD. MSI supports the Intel initiative: it plans to supply Intel Optane Memory with 16 GB capacity with some models of motherboards based on the chipset of the "two-hundred" Intel series. If you believe the claims of MSI, then the price of the end products is not affected, but it will seriously benefit from the performance when using conventional mechanical hard drives.

The offer will be distributed to Z270 Tomahawk Opt Boost, B250M Bazooka Opt Boost and B250M Pro Opt boost, that is, the company covers its offer at once three segments: gaming, mass and corporate. Again, Intel Optane drives are not yet intended for use as separate drives, except for the monstrously expensive server model DC P4800X with a capacity of 375 GB. Together with the HDD in the system, they will form a hybrid drive that looks to the user and the system as a whole, but the most frequently used and relatively small amounts of data, such as Windows boot files and constantly used applications, will be stored in Intel Optane memory, and the driver will monitor For the optimal use of this kind of cache with a capacity of 16 GB. On reliability you can not worry, even the younger model is designed to record 182.5 TB of data.

It can not be said that the first generation of Intel Optane Memory has outstanding features: a 16 GB model can offer up to 900 MB / s for sequential reading, but only up to 145 MB / s for linear recording, random operations are 190 and 35 thousand IOPS, respectively. In terms of linear recording, modern HDDs already outperform this Intel Optane model, but with random operations, hard drives lose by several orders, because we are talking about hundreds of IOPS against tens and hundreds of thousands. Yes, and the latency of Optane is excellent:

the delay in reading is only 7 microseconds, and when recording - 18 microseconds. The power consumption does not exceed 3.5 watts, so that in the electricity bills, the presence of the Intel Optane Memory module in the system will not be reflected. However, it should be noted that for the time being even these MSI boards will require the installation of Kaby Lake processors of the Core i series - Celeron and Pentium models are not supported for some unknown reason.