Intel currently offers Core i5/i7/i9 Processors bundled with Optane Cache SSD
Intel’s Core+ product line, which the company announced a few days back, will be a bundle of a Core i5/i7/i9 with an Intel Optane SSD. Initially this will be 8th generation Core processors combined with the low capacity ‘Optane Memory’ caching SSDs.
The Core+ product line seems to be an attempt to motivate the adoption of Intel Optane products.
Optane was announced three years back by both Intel & Micron. It was targeted between NAND flash as well as DRAM in both performance & price. But, most people did not find the relative little speed boost worth the higher price. In the meanwhile, SSD speeds improved by utilizing the PCIe interface, as well as prices of the NAND based drives continued to fall.
Intel initially released the Optane Memory caching SSDs. These drives are available in capacities of 16GB as well as 32GB & can be used for storing frequently accessed data. This is supposed to make the system more responsive.
A full-fledged Optane SSD is the data center targeted P4800X, which impressed many reviewers globally because of its performance. However, the drive is pricey. A few months back the company also introduced its first Optane consumer SSDs, the P800 series. These P800 series also perform well and that too with a much friendlier price tag.
People who would like a Core i7+ bundle can purchase a Core i7 8700 + 16GB Optane Memory SSD for $457. The price of the CPU is $403. Currently Amazon sells 16GB Optane Memory SSDs at around $35.99, which means you can save yourself around $20.
