Intel
Intel unveiled its new Optane Data Center SSD designed specifically for boot, caching, and logging workloads. The Optane SSD P1600X product line does not boast huge capacities, but its performance and extreme durability promise to deliver the high reliability and efficiency required.Intel Optane SSD P1600X family includes capacity drives of 58GB and 118GB, sufficient for the operating system and tasks like caching, but not intended for storing huge amounts of data. These devices should be used in conjunction with larger capacity SSDs or HDDs to boot an operating system, and cache frequently used data to enhance the user experience, or meet the QoS requirements of a server / datacenter. . The drives are available in the M.2-2280 form factor and use a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface to maintain compatibility with both "legacy" machines (as Intel says) and the latest servers that support PCIe Gen 4.
Optane SSD P1600X SSDs are rated for sequential read speeds of up to 1,870MB / s, sequential write speeds of up to 1,050MB / s, and random read and write speeds of up to 426K / 243K respectively. By today's standards, these drives aren't very fast unless combined in RAID 0 mode for maximum performance. But this is where the unique benefits of 3D XPoint memory come into play. Drives can withstand up to six full writes per day (6 DWPD) for five years (which cannot be expected from 3D NAND-based SSDs with similar capacities) and offer up to 2 million hours of mean time between failures . Additionally, Intel claims that the drives have an average read latency of 7μs and an average write latency of 10μs, which are important values for caching drives.
Interestingly, Intel's Optane P1600X SSDs aren't the first boot / caching devices in the company's lineup. The manufacturer already shipped its 58GB and 118GB Optane 800p series SSDs targeting exactly the same market segment in 2018. These SSDs, however, featured a PCIe 3.0 x2 interface and were noticeably slower in terms of both read / write. sequential than random, as well as possessing significantly higher write latency.
The surprising part of the announcement is, of course, that Intel has decided to introduce a successor to its product family despite the uncertainties with the supply of 3D XPoint memory now that Texas Instruments has acquired the factory that produced this memory from Micron. Intel wanted to make 3D XPoint memory at its 3D NAND factory in China (which is in the process of being moved to SK Hynix, but will be operated by Intel and SK Hynix together for some time), so the company may have modules. enough for all its product lines.
Are you looking for an NVMe SSD with top performance? We recommend the Samsung 980 PRO.
Intel and Apple may be first to use TSMC's 3-nanometer chips
Apple and Intel are reportedly testing chip designs with TSMC's 3-nanometer process and could be first to market with the technology, according to Nikkei. Intel may be planning to use the chips in next-gen notebooks and data centers, while Apple could be first to market with a 3-nanometer processor in future iPad models. Taiwan-based TSMC will reportedly start manufacturing processors for both companies as early as next year.
© Eason Lam / Reuters A logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is seen on a wall of its headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan October 5, 2017. Picture taken October 5, 2017. REUTERS/Eason LamTSMC is currently manufacturing 5-nanometer chips for Apple's iPhone 12, and in 2022 will build next-gen AMD Zen 4 chips. It has targeted 3-nanometer volume production for the second half of 2022 with products likely coming along in 2023.
TSMC expects the new tech to deliver 10-15 percent greater performance at the same power levels, or reduce power 25 to 30 percent at the same transistor speeds over 5-nanometer tech. The company also has a 4-nanometer N4 process set to arrive in 2022, offering an evolution over 5-nanometer with minimal changes required by chip designers.
Apple's iPad will reportedly be the first devices powered by 3-nanometer chips, according to Nikkei's sources. The next generation of iPhones rolling out next year will supposedly use 4-nanometer tech for scheduling reasons.
Currently the chip volume planned for Intel is more than that for Apple's iPad using the 3-nanometer process.
The situation with Intel is perhaps more interesting. Intel confirmed to Nikkei that it would work with TSMC for its 2023 product lineup and has previously said that it would subcontract some chip manufacturing out to the Taiwan-based company, though it didn't say which technology it would use.
As it stands now, Intel has only just started rolling out its 10-nanometer chips (which are broadly equivalent to chips made with TSMC's 7-nanometer process), and has delayed 7-nanometer production until 2023.
According to Nikkei, TSMC will produce more chips for Intel than Apple. 'Currently the chip volume planned for Intel is more than that for Apple's iPad using the 3-nanometer process,' a source said. Intel plans to use TSMC to build processors for notebook and data servers 'in an attempt to regain market share it has lost to Advanced Micro Devices and NVIDIA over the past few years,' the story reads.
If the rumors prove accurate, Intel could possibly beat AMD to 3-nanometer tech, as AMD plans to use 5-nanometer chips for its next-gen Zen 4 processors. AMD now relies on TSMC for its processor and GPU chips, as its previous supplier GlobalFoundries decided not to manufacture 7-nanometer or smaller chips back in 2018.
TSMC is building a $12 billion chip fab plant in Arizona and plans to use its current 5-nanometer manufacturing technology. Intel, meanwhile, plans to invest $20 billion in two Arizona factories.