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A comment on Optane Memory – A bridge between DRAM and storage. Parent comment

Re:Optane Memory – A bridge between DRAM and storage by usrusr on Monday March 27, 2017 @07:07PM (#13972623)
One presentation was comparing an 8GB+HDD system to a 4GB+Optane+HDD system, showing off how the low RAM hybrid was much faster at selected tasks (carefully selected tasks, I presume). This is probably the market, another indication is the surprisingly low price.

The price difference between 4 GB and 8 GB of RAM cannot be enough to compensate for the Optane module, but if the Optane combination uses less battery than the bigger RAM and if enough benchmarks and/or magazine performance comparison use cases coincide with tasks where the hybrid shines, then some low end manufacturers might successfully sell the RAM downgrade as an upgrade option.

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Re:Optane Memory – A bridge between DRAM and storage by wtallis on Monday March 27, 2017 @08:28PM (#13972978)
> "but if the Optane combination uses less battery than the bigger RAM"

With idle power specified as 0.9-1.2 W, I'm not expecting the Optane-based solutions to come out ahead on any battery life tests. PCIe power management is a horrific mess.

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