Intel reveals Optane will need a 7th-gen core and a PC-centric launch

The price and precise performance of Intel's Optane storage-class memory still remain officially obscure, but the company has confirmed the PC version of the product will run only on 7th-generation Core i7, i5 and i3 CPUS nestled into certain motherboards.

The new details are hiding in plain sight on a new Optane web page that says, among other things, that Optane is not just “a single small factor solid state drive or a memory media.” Which could mean it ships as a DIMM in addition to the M.2 form factor we already know about.

We can now also state with some certainty you'll also need a 7th-gen Core CPU nestled within “an Intel 200 series chipset, M.2 type 2280-S1-B-M or 2242-S1-B-M connector on a PCH Remapped PCIe* Controller and Lanes in a x2 or x4 configuration with B-M keys that meet NVMe Spec 1.1 and System BIOS that supports the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (Intel RST) 15.5 driver.”

Another thing we can learn from the new Optane landing page is that Intel is talking about it as a PC accelerator, with nary-a-mention of servers. But the site also omits news of previously-discussed 16GB and 32GB M.2 devices it revealed earlier this year.

Here's Intel's list of Optane-capable kit.

For those of you worried Intel has decided Optane's not a data centre product, panic not: we've also seen hints of a 375GB Optane card aimed at servers, so clearly there's some Optane love coming for the data centre. We've previously been told that sixth-gen Xeons can handle Optane, too.

C'mon, Chipzilla! Spill the lot, will you please? ®