Intel launches i5, i7 and i9 branding for Optane accelerated PCs

The branding of new PC hardware is often essential for the average consumer, people who frequently lack the in-depth knowledge of a technology enthusiast. For years Intel has separated their core lineup into i3, i5 and i7 class CPUs, giving customers something to look at to quickly differentiate a company’s “good” and “best” CPUs.  

Intel has expanded their traditional branding today, not only with the release of a 6-core i9 series mobile processor but also with the release of i5, i7 and i9 branding, signifying the use of Optane storage acceleration. 

Optane SSDs offer performance levels that sit somewhere between a RAMDISK and traditional NAND storage, delivering extremely high levels of performance at low queue depths and the ability to be used as a cache/system accelerator for standard hard disk drives. The main problem with Optane is its high cost/GB, making it unsuitable as primary system storage, with standard SSDs offering a lot more storage capacity for your money. 

Intel’s “Core Plus” branding will be used with systems that are accelerated by Optane storage, which is used to cache and HDD for enhanced read/write performance. The CPU side of the equation will be unchanged, though the addition of Optane will have an impact on overall system performance, especially when compared to systems which use an HDD as primary storage. 

When compared to Intel’s first generation of Optane Cache drives, Intel has lowered the idle power consumption of their M.2 drives and has configured their storage drivers to cache secondary storage mediums. IE, this allows Optane users to utilise their primary SATA or NVMe SSD as normal and cache the data in their secondary HDD storage, where the cache is most effective. Intel’s Optane Cache can only be used on a single drive as a cache. 

Below is a data slide which showcases how much faster Intel’s Optane memory can accelerate load times, allowing PCs to appear much quicker without a CPU upgrade. 

  
  

With this branding, Intel plans to encourage more OEMs to create systems that use their Optane system accelerators, acting as a means to force system integrators to use Intel over AMD. Intel’s Optane Storage drives cannot be used to accelerate PCs without compatible Intel hardware, making the feature Intel exclusive. 

In summary, Intel’s “Core Plus” branding will inform consumers that their systems are faster due to the use of Optane caching/acceleration, differentiating PCs with Optane technology from their SSD and HDD using competitors.  

You can join the discussion on Intel’s i5, i7 and i9 sub-brands on the OC3D Forums.