3D XPoint to be expensive - Micron brands it as QuantX

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3D Xpoint (the successor to standard NAND flash) is bound to become a rather huge in storage technology. Dubbed as Optane SSD by Intel it will be available in form factors like M.2/NGFF, SATA-Express, PCI-Express (card). It will make use of the NVMe protocol. Micron just shared some interesting news though.



An early prototype has shown already that even in engineering stages it seems to offer up-to 5.5 times the throughput of NAND flash-based DC P3700 series SSDs. Compared to a queue depth of 32 commands for AHCI NVMe offers command queue depth of a staggering 65,535 commands. Micron is the actual co-developer of 3D Xpoint, thus expect Crucial branded SSD drives based on this technology as well. Micron mentions states that in its initial state QuantX storage will be four to five times as expensive as NAND, which means it'll be a while before it reaches consumer products. They will release it under the branding QuantX reports computerworld:

Currently, Micron is planning to see its first revenues from QuantX sales in the second half of 2017, with 2018 being a "bigger year," and 2019 being the "break-out" revenue year, Carter said. D Crosspoint will be about half the price of DRAM, but around four to five times more expensive than NAND flash, Carter said. So while it will replace DRAM for many applications, it's not likely to replace NAND flash -- at least for prosumer applications -- anytime soon. "The issue I have right now... is not about the ability for revenue. We've built the capacity for the first couple of years; it's all accounted for," Carter said. "I've been in situations with partners who buy a lot of DRAM who've said, 'Do you know how much DRAM I buy? You'd better get me some 3D XPoint.' " "The demand is through the roof. There's not enough. 

We're trying to manage the capacity and the capital expense to build the capacity for years three, four and five," Carter said. "I've had a long line of all the major storage and server vendors out there... coming to me directly talking about how they can get access to 3D XPoint."

Well, we can't wait.

3D XPoint to be expensive - Micron brands it as QuantX


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