The Intel Optane SSD 800p (58GB & 118GB) Review: Almost The Right Size
by Billy Tallis on March 8, 2018 5:15 PM ESTMixed Random Performance
Our test of mixed random reads and writes covers mixes varying from pure reads to pure writes at 10% increments. Each mix is tested for up to 1 minute or 32GB of data transferred. The test is conducted with a queue depth of 4, and is limited to a 64GB span of the drive. In between each mix, the drive is given idle time of up to one minute so that the overall duty cycle is 50%.
The Optane SSDs put even Samsung's best NVMe SSDs to shame on the mixed random I/O test. The 800p is a little more than half as fast as the 900p, which is plenty to put it far out of reach of the flash-based SSDs.
The Optane SSD 800p takes first place for power efficiency on the mixed random I/O test, with the 58GB model having a slight advantage over the 118GB due to the lower power consumption of operating half as many 3D XPoint dies. The flash-based SSDs come close to matching the efficiency of the Optane SSD 900p, but are far behind the 800p.
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With no write buffering, the Optane SSDs show a steady decline in performance as the proportion of writes increases, with no spike in performance at the end as is typical of flash-based SSDs with aggressive write combining. The 800p shows a more pronounced reduction in performance than the 900p, while the 900p's power consumption climbs more.
Mixed Sequential Performance
Our test of mixed sequential reads and writes differs from the mixed random I/O test by performing 128kB sequential accesses rather than 4kB accesses at random locations, and the sequential test is conducted at queue depth 1. The range of mixes tested is the same, and the timing and limits on data transfers are also the same as above.
With only a PCIe x2 interface and sequential write speeds that only use a fraction of that bandwidth, the Optane SSD 800p is actually performing pretty well on the mixed sequential I/O test. The 800p has the same average performance as Samsung's fastest TLC SSD, and offers more than two thirds the performance of the Samsung 960 PRO.
The power efficiency of the Intel Optane SSD 800p is second only to that of the Samsung 960 PRO. The 800p's efficiency score is far above the 900p and the low-end NVMe SSDs.
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As with the mixed random I/O test, the Intel Optane SSD 800p shows a steady decline inn performance as more writes are added to the mix. The decline is steeper than the one shown by the 900p. Power consumption increases very slightly over the course of the test but still stays within the rated maximum.
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AnnonymousCoward - Wednesday, March 14, 2018 - link
No. My understanding is that most load times are CPU bound, and there's a negligible difference from most 500MB/s SATA III drives vs the Samsung 950/960 vs Optane. That makes it completely pointless for almost all users.emvonline - Friday, March 16, 2018 - link
so any reasonable calculation says chip can be cycled 7-10k times (mlc nand is specd at 10k). And total tbw is less than most of the competion 960 pro ssds. is this true? so its around enterprise mlc in endurance???mkozakewich - Sunday, March 18, 2018 - link
Why is everyone so bad at figuring out when to use things? This would be great in any environment where you're prioritizing low-queue-depth transfers. Obviously it's not going to replace your computer's SSD.MDD1963 - Friday, March 23, 2018 - link
When these things cost less than and/or exceed the performance of the 960 EVO, perhaps then they will begin to sell....DocNo - Thursday, April 12, 2018 - link
Use this as L2 cache with PrimoCache and prepared to be amazed. I have the 64GB Optane paired with Primocache and the performance difference is notable - even with my primary drive being a Samsung M2 Pro series SSD drive. If I wasn't so happy with my current setup I'd be all over this new drive as an L2 cache. And unlike Intel's caching software for Optane, Primocache is trivial to install with no special requirements for BIOS or partitioning.http://www.romexsoftware.com/en-us/primo-cache/ind...
Primocache is also the most inexpensive way I have found to accelerate Windows server too. I'm a huge fan!
Chongsboy - Monday, August 27, 2018 - link
Not sure where you guys work, or what you have against optane is, but under server conditions, a new mb design, would be wonderful for servers, ie: cloud servers. Where workers are a fricken arm and a leg, hardware costs is not that much of an issue, especially special discounts intel will give to big players. I feel that most ppl here commenting negatively dont actually run real life servers, dealing with thousands, maybe not even hundred requests per minute. Reliability amd speed trumps prices for these servers as if you dont realize aws and all cloud providers are ripping people off, and thats why these c rooked companies are earning billions. Anyways, i deal with these cloud systems in my work. I for one expect all large companies to mov to optane, because it's just that fast, and reliable: ie facebook, aws, azure, what not. Dunno why people are going nuts... we got intel haters galore here...