WEBVTT 00:00:01.600 --> 00:00:11.120 Okay, so if you've read the title of the video, you've probably got a pretty good 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:13.440 idea of what's in this box. But I don't 00:00:11.120 --> 00:00:18.480 have my knife. Clearly, at this point, I'm filming the video. I haven't read 00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:22.240 the title, so you're going to have to humor me as we 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:27.680 uh come along on a voyage of discovery here. 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:33.520 Okay, so we know it's from Intel Corporation. Could this be the plans for 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:38.399 world domination that we ordered? I mean, what could be what could be red 00:00:36.239 --> 00:00:42.280 hot rush? That sounds dirty. 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:54.160 All right, then. So, let's pop the side panel on this ow puppy. 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:56.960 There we go. and get a better look at 00:00:54.160 --> 00:01:03.760 what's going to be pretty much the most generic damn computer I think I've ever 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:05.680 seen in my life. But wait, 00:01:03.760 --> 00:01:11.760 maybe this is exactly the point they're trying 00:01:07.920 --> 00:01:15.680 to make. Maybe this 3D cross point 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:19.439 accelerator Optane module is so amazing 00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:23.759 that it can make even this mid2000 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:27.330 style beauty fly. 00:01:23.759 --> 00:01:36.000 Well, let's see if it can. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:43.920 Browse privately and securely with Tunnel Bear, the simple VPN app. Try 00:01:41.520 --> 00:01:47.040 Tunnel Bear for free at the link in the video description. 00:01:45.759 --> 00:01:52.880 All right, so what do we got here? We got B250 motherboard, the most generic 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:54.320 RAM ever, WD Black, Core i57500. Yeah. 00:01:52.880 --> 00:02:03.439 Okay, whatever. Let's let's skip all over that. Let's get straight to the 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:04.960 Optane memory series, Opane module, 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:12.400 whatever. Let's let's skip over to this thing. So, this is a fundamentally new 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:15.599 type of computer memory. It's different 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:18.000 from both NAND flash and DRAM, offering 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:25.920 up a lot of the benefits of both. So, lightning fast latency and lower cost 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:27.920 than system memory and lower cost than 00:02:25.920 --> 00:02:34.319 system memory. Okay, here let's just pull this out with the ability to retain 00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:39.440 the data without being constantly powered on like this stuff. You can 00:02:36.720 --> 00:02:42.959 actually learn more about 3D cross point in a couple of videos that we've done in 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:47.519 the past, which you can check out in the cards up there. Okay. So, the way this 00:02:45.920 --> 00:02:52.879 is supposed to work, why am I holding this? Sorry. The way this is supposed to 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:55.599 work is kind of like Intel's SRT 00:02:52.879 --> 00:03:01.040 technology of yestery year, where you would take a a small SSD and you would 00:02:58.480 --> 00:03:05.120 like bolt it to a larger hard drive in order to accelerate your operating 00:03:02.720 --> 00:03:10.319 system and frequently used programs. The difference though is that in the last 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:14.319 seven years, we've gone from 32 gigs of 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:17.599 NAND flash being a reasonable cost to 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:20.800 achieve this functionality to 32 gigs of 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:24.319 Optane, which Intel is boasting at the 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:26.879 cell level is up to a thousand times 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:32.080 better in terms of access latency, which should translate to dramatically 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:37.599 improved system responsiveness. Okay. So, for starters, let's get the 00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:42.040 Oops. Let's get the module back in there. Get this baby fired up. 00:03:43.440 --> 00:03:51.120 Get this baby fired up and validate Intel's claims the way the product is 00:03:48.799 --> 00:03:55.040 intended to be used. So, an Optane module with a mechanical spinning hard 00:03:53.680 --> 00:04:01.799 drive. Probably shouldn't have been knocking on that. So in terms of benchmarks, we used pass marks, discark, 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:10.319 ADO at a variety of QEPs, boot times, 00:04:06.959 --> 00:04:13.920 and Grand Theft Auto 5 since it's 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:16.959 notoriously long loading times are the 00:04:13.920 --> 00:04:19.600 bane of the existence of gamers who 00:04:16.959 --> 00:04:23.759 really play a lot of Grand Theft Auto 5 everywhere. 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:28.639 But come on, you guys, this is Linus Tech Tips. You don't want to see me test 00:04:26.479 --> 00:04:35.120 the Optane module the way it's supposed to be used, the way Intel expects us to 00:04:31.440 --> 00:04:38.639 test it. We need uh Here, hold on. Get 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:44.080 one of these out of here. Ah, yes. We 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:47.199 need an SSD. I mean, by my logic, if an 00:04:44.080 --> 00:04:49.360 SSD could accelerate a hard drive, cuz 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:56.800 it's a lot faster with much lower latency, then an Optane module 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:58.960 should be able to accelerate an SSD. I 00:04:56.800 --> 00:05:04.080 asked them about this at the super embargoed event, and they refused to 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:07.840 answer me, opting instead to stick to the marketing message. I'm not going to 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:11.120 accept that. I've got the hardware in my hands. There's nothing that would 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:16.120 prevent me from testing this. So, let's shut this baby down the manly way. 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:22.720 That's right. And fire it back up with one of these and have a look at some 00:05:20.880 --> 00:05:27.600 numbers here. Before we can evaluate whether Optane 00:05:24.960 --> 00:05:32.639 can accelerate the SSD, we need to get a baseline reading for the SSD in all 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:38.880 those same performance benchmarks. So, it's a Kingston SSD now KC4001 TB. And 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:43.919 you can see here we've got all of our numbers run now and Intel Optane memory 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:50.400 is disabled. Now this is really important. We enable it by clicking 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:51.919 enable then yes and then it takes a 00:05:50.400 --> 00:05:57.360 couple of seconds here in order to prepare the system, copy some files, 00:05:54.639 --> 00:06:04.960 whatever the case may be. Okay, there we go. So now what we need to do is run all 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:08.479 of our benchmarks a second time to see 00:06:04.960 --> 00:06:12.639 on our clean Optane run if there's any 00:06:08.479 --> 00:06:15.440 improvement and the numbers are pretty 00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:22.720 much the same but we were expecting that Optane like any caching solution works 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:26.000 by watching data access patterns over 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:30.400 time and then using the knowledge that 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:34.240 it gains to predict what data the user 00:06:30.400 --> 00:06:37.680 is going to need in the future. So then 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:40.960 what we needed to do was run an entirely 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:43.440 new round of testing to get a second run 00:06:40.960 --> 00:06:50.720 of data to see what our module learned the first time around. And this time now 00:06:48.080 --> 00:06:57.199 we are looking at a significant difference. And by significant, I do 00:06:54.240 --> 00:07:02.319 mean in the scientific sense, not in the sense that in realworld applications, 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:09.599 the average user would actually notice it since the Optane acceleration of an 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:11.680 SSD was only really noticeable in 00:07:09.599 --> 00:07:19.199 synthetic benchmarks. Okay, so it's conclusion time then. 00:07:17.039 --> 00:07:25.360 That was a lot of fun, but I think we uncovered the reason why Intel doesn't 00:07:22.400 --> 00:07:33.360 want people talking about accelerating an SSD with an Optane module. If you 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:36.800 want greater than SSD performance, there 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:39.759 will actually be full-on Optane SSDs for 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:46.400 enthusiasts coming in the future. But for now, I'd recommend at the price that 00:07:43.039 --> 00:07:48.400 they come in at, so 40 bucks or 77, 00:07:46.400 --> 00:07:53.199 depending on the capacity you choose, I'd recommend sticking with the way 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:58.160 Intel's marketing them as a way to accelerate a mechanical hard drive for a 00:07:56.240 --> 00:08:04.400 system that otherwise wouldn't be able to achieve that level of responsiveness. 00:08:01.440 --> 00:08:10.800 It works like SRT, but thanks to the improved responsiveness, we did notice a 00:08:07.919 --> 00:08:15.520 tangible difference day-to-day just launching applications and navigating 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:21.840 the operating system from having the Optane module installed on our drive. Is 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:28.639 it worth the 77 bucks for the top-of-the-line one? It's hard to say. 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:31.039 Like so many things in life, I guess it 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:36.000 kind of depends on your priorities. And that's where Intel has lost me a little 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:41.440 bit on this one because they are limiting compatibility with Optane 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:45.040 memory to 200 series chipsets with KBL 00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:47.200 Lake processors and up. So most of the 00:08:45.040 --> 00:08:51.920 people that Intel's trying to sell an accelerator module for a hard drive to 00:08:49.760 --> 00:08:58.080 have a brand new system. And I would question why exactly it is that they 00:08:54.480 --> 00:09:00.640 don't then have a boot SSD for that 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:05.120 aforementioned system. But I'd love to hear that I'm wrong. Let me know you 00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:10.880 guys based on what you know now that Optane is flipping cool and that it 00:09:07.680 --> 00:09:13.680 really does work. Do you see this as a 00:09:10.880 --> 00:09:17.920 valid way to use your system or would you just kind of go, you know what, I'll 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:23.040 use one of these until I can get a much bigger one of these. You know what's 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:28.560 awesome? Home-cooked meals. You know what sucks? It's actually the worst part 00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:32.560 is like thinking about what to make and shopping for the ingredients. If only 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:37.760 there was a solution. All right. Blue Apron. Blue Apron delivers all the farm 00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:41.680 fresh ingredients you need right to your doorstep in exactly the right 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:46.959 proportions. So there's no trip to the grocery store and no waste from unused 00:09:44.800 --> 00:09:51.600 ingredients. They're delivered in a refrigerated box so everything is fresh 00:09:49.839 --> 00:09:56.080 even when you're not at home when your package arrives. 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And you can 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:36.560 check out both our merch store, which has cool shirts like this one, and our 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:43.240 community forum, which we will also have linked, you know, down there, if you 00:10:39.760 --> 00:10:43.240 know what I mean. 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:50.079 I'm always watching out of the corner of my eye for the camera person to uh 00:10:47.760 --> 00:10:53.399 cringe. Then I know I've delivered it just right. 00:10:54.079 --> 00:10:56.320 Oh.