1TB 5400rpm SATA: 16GB PCIe NVMe Intel Optane

by Paul | Last Updated: August 9, 2022

Memory Expansion to Improve Performance. There are various types of PCs, this gives people a wide range to select from. Manufacturers are literally flooding the market with different sizes, colours design, memory capacity, storage capacity and so on. To improve your PC’s performance, you might be tempted to make a quick change but sometimes you are on a budget. Let us look at a budget friendly option.

1TB 5400rpm SATA; 16GB PCIe NVMe Intel Optane

This is computing system with a 1TB hard disk drive (HDD) storage that uses the SATA connection with a 5,000 revolution per minute capacity. It also has the Intel Optane memory that will boost the performance of the HDD. It is not just any Intel Optane as it has the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) and Non Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) making it a very huge boost for the HDD. It is a good upgrade for an old PC. The 16GB refers to the memory size available for this hardware to operate, we will explain more on that later in this article.

Computers are fun to use and can be an effective tool to get tasks accomplished but they can also present a source of frustration when they keep glitch or freezing. Asides storage, people usually go for a Random Access Memory (RAM) expansion, but if you cannot afford a RAM expansion, getting an Intel Optane is a good option. This is serves as a boost for your RAM, Storage, and your PC, it is not like a DRAM but is manageable or rather an above average option.

Using Intel Optane is better than using just SATA. Without this upgrade i.e., your PC runs on the regular HDD, there are a few hiccups you will without a doubt encounter. The first is speed issues, the moving needle mechanism that this type storage uses makes it too slow and tough to adapt to “heavy” software and other capacity demanding activities.

What is Intel Optane?

This is not just a storage drive or other things you can just add on your motherboard because it is an essential component that makes up the motherboard. Owing to the degree of change this means for your PC, installation is a bit complicated as it requires expert supervision.

This is not the only way as it can be installed, it can be built into a PC you purchase. It is easy to get some computing devices that come preinstalled with it, like the HP Omen 880 gaming laptop.

This is the optimal option for you if you value storage over speed. It can be described as a combination of SSD and HDD, i.e., having a large storage capacity feature of the hard drive while having an almost similar speed of the solid state drive, a best of both worlds’ scenario.

It is an advanced memory system that is considered a good complement for either SSD or HDD, more on the SSD part later. It is a combination of intel 3D XPoint memory media with an intel-built advanced system memory controller and it allows data to be stored much faster. For this to operate efficiently, you need windows 10, an intel 7^th gen core processor and intel 200 series chipset as a minimum.

Other Features of the Intel Optane

This hardware gives system acceleration because it is a smart memory system that enables a better performance. This improvement will be evident in faster gameplay, file transfer, start up or boot time, app launch and other activities. The Optane works as a cache memory, this means it learns the tasks performed frequently and remembers them, this memorisation makes it easy to access and store your frequently used documents, files, and others.

Optane is a long term smart memory technology making it different from the Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) as it is used temporarily to save inputs and results of calculation performed by the processor. This difference does not make them substitutes as the Optane is designed to complement DRAM. It is the connecting link between the system RAM and HDD storage

If you decide to purchase the Intel Optane, here are few things to note

Storage Size

The Optane comes in different sizes: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB. There are other sizes but those are the most popular. If you purchase the 16GB, it is good for running multiple apps and task switching.

For gaming and running data-intensive applications, transferring large media files anything from 32GB and above is the way to go, the larger the task, the higher the storage size required. When you purchase the 16GB, know that Windows 10 uses a large chunk of this 16GB so, if you are a gamer this size will not be sufficient for you.

Performance

The Optane is built for non-volatile high performance which means it can still retain data after it has been shut down, it has high-quality endurance and low latency. This endurance can withstand multiple reads. It does not support NVMe (SSD) acceleration, remember when we talked about its compatibility with HDD and SSD?

Well, the difference is not so clear when it is used with NVMe SSD, but it is faster than memory card, NAND SSD, Flash Drives, HDD and SSHD

Computer Specifications

Your motherboard must be within the intel 200 series or 300 series (anything higher). It does not support Pentium, Celeron, and other processor platforms. It uses an m.2 slot, it cannot replace existing RAM (it might in future as technology advances) but for now, you should add it to your system while maintaining everything in the motherboard as it is.

Compatibility

Only supports UEFI-mode installed windows 10 OS so the disk system must be GPT. It currently does not support Apple and it is available on only a few platforms, so if you are making a build upgrade ensure your PC is compliant.

Why should you purchase an Intel Optane HDD?

It is great for people who want to speed up their PC on a budget. It offers a better capacity and throughput with a basic SSD, better flexibility, acceleration solution to support the upgrade the HDD. It is good for business, design, games, and home use.

Drawbacks of Intel Optane HDD

Sometimes the Optane is even more expensive than a lot of SSD models. Its design makes it power-intensive, so it consumes power a lot even when it is not being used, this affects your battery life. It does not store sequential data i.e., large files like movies.