Intel's Optane products, based on the joint venture with Micron, have been hailed as the next step in memory technology - delivering, according to Intel's own pre-launch slides, a mid-tier, al-dente point between DRAM's performance and NAND's density and pricing. Intel even demoed their most avant-garde product in recent times (arguably, of course) - the 3D XPoint DIMM SSD. Essentially, a new storage contraption that would occupy vacant DIMM channels, delivering yet another tier of storage up for grabs for speed and space-hungry applications - accelerating workloads that would otherwise become constrained by the SATA or even NVMe protocol towards NAND drives.

Of course, that product was a way off; and that product still hasn't come to light. The marriage of Optane's density and speed with a users' DRAM subsystem is just wishful thinking at best, and the dreams of pairing DRAM and 3D Xpoint in the same memory subsystem and extracting the best of both worlds remains, well... A figment of the imagination. But not according to some retailers' websites, though. Apparently, the usage of Intel's Optane products as DRAM memory has already surfaced for some vendors - Dell and HP included. How strange, then, that this didn't come out with adequate pomp and circumstance.

INNOVENTIONS, Inc., the leading manufacturer of portable computer memory testers, is now shipping the RAMCHECK LX DDR4 and the RAMCHECK LX DDR4 Pro for testing and identifying industry standard DDR4 ECC and non-ECC SDRAM modules.

"DDR4 memory is now the standard for servers and PCs," said Dr. David Y. Feinstein, President of INNOVENTIONS. "With these new RAMCHECK LX memory testers, data centers, memory dealers and repair techs have a great tool to test and identify DDR4 DIMMs quickly and reliably. Considering the price of these big server DIMMs, the RAMCHECK LX pays for itself pretty quickly."

HyperX, the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., today announced the addition of higher frequency memory modules to the HyperX FURY DDR4 DIMM and HyperX Impact DDR4 SODIMM product lines. FURY DDR4 DIMMs and Impact DDR4 SODIMMs both offer automatic Plug N Play overclocking functionality. FURY DDR4 is now available up to 3466 MHz and Impact DDR4 is now available up to 3200 MHz. Both product lines are available as single modules and as various kits configurations from 8 GB to 64 GB.

HyperX FURY DDR4 is a cost-efficient high-performance upgrade for Intel and AMD's latest platforms for faster video editing, 3D rendering, gaming and AI processing. It features Plug N Play which enables automatic memory overclocking at standard DDR4 1.2V settings. The new FURY DDR4 additions are available in black, red and white low-profile heat spreader colour options that feature the stylish signature FURY asymmetrical heat spreader design with black PCB.

Some of our readers may well remember Qimonda, at one time the second largest DRAM memory producer. The company produced various DDR, DDR2, and DDR3 memory products, before eventually going bankrupt in 2009. Its bankruptcy led to its purchase by Inspur Group, a Chinese multinational information technology company headquartered in Jinan, Shandong, China. Using IP form its Qimonda acquisition, the company has now led its Xi'an UnilC subsidiary to become the first Chinese DDR4 producer, with full in-house development of the technology. On which process technology is anyone's guess; that's not being clearly marketed by the company, but it almost certainly isn't a top-of-the-line production process.

Xi'an UniIC's DDR4 lineup includes 4 GB and 8 GB SO-DIMMs, 4 GB and 8 GB UDIMMs as well as a 4 GB UDIMM with ECC, all rated for data transfer rate of 2133 MT/s with CL15 15-15 timings at 1.2 V, which isn't too far away - at least in voltage - from current DDR4 technology. These modules are built with Xi'an UnilC's 4 Gb DDR4 chips. While not overly impressive spec-wise, this news is important in at least two ways: first, it means there's a Chinese company that can leverage its own production for DDR4 memory chips, which will likely start to expand in China's hungry memory market before it starts exporting; second, that the entry of another DDR4 manufacturer into the game will certainly increase the amount of DDR4 memory put into circulation, alleviating China's needs to import memory, and thus leading to increased stock around the world for what should lead, hopefully, to lower DDR4 pricing (eventually, of course).

Sk Hynix has added to its product catalog single-die 16 Gb DDR4 memory chips, which should enable a two-fold increase in maximum memory capacity per single DIMM. This allows SK Hynix to sell same-capacity chips with fewer memory semiconductor dies, due to the increase in storage density, and to increase maximum memory capacity at the same memory die populations as before. The benefits are lower power consumption (due to the reduced number of memory dies to power), and the possibility of putting together either dual-ranked 64 GB modules, quad-ranked 128 GB LRDIMMs and octal-ranked 256 GB LRDIMMs. That last part is the most important: theoretically, the maximum amount of memory on top Intel or AMD server platforms could double, which could enable up to 4 TB RAM in EPYC systems, for example. And as memory-hungry as big data applications have become, there's ever need for higher memory capacity.

SK Hynix's 16 Gb DDR4 chips are organized as 1Gx16 and 2Gx8 and supplied in FBGA96 and FBGA78 packages, respectively. Current 16 Gb density speeds stand at DDR4-2133 CL15 or DDR4-2400 CL17 modes at 1.2 V. SK Hynix plans increase the available frequencies in the third quarter of this year, adding DDR4-2666 CL19 to the lineup.

ADATA at its 2018 International CES booth showed off a prototype titled "Project Jellyfish." This is a proof-of-concept that memory modules can be cooled with a "liquid heatsink" made of mineral oil, an electrically non-conductive liquid that can conduct some heat, and is used in oil immersed PCs, and to cool large transformers in power distribution grids. In its current iteration, Project Jellyfish is simply a small acrylic tank enclosing a DIMM, that has some mineral oil filled in it. This amount of oil can at best spread some heat, but with the lack of any visible metal heatsink, it remains to be seen by how much it lowers temperatures. This isn't an actual product, and so there's no timeline on when it's implemented on one.

Intel has reportedly slated launch of its Optane DIMM for the second half of 2018. The Optane DIMM marks the biggest change in computer memory in over two decades, and heralds the era of "persistent memory," which combines the best characteristics of DRAM and NAND flash, in that it has the speed and low-latency of DRAM, but the persistence (ability to store data in the absence of power) of NAND flash. Combining the two will be made possible with improvements to the speed and latency of 3D XPoint memory. Intel is currently selling consumer SSDs based on the technology, and has increased production of 3D XPoint chips.

Intel presented the Optane DIMM at the 2017 USB Global Technology Conference. It described Optane DIMM as a primary storage device that will function as a memory-mapped device, but with much higher storage densities than what's possible with current DDR4 DRAM. The enterprise segment, as usual, will have the first take of the technology, with Intel targeting the exascale computing (supercomputers nearing ExaFLOP/s compute throughput) industry, trickling down to other enterprise segments, before finally making its way to the client/consumer segments. This development is also a polite nudge to the DRAM industry to get its act together, and either bring down prices or scale up densities, or miss the bus of change.

With DDR4 memory prices on the boil, an increasing number of users could be drawn to some of the more basic DDR4 memory kits that not only lack any form of RGB LED lighting, but even heatspreaders to begin with. Such basic kits could end up being 20-30 percent cheaper than those with premium RGB-studded heatspreaders. This is where companies like Jonsbo step in, with the NC-1 series DIMM heatspreaders.

Available in two key variants - black and red, the NC-1 is an aluminium heatspreader, with a 256-color RGB multi-color LED element, which puts out its lighting through a diffuser for softer color transitions. You sandwich your memory module between two haleves of the heatspreader kit, with thermal pads between the metal and the DRAM chips. The LED element draws power from a 3-pin header. Jonsbo didn't reveal pricing, but mentioned that pairing the NC-1 with basic memory modules will be more economical than buying premium memory with RGB lighting.

The first product based on Intel's ambitious "Kaby Lake-G" multi-chip module, which combines a quad-core "Kaby Lake-H" die with a graphics die based on AMD "Vega" architecture, will be a NUC (next unit of computing), and likely the spiritual successor to Intel's "Skull Canyon" NUC. The first picture of the motherboard of this NUC was leaked to the web, revealing a board that's only slightly smaller than the mini-ITX form-factor.

The board draws power from an external power brick, and appears to feature two distinct VRM areas for the CPU and GPU components of the "Kaby Lake-G" MCM SoC. The board feature two DDR4 SO-DIMM slots which are populated with dual-channel memory, and an M.2 NVMe slot, holding an SSD. There are two additional SATA 6 Gb/s ports, besides a plethora of other connectivity options.

Silicon Power releases its DDR 4 UDIMM memory module with a newly designed heatsink jacket. The memory module DDR4 Unbuffered DIMM is compatible with the Intel Haswell-E platform and X99 series motherboards as well as with the Intel Skylake platform and 100 series motherboards. It is made for gamers and multimedia professionals who rely on fast data transfer rates that ensure smooth gaming or work sessions with 17GB/s of bandwidth.

The new heatsink element provides effective cooling for a reliably running system while adding fierce design to top off the user experience. The DDR4 UDIMM is made of selected original memory modules and is 100% factory-tested to guarantee high stability, durability, and compatibility. Backed by lifetime warranty, it comes with complete service and technical support.

There are two kinds of desktop CPU platforms. The mainstream tier runs from two cores up to eight, and it's great for gaming and general use. Its high-end sibling takes everything up a level with more cores, more memory channels, and more bandwidth for graphics and storage. A considerable upgrade in every regard, this high-end desktop platform appeals to power users, content creators, and prosumers who want to blur the line between desktop and workstation. AMD's Threadripper CPU is the latest addition to the desktop's heavyweight division, and it walks into the ring with an entourage of SocketTR4 motherboards in tow. This guide explains the ASUS and ROG family to help you pick the best X399 motherboard for your high-end desktop or gaming PC.

All of our X399 boards share core DNA that includes one-touch overclocking, refined cooling control, and improved RGB lighting. Yet they each have their own distinct flavor as well. The ROG Zenith Extreme brings Threadripper into the world of premium dream PCs with provisions for custom liquid cooling and 10G networking. With the Strix X399-E Gaming, hardcore gamers can build stylish rigs with power to spare for high-quality streaming. And then there's the Prime X399-A and its well-rounded foundation channeling the professional side of the platform's prodigious power. Which X399 motherboard should you buy for your build? Let's find out.

GEIL's EVO Spear joins the company's DDR4 memory line-up with some inconspicuous looks and lack of LED lighting. The new series from GEIL also features something that's not all that common nowadays - a standard DIMM-sized heat spreader, which doesn't add much volume to the parts. This means these kits shouldn't pose many clearance problems (if any), which is a good thing in some smaller form-factor builds.

The new Kits from GEIL are available in both Intel and AMD-compatibility kits, and the new series is fully compatible with the Intel X299 HEDT platofrm (it remains to be see if the AMD-compatible parts will have the same compatibility towards the company's X399 Threadripper platform.). GEIL offers the module in speeds of 2133MHz up to 3466MHz, in single, dual or quad-channel kits. GEIL didn't release pricing information as of yet, but says that "EVO Spear Series is designed for PC gamers looking for well-performed standard-height gaming memory without high price tag." This probably means these kits will sell for less than comparable GEIL kits from other series. Expect these to hit the streets this July.

GIGABYTE today announced its latest generation of servers based on Intel's Skylake Purley architecture. This new generation brings a wealth of new options in scalability - across compute, network and storage - to deliver solutions for any application, from the enterprise to the data center to HPC. (Jump ahead to system introductions).

This server series adopts Intel's new product family - officially named the 'Intel Xeon Scalable family' and utilizes its ability to meet the increasingly diverse requirements of the industry, from entry-level HPC to large scale clusters.. The major development in this platform is around the improved features and functionality at both the host and fabric levels. These enable performance improvements - both natively on chip and for future extensibility through compute, network and storage peripherals. In practical terms, these new CPUs will offer up to 28 cores, and 48 PCIe lanes per socket.

Intel announced retail availability of its new Core X-series HEDT (high-end desktop) processors in the LGA2066 package, designed for motherboards based on the Intel X299 Express chipset. These include the 4-core/4-thread Core i5-7640X and 4-core/8-thread Core i7-7740X based on the "Kaby Lake-X" silicon; and 6-core/12-thread Core i7-7800X, 8-core/16-thread Core i7-7820X, and 10-core/20-thread Core i9-7900X chips based on the "Skylake-X" silicon. Compatible socket LGA2066 motherboards based on the X299 chipset began selling, too.

The Core i5-7640X features 4.00 GHz clocks with 4.20 GHz Turbo Boost, and 6 MB of L3 cache. The i7-7740X tops that with 4.30 GHz core and 4.50 GHz Turbo Boost out of the box, 8 MB of L3 cache, and HyperThreading. Both these chips feature just dual-channel DDR4 memory controller, meaning that you'll be able to use just four out of eight DIMM slots in most LGA2066 motherboards. The i5-7640X is priced at USD $242, while the i7-7740X goes for $339. These are the same prices at which you can buy the LGA1151 Core i5-7600K and i7-7700K, respectively, so an attempt is being made to transition all PC enthusiasts over to the HEDT platform.

ECS took to Computex to showcase seven different motherboards from both AMD and Intel. First up we have the Z270 Lightsaber, which is great at deflecting laser blaster shots. It's an LGA 1151 socket motherboard, features 8-channel audio courtesy of a Realtek ALC 1150 audio chip, a Killer E2500 Gigabit controller, 1x M.2 slot with support for SATA, NVMe, and Intel Optane. There are 3x PCIe x16 slots, which work at x8 x8 x4 when all slots are populated, as is usual with Z270 motherboards.

Early on in Intel's 3D XPoint teasers and announcements, the company planned to have this memory integrated not only as a system cache solution or SSD replacement, but also as a potential substitute for DRAM memory. The objective: to revolutionize the amount of DRAM memory a given system can carry, at a much lower price per GB, with a somewhat acceptable performance penalty. Intel describes the current DRAM implementation as too small, too expensive, and too unstable (read: data loss on power loss) to continue being on top of the memory food chain. This is where the 3D Xpoint DIMM implementation can bear fruits, by offering significantly higher amounts of storage at much lower pricing, while keeping attractive bandwidth and latency performance. DRAM will still be used for system-critical operations and booting, albeit in lower capacities, and will be used side by side with these 3D XPoint DIMM slots, which will take in the bulk of the work.

This kind of usage for Intel's 3D XPoint also delivers an interesting side-effect: since this memory is persistent (which means that data isn't lost when the power is turned off,) interruption or loss of power won't erase the work in memory. At the same time, this means that this kind of DRAM-substitute memory requires some security precautions DRAM doesn't, since anyone with direct physical access to the stick could just remove one and take it with all the data inside. Even though a 2018 time to market seems a little to optimistic, considering all the changes this implementation would require from adopters, the technology is definitely promising enough to tempt users to make the jump.

AMD, in an interview with Forbes, confirmed that it is working to improve DDR4 memory support of its Ryzen series processors, to enable higher memory clocks. AMD Ryzen users find it difficult to get DDR4 memory clocks to run above 3000 MHz reliably. With memory clock being linked with the chip's Infinity Fabric clock (the interconnect between two CCX units on the "Summit Ridge" silicon), the performance incentives for higher memory clocks are just that much more.

AMD confirmed that its AGESA update for May improves DDR4 memory compatibility, although it also stressed on the need for motherboard manufacturers to improve their board designs in the future, with more PCB layers and better copper traces between the DIMM slots and the SoC socket. The company assures that more updates to AGESA are in the pipeline, and would improve performance of Ryzen processors at various levels. The AGESA updates are dispensed through motherboard vendors as BIOS updates.

Intel today unveiled significant performance advances in its upcoming Intel Xeon Processor Scalable family. At the SAP Sapphire NOW conference, Intel showed up to 1.59x higher Intel Xeon processor performance running in-memory SAP HANA workloads over the generation it replaces, demonstrating what the new products will deliver to help meet the increasingly complex demands of big-data, in-memory workloads in the modern data center.

Diane Bryant, group president of the Data Center Group at Intel, outlined how the Intel Xeon Processor Scalable family - available in mid-2017 - will provide enhanced performance to in-memory applications like SAP HANA. This will provide customers faster time-to-insight and allow organizations to rapidly respond to change.

GeIL showed off its EVO-X series of high-end DDR4 memory, featuring RGB multi-colored LED lighting elements, lining the top of the modules. These DIMMs plug into a control module (included), which takes inputs from an RF remote control, that lets you set color and lighting pattern for each of the DIMMs. The EVO-X series will come in densities of 8 GB and 16 GB, in white and black heatspreader colors, in various DDR4 frequencies, and in dual- and quad-channel kits, making up for dozens of SKUs.

Crucial, a leading global brand of memory and storage upgrades, today announced the availability of its latest DDR4 server DIMMs. With speeds of 2666 MT/s, new Crucial DDR4 server memory modules allow for increased performance and bandwidth within data centres and hyperscale environments. They are also available in a variety of server module types and densities ranging from 8GB to 64GB.

New Crucial 2666 MT/s 8Gb-based server memory modules are approximately 11 percent faster than the previously released 2400 MT/s DIMMs. Additionally, the newly expanded portfolio of Crucial server memory will support cloud and enterprise environments that are migrating to next-generation Intel server platforms.

On their Facebook page, MSI have given a little tease regarding their upcoming next generation Intel Z270 boards. Details are scarce at the moment, but these motherboards are to be marketed under MSI's PRO series, with the Z270 SLI Plus featuring a clean, high-contrast black and white color scheme, while the Z270 SLI opts for an almost totally black design.

The Z270 SLI Plus is the higher-end product of the two. It sports a 10-Phase PWM circuitry, cooled with the aid of two heatsinks in the ATX form-factor. As usual, it has four DIMM slots which leverage MSI's DDR4 Boost feature, and support for XMP profiles. All of these four DIMM slots are protected by metal shielding, and expansion slots include three PCIe 3.0 x16 (x16/x8/x8 electrical), three PCIe 3.0 x1 and two Turbo M.2 NVMe slots. Storage options include 6 SATA III ports and a dual USB 3.0 front panel header. It also features MSI's latest Audio Boost panel for premium audio quality, with what they call a "Mystic Light" RGB solution, and the I/O panel is covered by a black and white shroud.

ATP, the leading manufacturer of high performance DRAM and flash memory solutions, has announced the industry's first DDR3L ECC SODIMM technology capable of operating at 1866MHz. The ATP DDR3L-1866 modules are available with capacities of 4GB and 8GB and address the need for low voltage (1.35V) DDR3 memory running at 1866MHz (instead of 1600 MHz). As a result they can maximize system performance when used in conjunction with Intel Apollo Lake processors.

The new ECC SODIMM is available in both commercial temperature (CT 0°C to 85°C) and industrial temperature grade (IT -40°C to 95°C) options, providing the flexibility to meet the operating conditions of a wide variety of IoT (internet of things) systems. The industrial temperature range durability feature is especially beneficial in harsh environments and embedded applications such as industrial IoT and automation devices, telecommunication systems, healthcare technology and outdoor data collection systems.

MSI, industry leading motherboard brand, is proud to announce its latest addition to its X99 portfolio, the X99A WORKSTATION. Dedicated towards users demanding perfect stability & performance for optimal productivity while in search of a wide variety in connectivity & storage options, the new X99A WORKSTATION is sure to impress. Built from the ground up using Military Class 5 components, the X99A WORKSTATION is optimized to use ECC Registered DIMM (RDIMM) memory while benefiting from enhanced performance & stability through the presence of DDR4 Boost. The X99A WORKSTATION supports the latest Intel processors out of the box, both Broadwell-E and XEON based models. The X99A WORKSTATION motherboard is the perfect multi-tasking powerhouse to cater even the most demanding professional.

To be qualified as a true workstation motherboard, optimal & stable data handling needs to be guaranteed, no matter what. By using industries' highest quality components combined with an unmatched R&D design and extreme QA testing, the X99A WORKSTATION motherboard PCB design has been optimized to do just that. To protect the PCB and its components, besides looking cool an IO & audio cover ensures worry free use. The data and audio signals are also shielded against EMI. Heavy plated heatsinks, with a touch of grey, green and white, are used to ensure perfect operation at even the most extreme conditions. To transfer countless data, a wide variety of storage connecters such as U.2 , M.2 and SATA ports are demanded by most workstation users. The X99A WORKSTATION allows any of the latest and greatest HDD, SSD or other storage devices to be connected.

Here are some of the first pictures of GeIL EVO-X memory with its HILM (hybrid independent light module) active. GeIL essentially split the module into two PCBs, one being the more expensive, multi-layer DIMM PCB, and the other being a fewer-layered PCB holding the RGB LED lighting, with its independent power input. That's right, EVO-X is one of the first memory modules that don't use DIMM voltage to power lighting. They instead feature a tiny power input on the lighting PCB, which draws power from any vacant USB 2.0 header you may have on your motherboard (and also interfacing with your OS to let you configure the color. The EVO-X is available in reasonably high speeds such as DDR4-3866, and in densities of up to 8 GB per module.

CORSAIR, a world leader in enthusiast memory, PC components and high-performance gaming hardware today announced the latest addition to its industry leading range of XMP 2.0 certified DDR4 memory kits, the CORSAIR Dominator Platinum ROG Edition. Developed in collaboration with the ASUS Republic of Gamers team, the 16GB 4 x 4GB DDR4 kit is fitted with a unique Republic of Gamers Red and Black brushed aluminium finish, to perfectly compliment the celebrated ASUS Republic of Gamers line of motherboards.

Clocked at 3,200MHz for blistering high-bandwidth performance on Intel 100-series motherboards, CORSAIR Dominator Platinum ROG Edition also boasts a custom overclocked ROG XMP 2.0 memory profile only accessible with ASUS Z170 Republic of Gamers motherboards*, pushing the kit to an even faster 3,333MHz with just a single setting.