A new class of memory storage was announced today by Intel and Micron. It marks a rare introduction of a new class of memory and each one has had large, wide-ranging impacts on the technology industry. 3D XPoint technology claims to be 1,000 times faster, has 1,000 times greater durability and is 10 times denser than conventional memory.
The technology is a fundamental breakthrough in the memory storage industry, offering massive benefits over current NAND-based storage, which is used in devices such as solid state disks (SSDs) and smartphones. For example, current SSDs that are based on NAND memory have limited write cycles, with a portion of the storage space being used essentially as a backup when memory cells die. A 1,000-fold increase in memory durability could have a profound impact on a range of devices, as well as hard disk sales.
There are breakthrough materials used in 3D XPoint too that allow for greater density and performance. Memory is stored in a fundamentally different way. Property changes - not phase-changes, in the storage material itself are used - completely different to alternative electron-based storage. The technology uses a binary change in the resistance of the material, moving from high to low resistance.
The memory is able to be written at the bit-level, meaning that in certain circumstances, traditional garbage collection on SSDs won't be needed and there are no transistors used in the storage of the individual memory cells.
The companies were tight-lipped about the specifics of the materials used and the in-depth details of how the technology works, or indeed the partnership between Intel and Micron in financial terms.The costs involved were also vague, but Intel has told me that it will land somewhere between NAND and DRAM. Following on from this, Intel also stated that price-wise the products will enter consumer as well as enterprise markets, meaning there's scope for new 3D XPoint products to compete against the full spectrum of current storage technologies. What this means for current storage products is a little uncertain.
Hard disks are clearly a technology that has an end in sight, despite every-increasing capacities that continue to offer better-than-SSD capacity to price ratios and don't suffer from read/write cycle limits. 3D NAND-based SSDs are quickly taking up their slack and offer super-fast SATA and PCI-Express-based storage that's currently making waves across the industry - even in the mid to high-end consumer markets. Products based on the new 3D XPoint memory technology will roll out in 2016 and will be manufactured in Utah, USA.
Does the thought of SSDs that are 1,000 times faster and more durable than the current SATA and PCI-Express products sound good? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter - @antonyleather
