Intel delays the introduction of 3D XPoint memory modules

[HEXUS]

If they launch alongside Cannonlake-EP we may have to wait until Q4 2018 to H1 2019.

Read more.

[MRFS]

FWIW, I believe that Intel would be kinder to its "fan club" if:

(a) it recognized that the DMI 3.0 link has the exact same upstream bandwidth
as a single M.2 NVMe port, and, therefore ...
(b) it announced roadmap plans to expand that link to x8 or x16 PCIe 3.0 lanes;
(c) it announced its intentions to do (b) when it implements PCe 4.0's 16 GHz clock;
(d) it committed to future chipsets that support at least 4 integrated U.2 ports
with full support for all modern RAID modes;
(e) it demonstrated the leadership to build storage subsystems with variable transmission
speeds, perhaps with pre-sets like 6G, 8G, 12G and 16G, with full Plug-and-Play compatibility;
(f) it solicited customer opinions of proposals to populate 2.5" SSDs and SO-DIMMs with Optane;
(g) if it can't build its own, then OEM an NVMe RAID controller like Highpoint's model 3840A;
(h) if Optane is not meeting expectations, Intel has enough cash to acquire better solutions
being developed by other manufacturers e.g. Everspin comes to mind (there are others);
(i) instead of "locking in" their chosen NVRAM e.g. with proprietary solutions,
a philosophy change would "open up" the Non-volatile ecosystem to exciting experimentation
by DIYs, prosumers and enthusiasts, who originated CPU and DRAM "overclocking" years ago;
(j) recognized that the world has now entered an Era in which mass storage
is capable of operating at speeds comparable to DDR3-1333 and DDR3-1600 DRAM:
x16 lanes @ 8 GHz / 8.125 bits per byte = 15.75 GB per second!
x16 lanes @ 16GHz / 8.125 bits per byte = 31.50 GB per second!!

I could go on, but this latest news is a serious disappointment.

[excalibur1814]

Wow... wow... hang on a minute! If sales are steady and profit is acceptable then there's ZERO reason to release anything new. /s

[ik9000]

Wow... wow... hang on a minute! If sales are steady and profit is acceptable then there's ZERO reason to release anything new. /s

And there, right there, is why the current quasi-monopoly sucks bad. You've really got to hope Zen is worth the hype, but it won't be big enough to more than gently wet the side of the oil-tanker that is Intel right now.

[azrael-]

Charlie over at SemiAccurate has an interesting write up as to why XPoint gets less and less amazing (especially in Intel presentations) as time goes by.
http://semiaccurate.com/2016/09/12/intels-xpoint-pretty-much-broken/