Intel slide shows Barlow Pass Optane memory dimms at speeds up to 3200MT/s

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The upcoming Intel Barlow Pass Optane memory modules are expected to support 3200MT/s DDR4. This is evident from a leaked slide from Intel. The modules are also said to have improved bandwidth compared to Apache Pass.

The slide was discovered by Twitter user Komachi_Ensaka. Barlow Pass Dimms are Optane DC Persistent Memory Modules. The modules must offer high capacities with support for data persistence, and are therefore mainly intended for use in data centers. The dimms fit in ddr4 slots. Barlow Pass uses second-generation 3D XPoint memory with a bit density of up to four layers, Tom’s Hardware reports.

The upcoming Barlow Pass dimms have a TDP of 15W, according to the slide, and would support speeds of up to 3200 mega transfers per second. Also, the bandwidth would be up to 15 percent improved compared to its predecessor, Apache Pass. Current Apache Pass modules also support maximum speeds of up to 2666MT/s. Barlow Pass memory modules will also receive blue heat spreaders, which should make the modules more recognizable in data centers. Current Apache Pass dimms have black heat spreaders.

According to the slide, Intel is coming out with two versions of Barlow Pass: one for the Whitley platform and one for Cedar Island. The latter supports a maximum of 2933MT/s dimms, with 3200MT/s as the stretch target. Whitley supports eight channel memory and up to 4TB of memory per CPU socket. Cedar Island, in turn, supports up to 3TB per socket and six-channel memory, the slide shows.

Tom’s Hardware writes that Whitley is the mainstream platform for Cooper Lake and Ice Lake SP processors. These CPUs should be released this year. Cedar Island is supposedly intended for four-socket platforms.

It is still unclear when the first Barlow Pass memory dimms will appear on the market. Earlier this year, Intel stated that the Barlow Pass should reach ‘prq’ status by 2020. This means that Intel expects to produce the first modules this year.

Intel’s leaked Barlow Pass slide. Image via Komachi_Ensaka on Twitter

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