Intel's Optane SSD P5800X introduction late last year included four models with different capacities. So far, the company has brought the 400GB, 800GB, and 1.6TB SKUs to market, but the flagship 3.2TB model still isn't available and Intel recently removed the product listing from its website. That is a bit surprising because Intel recently reaffirmed its commitment to the data center lineup after it killed off its entire line of Optane drives for desktop PCs.
There appears to be some confusion among Intel's own ranks, too, as a report has surfaced that cites the company saying it is unsure if the 3.2TB model will see the light of day. However, after our own inquiries, the company tells us the drive is still on track for release this year.
Intel's Optane SSD P5800X drives use second-gen 3D XPoint and Intel's new proprietary SSD controller with a PCIe interface. The drives are aimed at data centers and deliver market-leading performance of up to 7.2 GB/s of sequential throughput, up to 1.5 million 4K random IOPS, and up to 1.8 million IOPS in mixed workloads. That performance comes paired with unbeatable endurance of 100 drive writes per day.
At present, only three of four Optane SSD P5800X models are available for purchase (for $1,224 ~ $3,823). Considering that the supply of second-gen 3D XPoint is uncertain (Micron listed the only fab that produces this kind of memory for sale recently), the fate of the highest-capacity P5800X model was unclear, especially after Intel removed all mentions of the 3.2TB SKU from its website. Furthermore, the company did not provide concrete answers to ComputerBase.de when asked about the 3.2TB Optane SSD P5800X.
The good news is that Intel has not abandoned the 3.2 TB version of the Optane SSD P5800X, and it is on track to be available later this year. The price of the drive is unknown, though, but it will certainly not be cheap.
"The Intel Optane SSD DC P5800X series is currently available in 400GB, 800GB, and 1.6TB capacities, and we expect the 3.2TB drive to be available later this year," said Kristie Mann, Senior Director, Optane DC Persistent Memory Products, Intel.
Since the Optane SSD DC P5800X drives are designed for data centers, they aren't very interesting to the vast majority of enthusiasts (especially at a price that starts at $1,224). Intel recently canceled its entire lineup of Optane drives for the desktop PC, so we won't see any future generations of its Optane SSDs in enthusiast rigs.
