Intel: Meltdown, Spectre silicon fixes coming 2018; 3D XPoint RAM, not so much

A 3D XPoint wafer. (credit: Intel) As part of Intel’s fourth quarter financials release, CEO Brian Krzanich promised that chips shipping this year would include true hardware fixes for the Spectre and Meltdown attacks. The promise to ship chips immune to the attack leaves many questions unanswered. It’s not clear if the fixes will be […]

Specs for first Intel 3D XPoint SSD: so-so transfer speed, awesome random I/O

A 3D XPoint wafer. (credit: Intel) In 2015, Intel and Micron announced 3D XPoint (pronounced “three dee cross point”), a new form of high-speed, non-volatile, solid-state storage. But we’re still waiting for products that actually use the technology. The first 3D XPoint storage should hit the market this year. Branded “Optane,” Intel briefly documented (on […]