Lenovo has recently released the specifications for their 2017 Thinkpad series line-up, with several models (T470p, L470, L570, T470, T570, X270 and Yoga 370) featuring the usual, evolutionary hardware improvements, such as being equipped with Intel’s latest generation Kaby Lake processors and increased screen resolutions. However, one of the hardware announcements for the new Thinkpad series goes a little further than your usual, run-of-the-mill updates: these solutions will feature what is expected to be the first consumer-level adaptations of Intel’s Optane technology.
The Optane-based solutions will essentially act as caching devices, offering up to 16GB Optane SSDs in M.2 2242 form factor, which will be paired with hard drives (as a supposedly higher-performing, higher-storage capacity solution than the alternative of using a single NVMe SSD with NAND flash memory). The new Intel Optane devices mentioned by Lenovo in the product specs are most likely the codenamed Stony Beach NVMe PCIe 3 x2 drives. These are expected to be branded as the Intel Optane Memory 8000p series, with a maximum capacity ceiling at 32GB in addition to the 16GB Lenovo will be using.
The new generation of ThinkPads will be hitting the market in January and February 2017, but Lenovo and Intel haven’t indicated when the configurations with Optane will be available. However, considering reports of delays in the 3D XPoint technology time-to-market, actual products featuring the technology may be further away than the revised, 2017 Thinkpad lineup release.Source: AnandTech
