Question Replacing HDD+Optane with an SSD in my laptop?

[nickeh1]

Hello,

I have a laptop which currently has a 1TB HDD which I would like to remove and replace with an SSD. The laptop also has a 16GB Intel Optane Memory M10.
I dont really understand the purpose of the optane, I think it takes the load and stress away from the other drive and helps process- is that correct?

I am going to replace the 1TB HDD with the following SSD I have spare - Crucial MX500 2.5 SSD CT500MX500SSD1.

The question I have is that when I replace the current HDD with the above SSD, will the optane memory work automatically to process things quicker for the SSD? How does it work?


Here's an image of the optane in the laptop below:

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[Newtonius]

Intel optane acts as a cache to quickly store data temporarily for faster read and write speeds for hdd's. In simpler words, it makes your HDD as fast as an SSD since data is stored in that chip ready to be accessed at a moments notice. It's pretty much the same feature some SSD's have called Cache momentum where data is temporarily stored on RAM instead of the SSD itself so it can be called upon from the RAM until that data is permanently saved onto the SSD.

As for the new SSD, it will make very little difference as the data read will not be read any faster than it would through the SSD. Linus Tech tips did a video about intel optane memory. I recommend watching their YT video for further info.

 

[nickeh1]

@Newtonius Thank you for the details above - really useful!

I guess it would be no problem for me to later replace the Optane memory slot with another SSD (M2)?

 

[Newtonius]

Pretty much. It looks like the socket is an M-Key, so it's NVMe compatible. Just be wary about temps, M.2 SSD's without a heatsink can get pretty hot (under prolonged heavy usage) and slow down drastically, albeit temporarily.