Intel Turbo Memory - "Braidwood"

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=18721

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=16171

If I understood the articles correctly, it will be an add-on to some i5 boards that give the benefits of a solid state drive without actually needing one (really fast access times, very snappy read/write in certain situations).

I guess it goes into a special slot similar to something like a DRAM slot?

If anyone knows more about this I would like to know because this sounds pretty interesting.

Asus & Intel were supposed to use something similar for Express Gate, their "OS on a chip" that allowed you to instant boot (3 to 4 seconds from pressing the power switch til you are on the desktop and surfing the net) to an OS that allowed you to access internet, IM programs, and your hard drives in case your Windows OS was not useable due to an OS corruption issue or something like that. (you'd use the OS on a chip to access the net to grab patches or fixes to restore your Windows OS to a useable state)

Asus implemented it anyway by re-writing some of the code that, now, takes a part of your hard drive and loads Splashtop Linux on it to accomplish the same thing. I have it on my P5Q Pro turbo and it is pretty sweet. Only problem is, if you run RAID, express gate is disabled.

Ive actually got intel turbo memory on my laptop and from personal experience I can happily say it is the most incredibly disapointing waste of money ever.

Yeah that's what I read about the first version of it UnseenMenace. It seems like because Nand flash is getting so cheap, they're just going to throw it at everything and see what sticks

dannydesiliva said:

What size is your turbo memory, Full or Half Mini PCIe? I received 4gb module in Half Mini PCIe which is too short for Dell XPS. Anyone knows intel part number for a Full Mini PCIe 4gb module?

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My turbo memory is 1gig full PCIe module. I would advise trying to find more real memory than this.
Ive had in it and out and can not tell the difference

Ive also got a DellXPS 1530 which did not even recognize it when tried.

Personally the most disappointing performance products I have ever purchased from cars, to computer equipment has a word associated with power on it such as turbo, I think the term is used in many cases to suggest something is fast when it is not.
never see Ferrari's with a turbo badge !!

Intel's upcoming 5-series chipsets will not support Braidwood technology, known as a successor to its Turbo Memory, according to sources at motherboard makers.

Intel declined to comment.

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Source digitimes.com

I've the express gate on here and just have it disabled myself, hadn't even tried it out I guess.

MongGrel said:

I've the express gate on here and just have it disabled myself, hadn't even tried it out I guess.

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I only use it for the time being because I can use my mouse to click and enter the BIOS instead of reaching over to the keyboard.

I've been looking into TurboMemory for my Studio XPS 16. From what I can tell, if I get a 4GB TurboMemory module, 2GB will be used for Readyboost and 2GB will be used for ReadyDrive. ReadyBoost doesn't really interest me as it is only useful for paging operations and with 4GB of DDR3, my machine doesn't really hit the page file very often. The benefits of ReadyDrive are what interest me. It seems that ReadyDrive will give me the benefits of a hybrid hard drive without buying a expensive hybrid hard drive. Does anyone know if ReadyDrive will actually decrease boot, return from sleep, and return from hibernation times?

moto211 said:

It seems that ReadyDrive will give me the benefits of a hybrid hard drive without buying a expensive hybrid hard drive. Does anyone know if ReadyDrive will actually decrease boot, return from sleep, and return from hibernation times?

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The only noticeable improvements I have seen from Windows or Linux is to the profit margins of Intel.
I would not advise anyone based on my experiences to pay any money at all for turbo memory as you will be disappointed.