Now that’s interesting … why are they doing that? Intel Optane memory not selling that well?
Gigabyte, in a bid to further differentiate itself from its competitors’ products, has decided to start bundling Intel’s high-performance, 3D XPoint memory-based Optane drives with select AORUS motherboards. The initiative, which is available for the company’s Z370 Aorus Gaming 7-OP and Z370 AORUS Ultra Gaming WIFI-OP (where the OP suffix denotes the Optane bundle) delivers Intel’s 32 GB Optane module at a price that’s lower than the sum of its parts.
The Z370 Aorus Gaming 7-OP, for example, comes with an MSRP of just $269, $20 more than the non-OP version of the same motherboard – and can now be had for the same $249. This means you’ll snag a full 32 GB Optane module for free with this bundle. The Z370 AORUS Ultra Gaming WIFI-OP delivers a slightly less sweet deal, but it’s still interesting: it’s available at an MSRP of $214, while its non-Optane-equipped equivalent is available for $164.99 (this means the usually $74 Optane module will set you back a much more manageable $32). And have I mentioned these are absolutely beautiful motherboards?
Sources: TPU, Z370 Aorus Gaming 7-OP, Z370 AORUS Ultra Gaming WIFI-OP, via Tom’s Hardware
