KLEVV today announced the CRAS C925 line of mid-range M.2 NVMe SSDs. Built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, these drives take advantage of the PCI-Express 4.0 x4 host interface, to provide sequential transfer speeds of up to 7400 MB/s reads, and up to 6500 MB/s sequential writes, depending on the model. There are three of these based on capacity—500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB. All three offer up to 7400 MB/s sequential reads, while the maximum write speeds are up to 6200 MB/s for the 500 GB model, up to 6300 MB/s for the 1 TB model, and up to 6500 MB/s for the 2 TB model. Both the 500 GB and 1 TB models offer up to 670,000 IOPS 4K random reads, and up to 980,000 IOPS random writes; while the 2 TB model does up to 700,000 IOPS random reads, with up to 1 million IOPS random writes.

The KLEVV CRAS C925 combines a MaxioTech MAP1602 DRAMless controller with an unspecified brand of 3D TLC NAND flash memory. The drive features a single-sided design, in that even the top 2 TB model has all its components on one side of the PCB. You can use the included aluminium heat-spreader that reduces temperatures by 12%, or the heatsink your motherboard includes. KLEVV rates the write endurance of these drives at 600 TBW for the 500 GB model, 1,200 TBW for the 1 TB model, and 2,400 TBW for the 2 TB model. The company is backing the drives with a 5-year warranty. The company didn't reveal pricing, but mentioned that the drives will be available from May 2024.

Sabrent today debuted the Rocket 4 line of DRAMless M.2 NVMe Gen 4 SSDs. Built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, these drives take advantage of the PCI-Express 4.0 x4 host interface, and provide sequential transfer speeds of up to 7.4 GB/s reads, with up to 6.4 GB/s writes. The drives also offer 4K random access performance of up to 1 million IOPS reads, and 0.95 million IOPS writes. For now, Sabrent is launching 1 TB and 2 TB capacity variants of the Rocket 4, but the company is preparing to launch a larger 4 TB variant soon.

The Sabrent Rocket 4 combines a Phison E27T series DRAMless controller with Kioxia 162-layer 3D TLC NAND flash memory (also known as the BiCS 6). There's just a copper foil heat spreader to keep things cool. The 12 nm E27T doesn't run anywhere near as hot as the E18, so you can make do with the heatsink your motherboard includes, or run it the way it is. The 1 TB variant is priced at $99.99, and the 2 TB variant at $199.99. The company didn't reveal pricing of the unreleased 4 TB variant.

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation ("Silicon Motion"), a global leader in designing and marketing NAND flash controllers for solid state storage devices, today introduced its UFS (Universal Flash Storage) 4.0 controller, the SM2756, as the flagship of the industry's broadest merchant portfolio of UFS controller solutions for the growing requirements of AI-powered smartphones as well as other high-performance applications including automotive and edge computing. The company also added a new, second generation SM2753 UFS 3.1 controller to broaden its portfolio of controllers now supporting UFS 4.0 to UFS 2.2 standards. Silicon Motion's UFS portfolio delivers high-performance and low power embedded storage for flagship to mainstream and value mobile and computing devices, supporting the broadest range of NAND flash, including next-generation high speed 3D TLC and QLC NAND.

The new SM2756 UFS 4.0 controller solution is the world's most advanced controller, built on leading 6 nm EUV technology and using MIPI M-PHY low-power architecture, providing the right balance of high performance and power efficiency to enable the all day computing needs of today's premium and AI mobile devices. The SM2756 achieves sequential read performance exceeding 4,300 MB/s and sequential write speeds of over 4,000 MB/s and supports the broadest range of 3D TLC and QLC NAND flash with densities of up to 2 TB.

Crucial, the client-focused brand of memory giant Micron Technology, showed off a handful new innovations at its booth along the sidelines of the 2024 International CES. First up, is a prototype USB4 portable SSD and prototype desktop SSD. These are proofs of concept, and not actual products. With this, Crucial is testing the waters with USB4 and its delicious 40 Gbps bidirectional bandwidth, which unlocks a new generation of fast removable storage devices. The prototype USB4 portable SSD comes in a tiny chassis about the size of a burner phone. It is a PCB with an M.2-2280 slot with PCIe Gen 4 x4 wiring, connected to an ASMedia ASM2464PD USB4 bridge chip. An OEM Micron Gen 4 SSD with 232-layer 3D TLC NAND flash and LPDDR4 DRAM cache, is installed on this drive. The CDM reading for this drive is 3821 MB/s sequential reads, with 885 MB/s sequential writes.

Next up, is a larger desktop SSD prototype (which again, isn't an actual product but a proof of concept). Its metal chassis is about the size of a 3.5-inch HDD. Inside is at least one M.2-2280 Gen 4 slot (there are probably more); with a preinstalled drive. An ASMedia ASM2464PD handles things here, too. The performance is mostly similar, at 3792 MB/s sequential reads, but with significantly increase 3803 MB/s sequential writes. This may seem unspectacular because Thunderbolt 4 has been delivering 40 Gbps for many years now, and we've had TB4-based external SSDs; but USB4 somewhat democratizes this kind of bandwidth.

ADATA Industrial, the world's leading brand for industrial-grade embedded storage, officially released today its SATA 31D series of industrial-grade solid-state drives including 2.5-inch ISSS31D, M.2 2280 IM2S31D8, and M.2 2242 IM2S31D4, designed for retail terminals and embedded systems.

The SATA 31D series of industrial-grade SSDs utilize 112-layer 3D TLC flash memory developed by WDC, boasting a P/E Cycle of 3,000 which is comparable to MLC. The 31D series also offers a variety of ultra-thin and compact mainstream specifications such as SATA 2.5-inch, M.2 2280, M.2 2242, and various capacity options from 128 GB to 2 TB. 112-layer 3D NAND (BiCS5) 31D series SSDs all support thermal throttling technology, which reduces SSD transmission performance in stages to effectively mitigate the risk of data damage due to overheating. Furthermore, a LDPC ECC error correction mechanism and End-to-End Data Protection technology ensure reliable data transfer and improve data integrity. The 31D series is eminently suitable for POS systems, information kiosks, digital signage, and embedded equipment.

GIGABYTE Technology, one of the top global manufacturers of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, announced today the latest AORUS Gen5 12000 SSD with an M.2 2280 form factor. Harnessing the power of a PCIe 5.0 controller with ultra-fast 3D-TLC NAND Flash, the AORUS Gen5 12000 SSD delivers a boosted performance of more than 70% over PCIe 4.0 SSDs with easy installation and superb capability. Equipped with the ultimate thermal design of M.2 Thermal Guard Extreme, the AORUS Gen5 12000 SSD becomes the perfect choice for power users, content creators, and gamers.

With PCIe 5.0 support on new motherboard platforms, the bandwidth and transfer performance are raised to the next level. The AORUS Gen5 12000 SSD is equipped with the latest Phison PS5026-E26 8-channel controller, providing users with superior control of random read speeds. Along with an over 232-layer stack structure of 3D-TLC NAND Flash and a built-in LPDDR4 cache design, the AORUS Gen5 12000 SSD unleashes the full potential of PCIe 5.0 performance with 12 GB/s ultra-fast access speed, which is more than a 70% increase compared to its predecessor. Furthermore, with AORUS optimized Direct Storage support, the AORUS Gen5 12000 SSD brings next-level performance with optimized stability.

Seagate Technology Holdings today introduced the next generation of SSD technology to its lineup, the FireCuda 540. The PCIe Gen 5 NVMe SSD delivers unparalleled performance to gamers, creators, and tech enthusiasts - adding the fastest speeds and endurance to the company's line of PC storage products.

Seagate's fastest and highest performance M.2 2280 SSD, the FireCuda 540 delivers sequential read speeds of up to 10,000 MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 10,000 MB/s. Built for sustained, pro-level gaming and accelerated content creation, the new drive performs up to 50% faster than Gen 4 M.2 NVMe drives and 17 times faster than SATA-based SSDs. With the latest 3D TLC NAND technology and built with a Seagate-validated E26 controller, the FireCuda 540 provides the most advanced speed and durability - allowing users to push limits when gaming or creating content. Plug-and-play compatible with all PCIe Gen 5 motherboards and backwards compatible with PCIe Gen 4, the drive is accessible and ready for trailblazing.

ATP Electronics, the global leader in specialized storage and memory solutions, introduces its latest high-speed N601 Series M.2 2280 and U.2 solid state drives (SSDs) sporting the 4th generation PCIe interface and supporting the NVMe protocol. The new ATP PCIe Gen 4 SSDs' 16 GT/s data rate is double that of the previous generation, translating to a bandwidth of 2 GB/s for every PCIe lane.

Using x4 lanes, these SSDs have a maximum bandwidth of 8 GB/s, meeting the growing need for high-speed data transfer in today's demanding applications and making them suitable for both read/write-intensive, mission-critical industrial applications such as networking/server, 5G, data logging, surveillance, and imaging, with performance on par, if not better, than mainstream PCIe Gen 4 consumer SSDs in the market.

Essencore KLEVV brought in a formidable lineup of new PCIe Gen 5 NVMe SSDs and DDR5 memory for gamers and overclockers, at the 2023 Computex. The lineup is led by the KLEVV CRAS V RGB series of DDR5 memory that comes in high-end speeds of DDR5-6000 (30-36-36-76 @ 1.35 V), DDR5-6400 (32-38-38-78 @ 1.35 V), DDR5-7200 (34-44-44-84 @ 1.40 V), DDR5-7600 (36-46-46-86 @ 1.40 V), and DDR5-8000 (38-48-48-128 @ 1.55 V). These modules feature both Intel XMP 3.0 and AMD EXPO SPD profiles. The KLEVV BOLT V series form the company's mid-range, offering speeds of DDR5-6000 (30-36-36-76 @ 1.35 V), DDR5-6400 (32-38-38-78 @ 1.35 V), and DDR5-6800 (34-40-40-80 @ 1.35 V). Both XMP 3.0 and EXPO are to be found even with these modules. The company interestingly also has standard modules for DDR5-4800 and DDR5-5600, which make do with just 1.1 V. We also spied KLEVV's odd-capacity 24 GB and 48 GB CRAS V RGB modules.

The storage lineup for Essencore is led by the KLEVV CRAS C950 PCIe Gen 5 NVMe SSD, and the CRAS C910 Gen 4 SSD. The CRAS C950 comes in 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB capacities, and uses a Phison E26-series controller paired with 3D TLC NAND flash. The 1 TB variant offers up to 11.5 GB/s sequential reads, with up to 8.5 GB/s sequential writes, while the 2 TB and 4 TB models do up to 12 GB/s sequential reads, with up to 11 GB/s sequential writes. The drive uses a chunky passive aluminium heatsink to keep cool. The CRAS C910, on the other hand, comes both as a bare drive (without heatsink), and as the CRAS C910 RGB, where it features a heatsink with an RGB diffuser. The drive uses an InnoGrit IG5220 controller, comes in capacities of up to 1 TB, and offers speeds of up to 5 GB/s sequential reads, with up to 4.8 GB/s sequential writes.

Patriot Memory introduced some truly unique memory and storage products at the 2023 Computex. The company showed us what is probably the world's first PCIe Gen 5 NVMe SSD with a DRAMless architecture. It also runs surprisingly cool for the kind of performance that's being claimed. The untitled Patriot Gen 5 SSD uses a Maxiotek MAP802A-F1C DRAMless controller that features a PCI-Express 5.0 x4 host interface. The drive comes in capacities of 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB. The performance on offer easily matches or beats some of the early Gen 5 SSDs based on Phison E26. You get sequential speeds of up to 12 GB/s, with up to 10.5 GB/s sequential writes.

The company also showcased the Viper PV553, a more traditional Gen 5 SSD that uses a DDR4-based DRAM cache that can be as large as 4 GB for the 2 TB model. At this point we don't know which controller is powering this drive, but it's confirmed that it uses a DRAM cache, and needs active cooling. The performance on offer is up to 12.4 GB/s sequential reads, with up to 11.8 GB/s sequential writes. A side-effect of Gen 5 SSDs picking up traction in the market is that Gen 4 SSDs with fairly powerful specs are taking up mainstream pricing. The Viper VP4300 Lite is one such drive, it is a revision of the VP4300 from 2021. This drive uses an InnoGrit-sourced controller paired with 3D TLC NAND flash, DDR4 DRAM cache, and sequential transfer speeds of up to 7.4 GB/s reads, with up to 6.8 GB/s writes. It comes in 500 GB thru 4 TB capacities, and unlike the original VP4300, lacks a heatsink.

A trend we've seen in the 2023 Computex is that SSD manufacturers aren't advertising their feisty Gen 5 NVMe SSDs with the elaborate cooling solutions that they sorely need, but rather as bare drives, with the cooling options marketed separately. In practice, manufacturers could get retailers to bundle Gen 5 SSDs with a selection of their coolers. This lets them trim some of the criticism of just how hot SSDs have gotten over just one generation. Team Group showed off its T-Force Cardea Z5 lines of M.2 Gen 5 NVMe SSDs. There are two distinct lines with the same names. One of these comes with a maximum sequential read speed of 12 GB/s, while the other comes with 14 GB/s. Both have their respective 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB capacity variants. Both use 3D TLC NAND flash. The under-the-hood difference between the 12 GB/s and 14 GB/s versions of the Cardea Z5 is that while the 12 GB/s variant uses a Phison E26-series controller, the 14 GB/s one uses an InnoGrit IG5666 controller. Team Group intends to eventually re-brand the 14 GB/s variant as the Cardea Z54A series.

Team Group also announced a handful cooling solutions to pair with these Gen 5 SSDs. The most striking of these is the T-Force Siren, an all-in-one (AIO) closed loop liquid M.2 NVMe SSD cooler, with as 120 mm radiator. The name is a bit of a misnomer, as SSD coolers with 20 mm fans is what a siren might sound like. Obviously, this cooler is overkill, and helps the SSD deliver its best performance, but there are other options from the company. The T-Force AirFlow I uses two copper heatpipes that run through the base-plate, pulling heat from the controller, NAND flash, and DRAM, and pushing it through an aluminium fin-stack arranged vertically. This is then ventilated by a 30 mm fan. The T-Force Airflow II uses a slightly different approach, with a single thicker heat pipe arranged in a C-shape, with radially-projecting finnage that have the appearance of a cylinder. At the other end of this is a 30 mm fan.

Exascend, Inc., a leading provider of custom flash storage solutions, announces its latest SD300 series industrial-grade SD and microSD cards, designed to meet the increasing storage demands of the internet of things (IoT) and edge applications. Built with 176-layer 3D TLC NAND technology and ruggedized for harsh environments, the compact and removable storage solutions are ideal for edge IoT applications such as gateways, industrial drones, factory robots, surveillance cameras and infotainment systems.

Exascend's SD300 series features proprietary hardware and firmware designs, allowing it to operate in a wide temperature range of -40°C to 85°C and resist shock, vibration, and humidity. With a mean time to failure of two million hours, the SD300 memory cards are built to handle significant workloads, incorporating advanced technologies such as LDPC ECC, wear leveling, and pseudo SLC (specifically for 8- and 16-GB cards) to deliver sustained performance, low storage latency, and high endurance. Additionally, the SD300 comes equipped with a SMART (self-monitoring, analysis, and reporting technology) tool that helps monitor card health status and ensure reliable operation.

Global memory brand, Team Group, is committed to providing the best solutions in the storage market. Today, it's launching three M.2 SSDs to meet various needs in size and performance. Equipped with a special breakthrough of cooling technology, they are the MP44 M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD, the MP44S M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD, and the Gen 3-supported MP34S M.2 PCIe SSD. They offer expanded capacity and reliable stability with compatibility across different generations, making them the perfect choices for your next storage upgrade.

The MP44 M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD features read and write speeds of up to 7,400 MB/s and 7,000 MB/s, respectively, and has a massive storage capacity of up to 8 TB. Not only does it satisfy your large capacity needs, but it also provides silky-smooth performance. It features the industry's first patented and exclusive ultra-thin graphene cooling label with a thermally conductive material of less than 1 mm thick and closely attached to the M.2 SSD. MP44 measures 22 mm wide and 80 mm long, allowing for quick and easy installation and pairing with a motherboard's original M.2 slot heat sink to greatly enhance thermal performance of the SSD.

Crucial T700 marks the brand's return to the high-end SSD segment after years of catering to the mainstream segment with well-priced drives that the company can move in high volumes. The company had retired its Ballistix brand to mark its withdrawal from the high-end. The drive combines Micron's 232-layer 3D TLC NAND flash with a Phison E26-series controller and LPDDR4-based DRAM cache, and takes advantage of the PCI-Express 5.0 x4 host interface, with NVMe. A small section of the tech press was sampled with these drives and permitted to do performance previews.

Every SSD manufacturer's favorite benchmark, CrystalDiskMark (CDM), shows the drive clock 12.4 GB/s sequential reads (1 MB, QD8), along with 9.22 GB/s (1 MB QD1). Sequential writes are as high as 11.87 GB/s (1 MB QD8), and 9.66 GB/s (1 MB QD1). IOMeter testing revealed that the sustained write speeds are rather low, with the T700 holding onto top speeds only up to 25 GB, beyond which write performance falls off a cliff to 3.8 GB/s. Find more such interesting results in the source link below.

Transcend Memory introduced a high-capacity 4 TB variant of its MTE250H (with heatsink) and MTE250S (without heatsink) M.2 NVMe Gen 4 SSD that the company debuted in October 2022. The former comes with an extruded-aluminium heatsink, while the latter has a graphene-coated film on top of the hot components. The drive offers an NVMe 1.4-compliant 8-channel controller that uses a DRAM cache; paired with 3D TLC NAND flash memory. The drives take advantage of PCI-Express 4.0 x4 host interface. The 4 TB variant offers sequential transfer rates of up to 7.5 GB/s reads, with up to 6.7 GB/s writes; up to 540k IOPS random reads, and up to 440k IOPS random writes; along with a rated endurance of 3,120 TBW. Transcend is backing these drives with 5-year warranties.

Cervoz Technology, a leading supplier of industrial-grade storage and memory solutions, is excited to announce the new NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4 SSDs, the T441. Purposefully designed to cater to the growing automaticity trend of the industry, the T441 is the ideal choice for companies seeking cutting-edge technology in high-performance storage solutions.

Blazing Speeds with High Capacity
The Cervoz T441 SSDs leverage the power of 112-layer 3D TLC NAND flash technology, offering storage capacities of up to 3840 GB in a compact and energy-efficient design. In addition, the high-speed PCIe Gen 4x4 interface enables faster and more efficient data access, with Read/Write speeds of up to 7,100/6,190 MB/s and 4K random IOPS of up to 1,000K. This exceptional performance makes the T441 an ideal solution for applications requiring real-time processing of vast data, such as surveillance, machine vision, and edge AI, as well as those handling massive data sets like CAD, biomedical engineering, and atmospheric sciences.

It appears things are tougher at Micron than expected, as according to Boise State Public Radio, the company is looking at cutting an additional five percent of its workforce. Back in December, Micron announced it was planning to lay off around 10 percent of its global workforce, which at the time sat at around 49,000 employees, but it appears that cut wasn't enough, as company spokesman Tate Tran has confirmed the total headcount reduction is expected to around 15 percent, although that is for the entire year of 2023. This suggests that there might be several stages of layoffs, unless things improve and demand for Micron's products pick up.

The company is also lowering its capex, not just for 2023, but also for 2024, although the company is expecting more on building new fabs. Micron has already reduced its wafer starts, for both DRAM and NAND flash by around 20 percent. This is all taking place while the company is slowing down its tech node transitions and as such, its 1-gamma note will be moved to 2025. This means that Micron will be stuck at 232-layer 3D TLC NAND for longer than initially planned, which could lead to Micron losing market to its competitors, specifically SK Hynix and Samsung in this case, while allowing other competitors to catch up. Micron will reports is financial Q2 '23 results at the end of March, with previous quarters results indicating that Micron is expecting a drop in revenue of up to US$300 million compared to the previous quarter.

GIGABYTE formally launched its flagship AORUS Gen5 10000 series M.2 NVMe SSDs that take advantage of a PCI-Express 5.0 x4 interface. Currently, all AMD B650 series and X670 series motherboards offer a PCIe Gen 5 M.2 slot wired to the processor without eating into PEG bandwidth, while some Intel 700-series chipset motherboards offer Gen 5 M.2 slots by subtracting lanes from the PEG slot. AORUS Gen5 10000 for now comes in 1 TB and 2 TB capacities. The drives combine a Phison E26 series controller with 3D TLC NAND flash memory and LPDDR4 DRAM cache.

The 1 TB model offers sequential transfer speeds of up to 9.5 GB/s reads, with up to 8.5 GB/s writes, and 700 TBW endurance; whereas the 2 TB model is faster, with up to 10 GB/s sequential reads, up to 9.5 GB/s writes, and 1,400 TBW endurance. The drive's power consumption is under 10 W, and GIGABYTE has deployed a thoughtful fanless cooling solution for the drive that spares you from the annoying high-pitched noise of other upcoming Gen 5 M.2 SSDs that use fan-heatsinks. The company didn't reveal pricing, but mentioned that the drives are backed by 5-year warranties.

In Japan, the first consumer focused PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSDs have gone on sale and one of these drives has been put through some quick synthetic benchmarks by @momomo_us on Twitter. We're not familiar with the CFD Gaming brand which the drive is sold under, but the CSSD-M2M2TPG5NFZ—as the drive is called—is based on Phison's E26 controller and it's paired with Micron's B58R 3D TLC NAND, suggesting it's based around a reference design from Phison. CFD Gaming offers the drive in 1, 2 and 4 TB sizes and @momomo_us tested the 2 TB version.

Before we go into the performance figures, there's one thing that needs to be highlighted about this drive, it produces a high pitch noise during use, thanks to its tiny 17x17 mm, 21,000 rpm fan from Sunon. @momomo_us provided a video on Twitter which is linked below, so you can hear it in action for yourself. Hopefully this isn't the future of NVMe SSDs, as it's going to put off many potential customers from getting one. @momomo_us only tested the drive with CrystalDiskMark 8.0.4, which shows that sequential write speeds are slightly faster than claimed by CFD Gaming, with the sequential write speeds being bang on the money. For those hoping for higher random performance, things aren't looking so great, as the drive only performs slightly better than the best PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives.

Corsair has teased its fastest PCIe 5.0 SSD yet in an M.2 form factor. The company published some initial details about its upcoming product in a short video. However, the video has been taken private, indicating that the launch date may be at a later stage of the year. Thanks to Overclock3D, we saw its looks and got a slight peek at the product. Called the MP700, the SSD is supposedly boasting a fantastic 10 GB/s read capability. The write section is also impressive, with the NVMe SSD capable of reaching around 9 GB/s of what we suppose is a sustained write speed. It uses 3D TLC NAND Flash and supports Microsoft DirectStorage technology for faster load time. Below is a quote from Corsair about the MP700.

CorsairExperience the performance of PCIe Gen5 storage in your system, with up to 10,000MB/sec sequential read and 9,500MB/sec sequential write speeds for amazingly fast save, boot, and load times.
The high-bandwidth NVMe 2.0 interface and high-density 3D TLC NAND flash memory offer outstanding performance and longevity. Slot the MP700 directly into your motherboard thanks to its M.2 2280 form-factor, while a stylish aluminum heatsink helps manage temperatures and reduce throttling. Microsoft DirectStorage enables unprecedented load times when playing compatible games.

Mushkin at the 2023 International CES showed off its Vortex Redline and Vortex LX M.2 NVMe SSDs. The Vortex Redline is the company's top PCIe Gen 4 drive, combining an Innogrit IG5236 NVMe 1.4 controller with 3D TLC NAND flash, to offer transfer speeds of up to 7415 MB/s. The Vortex Redline comes in capacities of 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB. The Vortex LX is a more value-oriented product, based on an unnamed Innogrit-sourced DRAMless controller. This drive features a PCIe Gen 4 interface, but offers slightly lower performance that the company didn't disclose.

The star attraction at the Mushkin booth was its Epsilon SSD that features a PCI-Express 5.0 x4 + NVMe 2.0 interface, a Phison E26-series controller, and next generation 3D NAND flash memory (possibly 232-layer). The drive features active cooling from a fan-heatsink, and while the company didn't talk about performance, drives based on this controller are known to offer up to 12 GB/s of sequential transfers. Lastly, the company showed off its lineup of 2.5-inch SATA 6 Gbps SSDs in capacities ranging all the way up to 16 TB, which are meant to be HDD replacements, and "warm" storage devices.

GIGABYTE in its 2023 International CES booth, showed off its upcoming flagship M.2 NVMe SSD, the AORUS Gen5 10000. Built in the M.2-2280 form-factor with PCI-Express 5.0 x4 interface and supporting NVMe 2.0 protocol, the drive is based on a Phison E26-series controller. coupled with the latest 3D TLC NAND flash. It comes in capacities of 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB. Sequential transfer-rates put out by GIGABYTE put the drive at up to 12 GB/s reads, with up to 10 GB/s sequential writes.

That's hardly the most striking aspect of this drive, which is a massive aluminium dual-fin-stack heatsink that uses two fin-stacks joined at the hip by a pair of heatpipes, in what is a callback to GIGABYTE's Nehalem motherboards that used such enormous heatsinks over the X58 northbridge. GIGABYTE calls this heatsink the AORUS Xtreme Thermal Guard. The company's current flagship is the AORUS 7000, which rocks a Gen4 interface, offering up to 7 GB/s reads, with up to 5 GB/s writes.

Here are some of the first pictures of the yet-unnamed PCIe Gen 5-based NVMe SSD by ADATA XPG. Built in the M.2-2580 form-factor, the drive features a PCI-Express 5.0 x4 host interface and NVMe 2.0 protocol. At its core is a Silicon Motion SM2508 series controller, coupled with the latest generation 3D TLC NAND flash over a large number of flash channels; and a faster DRAM cache. The drive offers sequential transfer rates of up to 14 GB/s reads, with up to 12 GB/s writes. and 2 million IOPS 4K random transfers. It comes in capacity-based variants, with 8 TB being the largest one.

The most striking aspect about this drive is its active cooling solution. A ridged aluminium monoblock heatsink is used to cool the SM2508 controller. nestled in its center is what appears to be a miniature 10 mm lateral fan. The heatsink has surface-crystallization treatment to increase surface area for heat dissipation. A die-cast aluminium top-plate and 3-sided backplate sandwich the fan-heatsink and the main PCB. The fan is tightly controlled by temperature, and ADATA claims you should barely notice it. To use the drive to its fullest, you'll either need an AMD Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" platform that has dedicated PCIe Gen 5 M.2 slots wired to the processor, or an Intel 700-series chipset motherboard that puts out a Gen 5 M.2 slot by subtracting lanes from the Gen 5 PEG slot.

KLEVV, an emerging memory brand introduced by Essencore, is excited to announce three new consumer-grade M.2 NVMe SSDs, the CRAS C930, C910, and C730. The new CRAS M.2 NVMe SSD lineup aims to serve a wide range of users, enabling entry-level to top-tier enthusiasts with industry-leading storage technology. Both CRAS 930 and C910 come with an optional add-on heatsink for users to maximize their freedom in the setup.

With an impressive 1500 TBW endurance lifecycle and a significant emphasis on DRAM cache buffer, the CRAS C930 is built to withstand harsh workloads. Utilizing the latest PCIe Gen4 x4 interface supported by NVMe 1.4, it delivers break-neck sequential read/write speed of up to 7400/6800 MB/s at 2 TB max capacity and 4K random read/write up to 1000K IOPS. Exceptional engineering and design elements make the CRAS C930 the crown jewel of KLEVV's new M.2 NVMe SSD lineup, capable of running on PCs, Laptops, and even PS5 consoles. Additionally, the flat fin heatsink addon is a great inclusion with up to 20% temperature reduction, giving users complete flexibility in their choice.

Corsair has quietly launched two new SSD SKUs, the MP600 PRO NH and the MP600 GS. Although the model names seem similar, the two models couldn't be more different. Both are PCIe 4.0 x4 drives and in both cases controllers from Phison are used, but beyond both using a black PCB, the common features end here. The MP600 PRO NH is based around the Phison E18 and delivers sequential read speeds of up to 7000 MB/s, with the write speeds peaking at 6500 MB/s, depending on the storage capacity and this is where things get really interesting. Corsair is offering the MP600 PRO NH in capacities of up to 8 TB, but the SKU with the overall best performance is the 4 TB SKU. Random write performance is said to be up to 1.2 million IOPS, with random read performance topping out around 1 million IOPS. For some reason Corsair is offering a 500 GB SKU as well, but it offers fairly poor performance compared to its larger siblings. All drives use 3 TLC NAND, so we're not looking at QLC drives here.

The MP600 GS on the other hand is based on the Phison E21T, which is a DRAM-less controller that targets the more affordable drive segment. Here we're looking at only two SKUs, 500 GB or 1 TB, with the 1 TB drive offering sequential read speeds of up to 4800 MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 3900 MB/s. The random read speed hits 580k IOPS with the random write speeds reaching 800k IOPS. This drive is also using 3D TLC NAND. The MP600 GS costs US$57.99 for the 500 GB SKU and US$92.99 for the 1 TB SKU. The MP600 PRO NH starts at US$72.99 for the 500 GB SKU, followed by US$112.99 for 1 TB, US$212.99 for 2 TB, US$529.99 for 4 TB and finally a rather steep US$1,074.99 for the 8 TB SKU. Both models come with a five year warranty.