Patriot Memory today rolled out the Supersonic Rage Pro line of USB 3.1 flash drives. Successors to the Supersonic Rage series form 2013, these drives are updated with the latest 3D NAND flash, controllers, and support for the latest technologies. The drives take advantage of USB 3.1 Gen1 type-A interface (5 Gbps), and UASP (USB-attached SCSI) protocol. Its makers claim sequential transfer speeds of up to 420 MB/s, and 4K random access performance of up to 8,000 IOPS, making these drives fit for Windows-to-Go (WTG) and similar BYOD applications. The drives come in capacities of 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB, and are built in a conventional 2-piece form-factor. Available now, the 128 GB variant is priced at 39.99€, the 256 GB variant at 59.99€, and the 512 GB variant at 109.99€.

addlink Gen4x4 NVMe SSD series, S90, S92, S95 are ready for the latest Intel Rocket Lake-S platform. The processors have been confirmed as going on sale on March 30.

Rocket Lake will make PCIe Gen4 SSDs fly faster than Ryzen, Intel says. Rocket lake is a code name for Intel 11th Gen's desktop chip family. It supports the PCIe 4.0 Interface, which provide twice the bandwidth of PCIe 3.0. Intel Rocket Lake-S comes two years after AMD Ryzen (X570/B550) lead industry with the first PC chips to support the PCIe 4.0 interface. During CES 2021, Intel revealed some detail about new Rocket Lake chips and claims the 11th Gen Intel Core Desktop platform delivers up to 11% better PCIe Gen 4 storage performance vs the AMD Ryzen 9 5000 platform. They also confirmed that the chips will go on sale on March 30, 2021.

With Samsung, YMTC, SK Hynix, and Intel leading the charge, NAND Flash suppliers will maintain an aggressive effort to expand their production capacities throughout 2Q21, during which NAND Flash bit output will likely increase by nearly 10% QoQ, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. On the other hand, orders from PC OEMs and Chinese smartphone brands since 1Q21, as well as recovering procurement activities from clients in the data center segment during 2Q21, will generate upward momentum propelling NAND Flash bit demand. Furthermore, buyers are actively stocking up on finished products, such as SSDs and eMMC, due to persistently limited NAND Flash controller supply. TrendForce therefore expects NAND Flash contract prices to increase by an average of 3-8% QoQ in 2Q21 after experiencing a 5-10% decline QoQ in 1Q21. In particular, as Samsung's Line S2 fab in Austin has yet to resume full operation after the Texas winter storm, the supply of NAND Flash controllers going forward may be at risk, and Samsung's ability to manufacture client SSDs will be further constrained as a result. In light of these factors, TrendForce is not ruling out the possibility that NAND Flash contract prices may increase by even more than current forecasts.

Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory solutions, is proud to announce the new NM620 M.2 2280 PCle Gen 3 x4 NVMe SSD. The NM620 is a perfect solution designed for content creators and gamers who want to maximize the speed of their PCs and be able to handle intensive workload. Enjoy 6x the speed of SATA SSDs with speeds of up to 3300 MB/s read and 3000 MB/s write, so you can improve overall workflow. Supported by PCIe Gen 3 x4 NVMe 1.4 technology standard and built with the latest 3D NAND flash, the NM620 puts you in the computing fast lane and offers impressive performance even for demanding creative workstations and gaming experiences.

For added efficiency, its reduced power consumption and cooler operation makes the battery life last longer than a traditional hard drive.Also, the NM620 is built to last with no moving parts, unlike traditional hard disk drive. On top of that, it's also shock and vibration resistant, making it one robust and reliable SSD.

Greenliant has expanded its ArmourDrive industrial memory card portfolio with the high reliability, high capacity microSD QX Series, available from 256 GB to 1 TB, and operating at wide temperatures (-25 to +85 degrees Celsius). See microSD ArmourDrive product information at http://bit.ly/SD-microSD.

Industrial microSD memory cards have become a popular storage medium for a broad range of applications, including dashcams and bodycams, data loggers, routers and switches, medical equipment and IIoT devices. Built with high quality, advanced 4-bit-per-cell (QLC) 3D NAND flash memory, microSD ArmourDrive QX Series products provide video, security, networking and industrial customers with cost effective, reliable and rugged removable data storage. UHS Speed Class 10 and SD Specification 6.10 compliant, microSD ArmourDrive QX Series cards reach up to 100/37 MB/s sequential read/write performance and are ideal for video recording at high definition resolution.

The XTREEM ARGB GAMING MEMORY, winner of the 2020 German Red Dot Design Award, and the DELTA MAX RGB SSD with its ultra-large, cutting-edge RGB panel continue to receive great attention inside and outside the industry. Today, TEAMGROUP is releasing brand new models in a lustrous, clean white for both series. Not only do they have strikingly beautiful lighting effects but also patented tech that provides even more stable overclocking performance. T-FORCE's design marks a new trend of white-colored hardware, introducing a fresh and unique aesthetic to the gaming industry.

The sleek XTREEM ARGB WHITE GAMING MEMORY is fitted with a fully-translucent cover and a 10-layer PCB board that provides superior overclocking capabilities and performance. This model has a frequency of up to 4000 MHz and a capacity of 32 GB for a single module, giving gamers a compelling option for their next upgrade. The XTREEM ARGB WHITE GAMING MEMORY also features overclocking profiles, so users can enjoy outstanding performance with a single click.

In the upstream semiconductor industry, the major foundries such as TSMC and UMC are reporting fully loaded capacities, while in the downstream, the available production capacity for OSAT is also lacking, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. Given this situation, suppliers of NAND Flash controller ICs such as Phison and Silicon Motion are now unable to meet upside demand from their clients. Not only have many controller IC suppliers temporarily stopped offering quotes for new orders, but they are also even considering raising prices soon because the negotiations between NAND Flash suppliers and module houses over 1Q21 contracts are now at the critical juncture. The potential increases in prices of controller ICs from outsourced suppliers (IC design houses) are currently estimated to be the range of 15-20%.

With regards to the demand side, demand has risen significantly for eMMC solutions with medium- and low-density specifications (i.e., 64 GB and lower), for which NAND Flash suppliers have mostly stopped updating the NAND Flash process technology, while maintaining support with the legacy 2D NAND or the 64L 3D NAND process. This is on account of strong sales for Chromebook devices and TVs. As older processes gradually account for a lowering portion of bit output proportions from NAND Flash suppliers, these companies are exhibiting a lowered willingness to directly supply such eMMC products to clients. As a result, clients now need to turn to memory module houses, which are able to source NAND Flash components and controllers, to procure eMMC products in substantial quantities.

XPG, a fast-growing provider of systems, components, and peripherals for Gamers, Esports Pros, and Tech Enthusiasts, today announces the XPG SPECTRIX S20G PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 2280 solid state drive (SSD). The SPECTRIX S20G is an SSD built with form and performance in mind with its distinct x-shaped RBG lighting and excellent read/write speeds.

The XPG SPECTRIX S20G is a gaming SSD through and through and its styling reflects this. It sports a distinctive and prominent x-shaped RGB design that outshines the competition. The RGB light effects can be customized via software. What's more, a hairline-brushed finish gives the SSD a formidable yet elegant look that will intimidate and impress.

Today, at Intel's Memory and Storage 2020 event, the company highlighted six new memory and storage products to help customers meet the challenges of digital transformation. Key to advancing innovation across memory and storage, Intel announced two new additions to its Intel Optane Solid State Drive (SSD) Series: the Intel Optane SSD P5800X, the world's fastest data center SSD, and the Intel Optane Memory H20 for client, which features performance and mainstream productivity for gaming and content creation. Optane helps meet the needs of modern computing by bringing the memory closer to the CPU. The company also revealed its intent to deliver its 3rd generation of Intel Optane persistent memory (code-named "Crow Pass") for cloud and enterprise customers.

"Today is a key moment for our memory and storage journey. With the release of these new Optane products, we continue our innovation, strengthen our memory and storage portfolio, and enable our customers to better navigate the complexity of digital transformation. Optane products and technologies are becoming a mainstream element of business compute. And as a part of Intel, these leadership products are advancing our long-term growth priorities, including AI, 5G networking and the intelligent, autonomous edge." -Alper Ilkbahar, Intel vice president in the Data Platforms Group and general manager of the Intel Optane Group.

Micron today announced that it has begun volume shipments of the world's first 176-layer 3D NAND flash memory, achieving unprecedented, industry-pioneering density and performance. Together, Micron's new 176-layer technology and advanced architecture represent a radical breakthrough, enabling immense gains in application performance across a range of storage use cases spanning data center, intelligent edge and mobile devices.

"Micron's 176-layer NAND sets a new bar for the industry, with a layer count that is almost 40% higher than our nearest competitor's," said Scott DeBoer, executive vice president of technology and products at Micron. "Combined with Micron's CMOS-under-array architecture, this technology sustains Micron's industry cost leadership."

SK hynix and Intel today announced that they have signed an agreement on Oct. 20, KST, under which SK hynix would acquire Intel's NAND memory and storage business for US $9 billion. The transaction includes the NAND SSD business, the NAND component and wafer business, and the Dalian NAND memory manufacturing facility in China. Intel will retain its distinct Intel Optane business.

SK hynix and Intel will endeavor to obtain required governmental approvals expected in late 2021. Following receipt of these approvals, SK hynix will acquire from Intel the NAND SSD business (including NAND SSD-associated IP and employees), as well as the Dalian facility, with the first payment of US $7 billion. SK hynix will acquire from Intel the remaining assets, including IP related to the manufacture and design of NAND flash wafers, R&D employees, and the Dalian fab workforce, upon a final closing, expected to occur in March 2025 with the remaining payment of US $2 billion. Per the agreement, Intel will continue to manufacture NAND wafers at the Dalian Memory Manufacturing Facility and retain all IP related to the manufacture and design of NAND flash wafers until the final closing.

Intel Corp. and Lightbits Labs today announced an agreement to propel development of disaggregated storage solutions to solve the challenges of today's data center operators who are craving improved total-cost-of-ownership (TCO) due to stranded disk capacity and performance. This strategic partnership includes technical co-engineering, go-to-market collaboration and an Intel Capital investment in Lightbits Labs. Lightbits' LightOS product delivers high-performance shared storage across servers while providing high availability and read-and-write management designed to maximize the value of flash-based storage. LightOS, while being fully optimized for Intel hardware, provides customers with vastly improved storage efficiency and reduces underutilization while maintaining compatibility with existing infrastructure without compromising performance and simplicity.

Lightbits Labs will enhance its composable disaggregated software-defined storage solution, LightOS, for Intel technologies, creating an optimized software and hardware solution. The system will utilize Intel Optane persistent memory and Intel 3D NAND SSDs based on Intel QLC Technology, Intel Xeon Scalable processors with unique built-in artificial intelligence (AI) acceleration capabilities and Intel Ethernet 800 Series Network Adapters with Application Device Queues (ADQ) technology. Intel's leadership FPGAs for next-generation performance, flexibility and programmability will complement the solution.

Enabling customers to design and build solutions for a variety of smart video workloads, Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) today announced its expanded family of WD Purple storage solutions, including the industry's highest capacity 18 TB surveillance HDD for DVRs, NVRs and analytics appliances, and the 1 TB WD Purple SC QD101 microSD card for AI-enabled cameras. Setting the bar for smart video applications, all WD Purple drives are optimized to help reduce frame loss and pixelation, improve overall video playback and enhance streaming for 24x7 workloads - from ingest to backup and long-term storage - as the industry broadens the use of deep learning and analytics.

From commercial buildings to municipalities, businesses are accelerating adoption of AI and deep learning to enable automation and better efficiencies that ultimately help create a safer and better experience for employees, customers and communities. Deep learning algorithms, hungry for data generated by IoT and edge ecosystems, demand higher resolution for better accuracy, increasing the need for storage capacity in cameras and NVRs. In its recent report, Video Surveillance & Analytics Intelligence Service, July 2020, Omdia states that shipments of cameras enabled with deep learning algorithms will continue growing at a five-year (2019-2024) CAGR of 67 percent, and NVRs enabled with deep-learning analytics will grow at 37 percent. Meanwhile, video analytics appliances shipments are expected to grow at 43 percent. In addition, a 2020 Western Digital-commissioned survey of North American security system integration companies found that 76 percent of them see video analytics and AI as playing an ever-increasing role in their deployments.

Soaring pandemic-inspired demand for chips that power everything from communications and IT infrastructures to personal computing, gaming and healthcare electronics will drive an 8% increase in global fab equipment spending in 2020 and a 13% increase in 2021, SEMI announced today in its World Fab Forecast report. Rising demand for semiconductors for datacenter infrastructures and server storage along with the buildup of safety stock as U.S.-China trade tensions intensify are also contributing to this year's growth.

The bullish trend for overall fab equipment investments comes as the semiconductor industry recovers from a 9% decline in fab spending in 2019 and navigates a roller-coaster 2020 with actual and projected spending drops in the first and third quarters mixed with second- and fourth-quarter increases. See figure below:

The NAND Flash industry benefitted from strong demand for PCs and servers in 2Q20 as the COVID-19 pandemic caused a demand surge for cloud services and technologies that are related to working from home, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. This, in turn, kept demand high for SSDs. However, the smartphone and consumer electronics markets had not recovered from the impact of the pandemic. The demand for these products therefore declined compared to the previous quarter. In 2Q20, total NAND Flash bit shipment and ASP both experienced a minor increase of about 3% QoQ, while NAND Flash revenue reached US$14.5 billion, a 6.5% increase QoQ.

In response to the long-distance business opportunities in the era of 5G IoT, and the trend towards storage of massive amounts of data, Apacer, a leading industrial storage and memory brand, has launched SSDs tailored specifically for network attached storage (NAS) applications. Apacer has been deeply involved in the field of industrial memory for more than 20 years, focusing on the development of non-volatile flash memory and SSD applications, and providing highly customized industrial-grade storage and memory solutions.

Considering NAS users' stringent data storage and security requirements, Apacer's NAS SSDs combine high durability, high efficiency, high reliability, and silent operation. They make it easy to quickly upgrade from traditional hard drives or ordinary SSDs, and create security and reliability for home office or small-and-medium-business (SMB) NAS applications.

TEAMGROUP today announced the T-FORCE VULCAN G Gaming Solid State Drive. With SATA interface and 3D NAND flash memory, the read and write speeds can reach up to 550 MB/s and 500 MB/s, which offers 4 times faster read/write speed than traditional hard drives. It also supports SLC caching and Windows TRIM optimization commands, making it the best choice for upgrading your gaming PC!

The T-FORCE VULCAN G Gaming Solid State Drive has a minimalist design. The T-FORCE logo is printed with a unique diamond cut pattern for a sophisticated and sleek look. It is also available in capacities of 512 GB and 1 TB, and uses SATA interface and 3D NAND flash memory chip, making it 4 times faster than traditional hard drives in read and write speeds. With up to 550 MB/s and 500 MB/s, gamers will experience a significant performance jump.

HP today announced the S750 line of client-segment SSDs in the 2.5-inch form-factor that take advantage of the SATA 6 Gbps interface. Available in capacities of 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB, the drives combine an SMI-sourced controller with 96-layer 3D NAND flash memory. All three variants are rated to offer sequential transfer speeds of up to 560 MB/s reads, with up to 520 MB/s writes. The 256 GB variant offers random access performance of up to 55,000/79,000 IOPS (reads/writes); the 512 GB variant up to 90,000/89,000 IOPS, and the 1 TB variant up to 74,000/80,000 IOPS. Endurance of the three variants are rated at 160 TBW, 320 TBW, and 650 TBW, respectively. The company didn't reveal pricing as it vastly varies between regions.

T-FORCE, the gaming brand of TEAMGROUP, today announces the new CARDEA Ceramic C440 Solid State Drive with latest and ultra-fast M.2 PCIe Gen4x4 interface. It is the first of its kind in the industry to be made with ceramic composite cooling materials, and obtained Taiwan Utility Model Patent (No. M595313). The snow-white ceramic has a unique texture, and the special aerospace ceramic can achieve excellent heat dissipation effect. Not only bringing a new color into the gaming world, it also unleashes an ultimate performance with read/write speed of 5,000/4,400 MB/s.

With NVMe 1.3 specification, T-FORCE CARDEA Ceramic C440 Solid State Drive creates a higher standard for M.2 solid state drive by using the latest, ultra-fast M.2 PCIe Gen4 x4 interface to achieve a sequential read/write speed of 5,000/4,400 MB/s. The use of aerospace ceramic composite cooling materials not only provides excellent heat dissipation, but also reduces heat by 18% when the case is equipped with a fan. At the same time, it is also lightweight and thin, anti-electromagnetic interference, high temperature resistant, extreme temperature shock resistant. Besides, it is made with environmentally friendly materials, which is RoHS compliant. The combination of CARDEA Ceramic C440's snow-white heat spreader and the golden T-FORCE displays a trendy style. It will be even more eye-catching if it is matched with a white motherboard and case. The thickness is only about 1 mm which perfectly showcase the aesthetics of thinness of T-FORCE CARDEA Ceramic.

Intel today introduced its 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors and additions to its hardware and software AI portfolio, enabling customers to accelerate the development and use of AI and analytics workloads running in data center, network and intelligent-edge environments. As the industry's first mainstream server processor with built-in bfloat16 support, Intel's new 3rd Gen Xeon Scalable processors makes artificial intelligence (AI) inference and training more widely deployable on general-purpose CPUs for applications that include image classification, recommendation engines, speech recognition and language modeling.

"The ability to rapidly deploy AI and data analytics is essential for today's businesses. We remain committed to enhancing built-in AI acceleration and software optimizations within the processor that powers the world's data center and edge solutions, as well as delivering an unmatched silicon foundation to unleash insight from data," said Lisa Spelman, Intel corporate vice president and general manager, Xeon and Memory Group.

2021 is poised to mark a banner year for global fab equipment spending with 24 percent growth to a record US$67.7 billion, 10 percent higher than the previously forecast US$65.7 billion, and all product segments promising solid growth rates, according to the second-quarter 2020 update of the SEMI World Fab Forecast report. Memory fabs will lead worldwide semiconductor segments with US$30 billion in equipment spending, while leading-edge logic and foundry is expected to rank second with US$29 billion in investments.

The 3D NAND memory subsegment will help power the spending spree with a 30 percent jump in investments this year before tacking on 17 percent growth in 2021. DRAM fab investments will surge 50 percent next year after declining 11 percent in 2020, and fab spending on logic and foundry, mainly leading edge, will trace a similar but more muted trajectory, rising 16 percent 2021 after an 11 percent drop this year.

Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory solutions, today announced the new Lexar Professional NM700 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe SSD to its family line of SSD products. As the need for faster performance and uninterrupted application experiences increases, Lexar has developed a solution to keep videographers, photographers, and designers in the driver's seat with speeds of up 3500 MB/s read, and 2000 MB/s write. The NM700 is supported by PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe and built with 3D NAND flash for higher capacity and more efficiency without unnecessary slowdowns.

"The Lexar Professional NM700 allows our high-intensive users to experience improved performance with speeds that will keep them in front of any task. This new SSD solidifies our commitment to improving our SSD portfolio and meets the demands of our customers' needs," said Joel Boquiren, Director of Global Marketing.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories, today announces the launch of two new PCIe Gen 3 x4 M.2 2280 solid state drives (SSD), the ADATA FALCON and SWORDFISH. Both SSDs were designed with creators in mind and are built with 3D NAND Flash memory and support the PCIe Gen 3 x4 interface for excellent performance and reliability.

The ADATA FALCON SSD is made to help creators up their creative power. Using the PCIe Gen 3 x4 interface and equipped with 3D NAND Flash memory, the FALCON delivers read/write speed of up to 3100/1500 MB per second for uninterrupted productivity and creativity. With 3D NAND Flash, the FALCON features higher efficiency and increased reliability compared to 2D NAND SSDs. It comes in diverse capacities, ranging from 256 GB to 2 TB and features data protection and correction technologies to expand the lifespan of SSD. What's more, the FALCON sports intelligent SLC caching, host memory buffer, and random read/write of 180/180K IOPS to give creators seamless performance for creating. The FALCON also comes with a stylish aluminium alloy heatsink for heat dissipation.

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced new client solid-state drives (SSDs) that bring NVMe performance to client computing applications, freeing laptops, workstations and other portables from legacy architectures that can rob devices of battery power, performance and productivity. The Micron 2300 SSD combines the power and density needed to drive compute-heavy applications in a compact form factor with the reduced power consumption modern mobile users demand. For the first time, Micron brings together NVMe performance and low-cost quad-level-cell (QLC) NAND in the Micron 2210 QLC SSD. It combines fast NVMe throughput and Micron's leadership in QLC technology to offer flash capabilities at hard disk drive-like price points while reducing power consumption by 15 times when compared to hard drives.

ADATA today announced the Falcon line of SSDs in the M.2-2280 form-factor, with NVMe 1.3 protocol support, leveraging PCI-Express 3.0 x4 host interface. The drives are characterized by an aluminium heatspreader on top of the NAND flash chips and controller, which isn't just an adhesive metal peal, but a 1 mm-thick metal plate. The Falcon comes in capacities of 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB; and uses 3D NAND flash memory (likely QLC).

The ADATA Falcon offers sequential speeds of up to 3,100 MB/s reads, with up to 1,500 MB/s writes; and up to 180,000 IOPS 4K random access. The 2 TB variant offers 1,200 TBW endurance, the 1 TB variant offers 600 TBW, the 512 GB variant 300 TBW, and the 256 GB variant 150 TBW. ADATA is backing the drives with a 5-year warranty. The company didn't reveal pricing.