Intel today announced the SSD 545s line of mainstream SATA solid-state drives. Built in the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch form-factor with SATA 6 Gbps interface, the drives combine new 64-layer 3D TLC NAND flash memory by IMFlash Technology, with a Silicon Motion SMI SM2259 controller, and a custom firmware by Intel. For now, the drive is only available in one capacity, 512 GB. It offers sequential transfer speeds of up to 550 MB/s, with up to 500 MB/s sequential writes; 4K random read performance of up to 75,000 IOPS, 4K random write performance of up to 85,000 IOPS, and endurance of at least 144 TBW. Besides common SSD features such as NCQ and TRIM, the drive offers native 256-bit AES encryption. Available now, and backed by a 3-year warranty, the SSD 545s 512 GB is priced at USD $179.99.

Mushkin introduced the an update to its Reactor line of SATA SSDs with the new Reactor Armor3D series. Built in the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch form-factor with SATA 6 Gbps interface, the drives combine Silicon Motion SM2258 controllers with 3D MLC NAND flash. The drive is available in 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB models. All three offer sequential read speeds of up to 565 MB/s. The sequential write speeds are rated at up to 300 MB/s, 500 MB/s, and 510 MB/s for the 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB models, respectively.

4K random read performance is rated at up to 63,000 IOPS for the 240 GB model, up to 80,000 IOPS for the 480 GB, and up to 77,000 IOPS for the 960 GB model. 4K random write performance of the drives are rated at up to 70,000 IOPS for the 240 GB model, and 80,000 IOPS for the 480 GB and 960 GB. As with all SMI-based drives, the Reactor Armor3D offers LPDC ECC, and SLC cache, which treats a small portion of the MLC NAND flash as SLC, and juggles frequently accessed data in and out of it, for improved performance. The drives are backed by 3-year warranties, and could replace the current Reactor series from the product stack. We expect them to be priced around $90 for the 240 GB model, $160 for the 480 GB, and $270 for the 960 GB.

Plextor today introduced the S3 series value SATA SSDs. The series has two main variants based on form-factor, the S3C built in the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch form-factor with SATA 6 Gbps interface; and the S3G series, built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, featuring SATA 6 Gbps wiring. Both drives combine Silicon Motion SMI2254 controllers with SK Hynix planar TLC NAND flash memory. The S3C comes in 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB capacities, while the S3G comes in only 128 GB and 256 GB.

All capacities of the S3C and S3G series offer sequential reads of up to 550 MB/s, while sequential writes are rated at up to 500 MB/s, 510 MB/s, and 520 MB/s, for the 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB variants, respectively. 4K random read performance is rated at up to 72,000 IOPS, 90,000 IOPS, and 92,000 IOPS, respectively; and 4K random write performance at up to 57,000 IOPS, 71,000 IOPS, and 72,000 IOPS, respectively. Endurance is rated at 35 TBW for the 128 GB variant, and 70 TBW for the 256 GB and 512 GB variants. Available now in the EU, the 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB variants are priced at 62€, 106€, and 213€, respectively (including taxes).

ADATA showed off a pair of mainstream M.2 PCI-Express SSDs, which could form the gateway to M.2 drives for those wanting a little more than SATA drives, and a price slightly above the fastest SATA solutions. The lineup consists of the XPG SX6000 and the XPG SX7000. The XPG SX6000 is based on a Realtek RTS5760 DRAM-less controller, mated to 3D TLC NAND flash. Available in capacities of 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB, the drive serves up sequential speeds of up to 850 MB/s reads, with up to 850 MB/s writes, which is still higher than the fastest SATA drives, and its 570-ish MB/s rated speed. Add to this, the drive supports the NVMe protocol, and takes advantage of its huge command-queue depth.

The XPG SX7000 is positioned above the SX6000, and features Silicon Motion SMI2262G controller with a DRAM cache, mated with 3D TLC NAND flash. Available in the same capacities as the SX6000, the drive serves up over double its read performance, with up to 1,800 MB/s reads, yet the same 850 MB/s writes. ADATA had a live CDM session in its booth, and visitors could ask them to run the benchmark live, as you could see the drives in an open-air bench.

Transcend Memory announced four client SSD product lines based on 3D NAND flash memory. The lineup begins with the new MTS810 and MTS420 lines of mainstream SSDs built in the M.2-2280 and M.2-2242 form-factors, respectively, which take advantage of the SATA 6 Gb/s interface. The MTS810 succeeds the MTS800 series the company launched in 2016. It is based on a newer TLC NAND flash memory, and a more compact SSD controller made by Silicon Motion. The drive puts out up to 560 MB/s of sequential transfer rates. The MTS420 is its miniaturized version in the M.2-2242 form-factor. Both drives will be available only in 128 GB capacities.

Next up, is the SSD230 series. The company already announced this drive back in November 2016. Built in the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch form-factor, it comes in 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB capacities, and offers sequential transfer rates of up to 560 MB/s reads, with up to 520 MB/s writes. Lastly, Transcend unveiled its latest high-performance M.2-2280 SSD, which takes advantage of the PCI-Express 3.0 x4 interface with NVMe 1.2 protocol, the MTE850 series. Available in 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB capacities, the drive belts out sequential transfer rates of up to 2,500 MB/s reads, with up to 1,100 MB/s writes. It features 3D MLC NAND flash memory.

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation, a global leader in designing and marketing NAND flash controllers and solid-state storage devices, today announced that it has extended its popular family of SATA 6 Gb/s FerriSSD Industrial BGA SSDs to support the latest 3D NAND with end-to-end data path protection, NANDXtend ECC, and IntelligentScan feature - delivering unsurpassed data reliability for embedded storage applications. The new FerriSSD products offer flexible data capacity options up to 256GB and feature proprietary data protection technologies that eliminate drive downtime and extend the service life of these SSDs. FerriSSD products offer customized solutions for various end-market demands and are optimized to meet the specific needs of the customer.

ADATA launched the XPG SX950 line of performance segment SSDs, which it unveiled at the 2017 International CES expo. Available in 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB capacities, these drives combine a Silicon Motion made controller with 3D MLC NAND flash memory, to belt out performance of up to 560 MB/s sequential reads, with up to 530 MB/s sequential writes; and up to 90,000 IOPS 4K read/write random access performance. The controller features SLC caching, with which the drives treats a small portion of the MLC NAND user area as SLC NAND, and juggles hot data in and out of this portion, for improved performance. Built in the 7 mm thick 2.5-inch form-factor, the drives take advantage of SATA 6 Gb/s interface. The company is backing these drives with an interesting 6-year product warranty.

Adding to their SSD lineup, Mushkin, which makes some really interesting, good price-performance ratio products has recently announced the upcoming availability of their Helix line of M.2 2280 SSDs. Based on Silicon Motion's SM2260 controller paired with 3D MLC NAND, Mushkin positions the Helix line as a premium, high-performance offering for desktops and laptops alike. Models will vary from a 250 GB entry-level offering thorugh a 2 TB high-end SKU, with the 2 TB version offering sequential read performance at up to 2.5 GB/s and write performance at up to 1.1 GB/s, when Silicon Motion's pseudo-SLC caching technology is used to its best effect.

Plextor today announced that it revised the warranty policy of its recently announced EX1 portable solid-state drive to be effective for 5 years, from its existing 3 years. This change is applicable to all products already sold and with retailers as unsold inventory. The EX1 is a series of portable SSDs with 10 Gb/s USB 3.1 host interface, with a single cable handling both power and host connectivity. The drives combine Silicon Motion-made controllers with SK Hynix 16 nm TLC NAND flash memory, and come in capacities of 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, priced at 79€, 119€, and 213€, respectively.

Crucial today, in a statement to TechPowerUp stated that it has canceled the Ballistix TX3 PCIe solid-state drive launch. The company canceled the product on the basis of "prioritization of company resources and investments." The company however stated that it will continue to develop SSD products that target the gamer-enthusiast market that the Ballistix TX3 PCIe was intended for. "We are, however, continuing to explore potential opportunities for future gaming products and will provide an update as new plans are formalized," the company stated.

Crucial first unveiled the Ballistix TX3 at the 2016 Computex Expo, where it demonstrated its M.2 variants. The drives combined Silicon Motion's new SMI2260H processor with Micron-made 3D MLC NAND flash memory. The drive took advantage of 32 Gb/s PCIe and the new NVMe protocol to offer transfer rates up to four times higher than current performance-segment SATA 6 Gb/s SSDs.

BIOSTAR is proud to announce its latest product series targeted for power users and gamers looking for high-performance storage: BIOSTAR announces the debut their G300 series of solid-state drives (SSD). With the current trend of enthusiasts switching to SSDs for faster storage performance especially for eSports and the gaming market where performance is a key consideration, SSDs are the top choice for gamers versus traditional hard disk drives. With SSDs, games and level load faster, the system is more responsive and you spend more time gaming.

With SSDs growing in popularity as the preferred storage for gaming PCs due to their faster performance, gamers are becoming more and more stringent in their buying decisions because of the large selection of SSDs in the market. All SSDs offer better performance than conventional mechanical hard disk drives but not all SSDs are the same.

Crucial is ready with a high-performance SSD in the M.2 form-factor, which leverages 32 Gb/s PCI-Express, and the NVMe protocol to belt out four to five times the read/write performance of SATA 6 Gb/s SSDs. The new Crucial Ballistix TX3 line of M.2 SSDs features the Silicon Motion SMI2260H processor, mated to Crucial-made 3D (stacked) MLC NAND flash, cushioned by a large DRAM cache. A similar setup is found on the ADATA SX8000NP, and the sequential speeds of that drive are rated at up to 2,000 MB/s reads, with up to 800 MB/s writes.

ADATA showed off its flagship M.2 PCIe SSD lineup, the SX8000NP. These drives will target a price-performance sweetspot between the fastest SATA drives, and the enthusiast M.2 ones. They're driven by a Silicon Motion SMI2260H processor, wired to 3D (stacked) MLC NAND flash memory. This drive takes advantage of PCI-Express 3.0 x4, and the new NVMe protocol, to serve up sequential transfer rates of up to 2,000 MB/s reads, with up to 800 MB/s writes. ADATA put up its own CDM performance numbers for a 480 GB variant of this drive.

AMD made additions to its Radeon-branded SSD lineup, with the new R3 Series. Targeted at the entry-level segment, these drives come in capacities of 120 GB, 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB; and combine TLC NAND flash memory with Silicon Motion SM2256KX controllers. The 120 GB, 240 GB, and 480 GB variants offer read speeds of up to 520 MB/s, the 960 GB variant up to 510 MB/s. The 120 GB variant writes at up to 360 MB/s, the 240 GB and 480 GB variants at 470 MB/s, and the 960 GB variant at up to 450 MB/s. The drives are built in the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch form-factor, and feature the SATA 6 Gb/s interface. The 120 GB, 240 GB, and 480 GB variants are priced at US $40.99, $69.99, and $136.99, respectively. Prices of the 960 GB variant are not known.

How to make headlines with a rather mainstream SSD controller like the Silicon Motion SM2246EN? Ask Mushkin - after unveiling a 2 TB variant of the Reactor SSD, which maxes out the NAND flash capacity limit for the SM2246EN controller, the company also showed off a prototype of its 4 TB variant, which overcomes the capacity limitation by doing a good old-fashioned multi-controller SSD subunit RAID, which is host-transparent. Your machine reads the drive as 4 TB, while internally, it's a JBOD of two 2 TB Reactor subunits.

The drive uses 3D MLC NAND flash to keep densities high. It features a standard SATA 6 Gb/s interface, and ships in a standard 7 mm-thick, 2.5-inch form-factor. The best part? Mushkin plans to sell the drive at $500, or $0.125/GB, making it an exciting game folder drive option. In addition to the Reactor duo, Mushkin unveiled a 1920 GB variant of the Striker, a performance-oriented drive based on the Phison PS3110-S10 controller, with faster MLC NAND flash chips. This drive could be pricier.

Crucial, a leading global brand of memory and storage upgrades, today announced the new Crucial BX200 solid state drive (SSD), which offers substantial yet affordable performance gains compared to a standard hard drive. The drive, designed for consumers and SMBs, allows users to load applications in seconds, boot up almost instantly, and accelerate every day applications.

The new BX200 provides sequential read and write speeds up to 540 MB/s and 490 MB/s respectively on all types of data, as well as random read and write speeds up to 66k and 78k IOPS respectively. Additionally, when compared to a typical hard drive, the new BX200 is more than 13 times faster and 40 times more energy efficient for almost instantaneous access to data, resulting in longer battery life and a cooler, quieter system. The new drive utilises a Silicon Motion SM2256 Controller and is coupled with Micron verified firmware, allowing users to upgrade their existing infrastructure at an affordable price, which is a great alternative to buying a whole new system.

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation, a global leader in designing and marketing NAND flash controllers for solid-state storage devices, today announced it will be presenting at the upcoming Flash Memory Summit in Santa Clara, CA from August 11th to 13th and will be showcasing an array of SSD solutions at booth #313, including the award winning SM2246EN SATA 6Gb/s SSD solutions, the new products using SM2256, the world's first turnkey SSD controller supporting TLC NAND and the new SM2260 PCIe 3.0 SSD controller.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high performance DRAM modules and NAND flash products, today launched the Premier SP550 SSD, which uses triple-level cell (TLC) architecture to offer an affordable SSD without compromising performance. The Premier SP550 is the first ADATA drive to include the Silicon Motion (SMI) SM2256 controller, which uses NANDXtend technology to help ADATA implement SSD technologies such as data shaping, LDPC ECC, and a RAID engine for enhanced data protection, stability, and reliability. SLC caching technology has been implemented to boost performance.

"The launch of ADATA's Premier SP550 SSD with our SM2256 client controller represents a milestone in SSD adoption," said Nelson Duann, Silicon Motion's Vice President of Product Marketing. "TLC-based SSDs significantly improve the affordability of high performance, low power SSDs."

Plextor announced availability of its entry-level SATA 6 Gb/s SSD, the M6V series. The drives are offered in the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch, M.2 (as M6GV series), and mSATA (as M6MV) form-factors; and in capacities of 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB. It combines a Silicon Motion SMI-2246 controller with Toshiba 16 nm Toggle NAND flash memory. The 2.5-inch variant offers PlexTurbo technology, which speeds up sequential transfer-rates.

The 128 GB variant features 128 MB of DRAM cache, with sequential speeds of up to 535 MB/s reads, with up to 170 MB/s writes. The 256 GB variant, which comes with a larger 256 MB DRAM cache, offers up to 535 MB/s reads, with up to 335 MB/s writes. The 512 GB variant leads the pack, with a 512 MB DRAM cache, up to 535 MB/s reads, and up to 455 MB/s writes. 4K random-access performance for the three are in the range of 83,000 IOPS reads, with up to 80,000 IOPS writes. The 128 GB variant is priced at 69€, the 256 GB variant 115€, and the 512 GB variant 245€ (all prices include VAT).

Plextor is expected to launch its value SATA SSD line, the M6V, on 17th July, 2015. The drive combines a Silicon Motion SMI-2246 controller, with Toshiba A19 TLC NAND flash chips. The drive comes in capacities of 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB, with DRAM cache sizes of 128 MB, 256 MB, and 512 MB, respectively. All three variants offer sequential read speeds of up to 535 MB/s, while their sequential write speeds are rated up to 170 MB/s, 335 MB/s, and 455 MB/s, respectively. Common features include NCQ, TRIM, and native 256-bit AES encryption. There's a likelihood of Plextor introducing a few new features, such as PlexVault, a software that encrypts and stores your data in hidden partitions, and PlexCompressor, which compresses the least accessed data on your drive.

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation, a global leader in designing and marketing NAND flash controllers for solid state storage devices, today announced that its SM2256 SATA (6 Gb/s) client SSD controller now supports Micron's new 16 nm 128 gigabit (Gb) TLC NAND flash, enabling high-performance and unprecedented reliability for a new class of cost-effective TLC-based SSDs.

SM2256, the world's first SSD controller supporting Micron's 16nm TLC NAND, offers the best performance and cost-optimized four channel SATA 6 Gb/s client SSD controller in the market. Using Micron's 128 Gb 16 nm TLC NAND, the SM2256 delivers up to 540 MB/s sequential read performance and 460 MB/s sequential write, as well as up to 90,000 random read IOPS and 80,000 random write IOPS. Leveraging Silicon Motion's proprietary NANDXtend error-correcting code (ECC) technology, the SM2256 enhances the endurance and retention of TLC NAND, delivering more than three times better reliability for TLC SSD as compared to the existing BCH ECC schemes.

Mushkin Enhanced MFG, an industry leading designer and manufacturer of high performance and mission critical computer products, announced today its expansion of its popular REACTOR series SSD, on May 11th, 2015 enthusiast will now be able to purchase the REACTOR Series in 256 GB, 512 GB and 1 TB capacities, perfect for professionals and tech enthusiasts who want the best possible computing experience.

"At Mushkin we have always focused on not only helping enthusiasts push the limits of their PCs, but we've taken it to the next level, by providing quality solutions that deliver levels of performance that have earned Mushkin its place as one of the top SSD manufacturers," said Brian Flood, Director of Product Management at Mushkin Enhanced MFG.

ADATA showed off its upcoming mainstream SSD, which it plans to feed the growing market with, the Premier Pro SP320. These drives are based on Silicon Motion's SM2256 controller, wired to 3 bit MLC NAND flash. The drive comes in capacities of 120 GB, 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB, with the latter being exhibited at CES. Built in the 7 mm thick 2.5-inch form-factor, with SATA 6 Gb/s interface, the drive offers sequential transfer rates of up to 560 MB/s reads, with up to 510 MB/s writes. ADATA says these drives will be competitively priced.

Crucial, a leading global brand of memory and storage upgrades, today announced two new solid state drives (SSDs): the Crucial MX200, built to deliver leading speeds and features, and the Crucial BX100, designed to offer substantial yet affordable performance gains compared to a hard drive.

Crucial MX200 SSD: Available in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities with respective MSRPs of £107.99, £191.99, and £360.99, the new Crucial MX200 delivers sequential reads and write up to 555MB/s and 500MB/s, along with random reads and writes up to 100k and 87k IOPS on all file types. Additionally, with an endurance rating up to 320 TBW (total bytes written) on the 1TB model, the Crucial MX200 delivers up to five times more endurance than a typical client SSD.

An OEM for notable SSD brands such as Plextor, LiteOn kicked off its own consumer SSD line, with ZETA. Built in the 7 mm thick, 2.5-inch form-factor, with SATA 6 Gb/s interface, these drives come in three capacities, 128 GB (LCH-128V2S), 256 GB (LCH-256V2S), and 512 GB (LCH-512V2S), featuring LPDDR3 controller cache of 128 MB, 256 MB, and 512 MB, respectively. The drive is based on Silicon Motion SM2246EN controller, with 16 nm MLC NAND flash, made by SK Hynix.

All three capacities offer sequential read speeds of up to 520 MB/s, differing with sequential write speeds. The 128 GB variant offers up to 150 MB/s writes, the 256 GB variant offers up to 260 MB/s, and the 512 GB variant up to 430 MB/s. Their 4K random-access read speeds are up to 67,500 IOPS, up to 82,500 IOPS, and up to 83,500 IOPS, respectively; and random-access write speeds are up to 37,500 IOPS, up to 72,500 IOPS, and up to 80,000 IOPS, respectively. Most common client SSD features, such as TRIM, NCQ, and 256-bit AES native encryption, are part of the package. LiteOn didn't announce pricing information for markets outside the Greater China region, where the drives will make their debut.