ZOTAC Technology is announcing a new lineup of enterprise and healthcare-oriented mini PCs designed for specific applications and scalable deployment, as well as a whole new class of external GPU acceleration platforms for Thunderbolt 3-compatible PCs. Aside from the all-new additions, ZOTAC is also refreshing its best-selling performance mini PCs with the newest generations of Intel Core Processors and NVIDIA RTX-enabled GPUs. ZOTAC will debut these rugged, innovative solutions and showcase other AI-ready compute solutions during Hannover Messe 2024, reaffirming ZOTAC's commitment to embrace the AI-driven future.

ZOTAC ZBOX Healthcare Series: Medical AI Solution
With the all-new ZOTAC Healthcare Series, ZOTAC is offering the reputed superior quality and performance of ZOTAC ZBOX Mini PCs to the realm of Healthcare. The ZBOX H39R5000W and ZBOX H37R3500W are equipped with 13th Generation Intel Core i9 or i7 laptop processors, as well as professional-grade NVIDIA RTX Ada Generation laptop GPUs. These mini PCs are ready to power medical imaging, algorithms, and more, with some of the latest and greatest hardware currently available.

At the NAB Show 2024, in Las Vegas, Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) is unveiling an exciting lineup of technologies and new storage solutions designed for today's and tomorrow's complex media and entertainment (M&E) workflows. Western Digital continues to focus on creating what's next with advanced solutions that address a broad range of growing content needs.

The increasing demand for rich and engaging content, with higher resolutions and more frames per second, is generating the need for faster, more flexible high-capacity storage solutions to help streamline workflows and keep up with high-pressure project demands. For every step of the workflow - from capture and transfer to archive - Western Digital is committed to advancing technology to help professionals and creators get work done faster and more efficiently, ultimately saving time and money, so they can focus on their creativity.

BenQ, a global leader in display technology, announced today the launch of its newest professional monitor, the PD3225U. Featuring IPS Black for 2000:1 contrast ratio, Color Match with Mac devices through M-book mode, and iKeyboard Control, the PD3225U is the perfect creative complement for Mac users in need of color accuracy and enhanced connectivity.

Through IPS Black technology, the PD3225U expresses 35 percent deeper blacks than a conventional IPS monitor by minimizing light leakage, changing and improving liquid crystal array, so colors are more vibrant than ever before. The new design monitor also offers Color Match for Mac devices with its M-book Mode and 98% Display P3 color space, as well as certifications such as Calman Verified, Pantone Validation, and Pantone SkinTone Validation. For corner-to-corner authentic color and consistent luminance, the PD3225U leverages BenQ's exclusive Uniformity Technology. In addition, the monitor incorporates BenQ's exclusive Display ColorTalk software, which effortlessly matches colors between the monitor and MacBook Pro without needing a calibrator.

Other World Computing www.OWC.com -- the leading end-to-end ecosystem solution provider of computer hardware, accessories, and software for both consumers and professionals - today introduced the Express 1M2, the first USB4 drive and fastest single blade NVMe OWC has ever offered.

Exceptional Speed, Ultimate Flexibility
The OWC Express 1M2 was purposefully built to maximize the performance capabilities of today's and tomorrow's USB4-equipped Macs and PCs. It offers photo and video professionals, DITs, and prosumers/performance enthusiasts real-world speeds up to 3151 MB/s. It also offers versatile compatibility to work with millions of existing Thunderbolt and USB-C machines and devices.

Belkin, a leading consumer electronics brand for 40 years, today announced a new 11-in-1 dock featuring the latest Silicon Motion technology to add more power and productivity to any desk setup. This universal dock offers additional key ports that newer laptop models no longer support and can expand to three monitors with resolution of up to 4K at 60 Hz for one monitor.

With universal capabilities, devices stay charged with up to 100 W of pass-through power and fast transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps. This dock also doubles as a laptop stand and includes a 350 mm centered connection cable for easy connection to a laptop in any space.

Consumer demand for transferring large high-quality files has increased significantly due to trends in AI computing. In compliance with EU regulations, USB4 is set to become the transmission standard for a new generation of devices. Quick and convenient file transfer between various devices has undoubtedly focused consumers' attention and the time for a new generation USB4 interface to unify market specifications has arrived. ADATA, the world's leading memory brand, has launched its first USB4 SE920 external SSD, which supports Thunderbolt 3 & 4 and is backward compatible with USB 3.2 and USB 2.0. Performance can reach up to 3,800 MB/s per second. In addition, it is equipped with a mainstream Type-C interface, making it easy to transfer large multimedia files across devices or quickly export videos shot on mobile phones. The SE920 external SSD features a patented spring-loaded chassis and built-in fan to provide consumers with the ultimate in high-speed performance.

USB4 supports transmission speeds up to 40 Gbps but high speeds inevitably generate high temperatures which can became a problematic issue for users. The SE920 USB4 external SSD adopts a proprietary patented active dissipation design and a built-in micro fan. Push on the telescoping casing to activate the fan and extends the chassis to increase interior space for air circulation and quickly discharge heat. Compared with fanless products with the same specifications, this patented mechanism can significantly reduce temperatures by 10% and maintain stable data transmission. Press the casing again to retract the chassis. When retracted, the SE920 is lightweight and easy to carry. This unique and ingenious design makesthe SE920 USB4 external SSD an amazing addition to anyone's everyday carry kit.

Lenovo has unveiled the ThinkCentre M90a Pro Gen 4, setting a new standard for all-in-one (AIO) business desktop computers. Designed to address the needs of modern workplaces and content creators, this powerhouse Windows 11 PC wows with a massive 27-inch QHD display and is equipped with smart features that enhance connectivity, privacy, and usability.

"Modern businesses require more than just a high-performing PC, they need solutions that are smart and intuitive, reliable and efficient, and empowers them to create a multi-device ecosystem seamlessly," said Sanjeev Menon, vice president and general manager, Worldwide Desktop Business in Intelligent Devices Group, Lenovo. "In this evolving hybrid environment, employees use an average of 2.5 devices for work and would like to be provided with both desktops and laptops to allow them to be more productive. Lenovo's ThinkCentre M90a Pro Gen 4 is the answer for businesses looking for synergy and to make workspaces more flexible, streamlined, and productive."

Western Digital today introduces new solutions from its SanDisk brand and SanDisk Professional line ahead of IBC2023, further enriching its ecosystem of digital content storage solutions for the broadcasting, media and entertainment industry. These pro-grade products, which include two new desktop hard drive solutions and a memory card, offer the quality and dependability required for production-level video workflows without compromising the premium design.

"It is exciting to see Western Digital continue to expand its Thunderbolt offerings, which provide the higher-end capabilities and reliability that the media and entertainment industry needs," said Jason Ziller, General Manager, Client Connectivity Division, Intel Corporation. "By utilizing the power of our Thunderbolt technology, enterprise-class hard drives and multi-device connectivity solutions support prosumers and creative professionals, and their increasingly complex demands and innovative use cases."

VisionTek Products LLC (VisionTek), a recognized leader in the field of high-performance upgrades and accessories for PCs and Macs, today announced the introduction of the VisionTek VT4950 KVM docking station. This innovative product is the upgraded successor to the previously celebrated VT4900 KVM docking station and is designed to enhance the workflow of users in today's professional and remote work environments. The VT4950 enables users to seamlessly swap between two connected Windows, Mac, or Chromebook host systems with up to three 4K displays, accessories, and peripherals through a single USB-C connection to each.

"The VT4950 simplifies the process of switching between systems, saving users valuable time and making their workflow more efficient," said Nick Bill, director of product development and product marketing. "This frees these users from the tedium of unplugging and reconnecting everything as they switch between systems, resulting in significant time savings."

With the development of multimedia production and broadcasting technology, more and more film and television works are produced based on high-definition, 4K or even 8K environments, and the size of a single video material can reach dozens of GB, or even hundreds of GB. The space, reliability, and transmission performance issues of storage devices are becoming more and more difficult.

TerraMaster, a professional brand that focuses on providing innovative storage products for homes and businesses, provided Thunderbolt 3 RAID Storage and 10GbE NAS series, the 2 high-speed storage solutions for 4K video editing, which are perfectly suitable for professionals with high requirements.

Kensington, a worldwide leader of desktop computing and mobility solutions for IT, business, and home office professionals, today announced the expansion of its portfolio of innovative docking solutions for Microsoft Surface devices, with the launch of the SD5765T Thunderbolt 4 Dual 4K Docking Station. Kensington's portfolio of Designed for Surface (DfS) Thunderbolt 4, USB4 and USB-C docking stations enhance the usability of Surface devices to optimize the productivity of professionals and creatives.

Thunderbolt 4 Dock Adds Speed, Power, Video Options to Surface Devices
Designed to enhance the productivity of professionals using Thunderbolt based Surface devices running Windows, Kensington's new Plug-and-Play SD5765T Thunderbolt 4 Dual 4K Docking Station is an affordable, high-speed dock that enables users to connect multiple 4K monitors and accessories without using adapters.

Regular readers of TPU might remember our in-depth USB4 article that we posted almost a year ago, but since then, very little has happened and ASMedia has as yet to make its ASM4242 USB4 host controller available to its partners and then ASM2464 USB4 to PCIe 4.0 bridge was suffering the same fate until May this year, when it was released to ASMedia's customers. It turns out most of it is related to USB-IF certification and the USB4 design documentation, as the certification wasn't quite ready for a third party host controller and the design documents were—shall we say—less than complete and relied too heavily on the Thunderbolt 3 spec. This meant that ASMedia had to retest and redo a lot of work they had done, due to a certain spec donator having assumed that other companies knew how it had designed its Thunderbolt products.

The good news is that we should see the ASM4242 in the market before the end of this year and ASMedia is busy testing it and its ASM2464 with a wide range of products to make sure compatibility is as good as possible. In the company suite at Computex, ASMedia was showing the ASM2464 connected to Apple's M2 silicon, as well as Intel's latest CPUs with integrated Thunderbolt 4 support. There had been some performance related issues from Apple's side, but this has apparently been resolved in a recent update from Apple. As far as Intel is concerned, there are no compatibility issues with the 13th and possibly 12th gen mobile chips, but older Thunderbolt hardware might require a firmware update, which may or may not exist. Older Intel hardware also doesn't perform as well as its most recent solutions, but it doesn't mean there will be compatibility issues outright. As for AMD, ASMedia informed TPU that there were no issues, since AMD has a USB4 implementation in its mobile products that follow the USB-IF spec.

So far it has been very quiet on the market when it comes to USB4 hubs, with most products being based on Intel Thunderbolt hardware costing Thunderbolt money. Realtek was demoing its RTS5490 "hub router controller" at Computex and it's as far as we're aware, the first USB4 hub IC that has been announced. The RTS5490 supports speeds of up to 40 Gbps and it has one upstreams and four downstreams ports. It's also backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps), as well as slower USB standards. It also supports the USB PD 3.1 standard and should as such be suitable for docking stations that can deliver up to 240 W to a connected laptop.

It also has native support for DisplayPort 2.1 Alt mode and UHBR20 up to 80 Gbps for DisplayPort signals. The demo board only had an older MST controller, so it would be limited to DP 1.4, but hopefully some company is working on a DP 2.1 MST controller, as this is required to split off the DP signal to the physical ports from USB-C. We were not given any details on when the RTS5490 will be available in the market and pricing will obviously depend on what kind of extra features are being added by the device makers, as it's unlikely that the first products based on it will be simple hubs.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of premium gaming hardware, today launched the top-grade water-cooled external graphics - AORUS RTX 4090 GAMING BOX. AORUS RTX 4090 GAMING BOX is equipped with the most powerful NVIDIA Ada Lovelace architecture - GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card and the Thunderbolt 3 high-speed transmission interface. It endows ultrabooks with 3D computational performance beyond imagination, transforming ultrabooks into game platforms with full ray tracing and becoming a reliable assistant for creators, creating an unprecedented work efficiency experience. In addition, the AORUS WATERFORCE Cooling System is the only solution that combines performance and comfort, allowing users to enjoy a quiet and comfortable environment while handling heavy work.

The AORUS RTX 4090 GAMING BOX is the top-of-the-line water-cooled external graphics box in the market. It enables users to enjoy top-level GeForce RTX 4090 performance with independent high-wattage and stable power supply, while enjoying a quiet and comfortable environment. AORUS has minimized the size of the GAMING BOX, taking up minimal desktop space, making it the ideal companion for ultrabooks.

ADLINK Technology Inc., a global leader in edge computing, today launched Pocket AI - the first ever ultra-portable GPU accelerator to offer exceptional power at a cost-effective price point. With hardware and software compatibility, Pocket AI is the perfect tool to boost performance and productivity. It provides plug-and-play scalability from development to deployment for AI developers, professional graphics users and embedded industrial applications.

Pocket AI is a simple, reliable route to impressive GPU acceleration at a fraction of the cost of a laptop with equivalent GPU power. Its many benefits include a perfect power/performance balance from the NVIDIA RTX A500 GPU; high functionality driven by NVIDIA CUDA X and accelerated libraries; quick, easy delivery/power via Thunderbolt 3 interface and USB PD; and compatibility supported by NVIDIA developer tools. For the ultimate portability, the Pocket AI is compact and lightweight - est. 106 x 72 x 25 mm and 250 grams.

This year has seen the arrival of a lot of Thunderbolt connected monitors and Samsung is joining the fray with a new model, the ViewFinity S8UT. The 27-inch 4K IPS monitor is very much an office model, as it only has a 60 Hz refresh rate with a 5 ms response time (GtG). The panel is edge lit and has a typical brightness of 350 cd/m² and a contrast ratio of 1000:1. The monitor supports Picture-by-Picture and Picture-in-Picture, courtesy of multiple inputs.

The interesting part of this monitor is the Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, as the main port can output 90 W for charging a connected laptop, while the secondary port can deliver 15 W. The monitor supports Thunderbolt daisy chaining, which isn't a common feature on monitors. The S8UT also sports an HDMI 2.0 port, a three port USB 3.0 hub, a Gigabit Ethernet port and a 3.5 mm headphone socket, as well as a pair of integrated stereo speakers. The stand supports pivot, swivel, tilt and height adjustment. The S8UT comes with a three year warranty, but there's currently no word on pricing.

TerraMaster, a professional brand that specializes in providing innovative storage products for home, businesses and enterprises, presents its line-up of new storage solutions for 2022. TerraMaster expands its portfolio of professional storage solutions for home and business, entry-level to professional-grade storage products. The new storage solutions aim to meet the needs of a wide range of users, meeting different budget and performance needs. The new products feature updated specifications making them faster, more efficient, and more secured.

TerraMaster 223 series is equipped with Intel Celeron N4505 dual-core processor and two 2.5G Ethernet ports, supporting up to 32 GB of dual-channel memory. The F2-223 and F4-223 support Emby and Plex media servers, compatible with uPnP/DLNA protocols, and can stream video to a variety of multimedia devices, including computers, smartphones, media players, and TVs. With TNAS. Online, users can easily access, manage and share NAS files, making it an ideal NAS for creating personal private cloud and home multimedia center.

Western Digital Corp today announced it has expanded its SanDisk Professional line of premium storage solutions with the new PRO-G40 SSD that supports dual-mode compatibility with both Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.2 Gen 2 interfaces. Inspired by the way people create and share data today, this new drive is the company's most rugged offering to date with a high-level IP68 rating, allowing professionals to immerse themselves in the action wherever their work or vision takes them.

"The nature of my work is unpredictable and as a result I must be incredibly flexible and versatile. I share the same expectations for every piece of equipment that I use from capture to archive which is why the SanDisk Professional PRO-G40 drive will immediately be a crucial part of my workflow," said Andy Handcock, action, portrait and reportage photographer, and PRO-TEAM ambassador. "I need storage solutions that are lightweight, compact, rugged, and insanely fast. This checks all the boxes for me. The PRO-G40 SSD can easily withstand the rigors of travel and location work while doing so with a minimal footprint. Thanks to SanDisk Professional products like these, workflow is one less thing I need to stress about which frees me to focus more on the creative. That is paramount."

The USB Promoter Group today announced the pending release of the USB4 Version 2.0 specification, a major update to enable up to 80 Gbps of data performance over the USB Type-C cable and connector. The USB Type-C and USB Power Delivery (USB PD) specifications will also be updated to enable this higher level of data performance. All of these specification updates are expected to be published in advance of this year's series of USB DevDays developer events planned for November.

Protocol updates are also being made to enable higher performance USB 3.2, DisplayPort and PCI Express (PCIe) data tunneling to best use the higher available bandwidth. "Once again following USB tradition, this updated USB4 specification doubles data performance to deliver higher levels of functionality to the USB Type-C ecosystem," said Brad Saunders, USB Promoter Group Chairman. "Solutions seeing the most benefit from this speed enhancement include higher-performance displays, storage, and USB-based hubs and docks."

TerraMaster, a professional brand that specializes in providing innovative storage products for home, businesses and enterprises, introduces the D8-332 8-bay professional-grade RAID storage offering up to 160 TB of storage and impressive speeds of up to 1600 MB/s. With Thunderbolt 3, the D8-332 can be connected with other Thunderbolt 3 devices or up to five other D8-332s making storage expansion easy. The D8-332 also supports a wide selection of RAID modes offering flexible storage configurations depending on your needs.

The TerraMaster D8-332 is ideal for creative professionals with demanding storage and file transfer speed needs. Its compact chassis with sturdy handle makes it easy to transport. With its impressive file transfer speeds, transfer hours of footages from a Blackmagic device to Adobe Premiere Pro in seconds. In turn, with uncompressed HD 10-bit and 12-bit video, users can edit the ProRes 422 (HQ), ProRes 4444 XQ, and other data streams.

Targus, a leader in laptop cases and mobile computing accessories, today announced the availability of two new Thunderbolt 3 docks, equipped with Thunderbolt speed for high-resolution graphics to meet the powerful demands of creative professionals and studios. "We've designed our DOCK215 and DOCK222 to meet the demanding needs of professional content creators," says David Dorantes, director of product marketing, Targus. "With features like Thunderbolt 3 speed, up to 8K resolution, dual-monitor support, and a compact design, both docks enable creatives to stay connected, powered, and productive."

The Thunderbolt 3 DV4K Docking Station with 85 W Power Delivery (DOCK215USZ) connects a laptop to dual 4K UHD monitors at 60hz or a single 8K HDR monitor at 30hz. Packed with ports, it comes with two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, as well as two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, and one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port to accommodate workspace peripherals like a mouse and keyboard, hard drive, and more. Its compact design also ensures it won't take up precious desk space for working essentials. It even comes equipped with a VESA bracket mounting provision, which allows for use of the Targus VESA Mount Bracket (ACX003GLZ - sold separately) to hold the dock behind the display for even greater space savings. DOCK215 retails for $287.99.

OWC, a leading customer-focused creator of innovative solutions for over 30 years that have enabled individuals, businesses, content professionals, and educators to get maximum usefulness from their technology investment, today introduced its itinerary for NAB 2022, which will be in Las Vegas on April 23-27, 2022, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

OWC is thrilled to showcase several innovative new storage system upgrades that deliver blazing transfer speeds and unparalleled reliability for media professionals with storage-intensive workflows. For those attending NAB, visit booth C3836 in the Central Hall to see all these new solutions and existing award-winning dock, hub, and software staples. OWC's focus is to get a lot of the infrastructure technology out of the way so you can focus on what drives you.

TechPowerUp and ORICO brought our readers from across the globe, a unique chance to win an ORICO TB3-S2 NVMe SSD Docking Station; and an ORICO PSSD 1 TB biometric-encrypted portable SSD. The TB3-S2 is a 9-in-1 connectivity expander that takes advantage of Thunderbolt 3 to put out a plethora of USB, wired LAN, memory card, connectivity, while also serving as a handy dual M.2 NVMe enclosure. The PSSD is a rugged portable SSD for road-warriors, with a fingerprint reader, and an in-built drive encryption mechanism. The results are in! Without further ado, the winners:

• "vzangel" from Mexico (Twitch and Twitter handle), wins an ORICO TB3-S2 9-in-1 docking station
• "simiaelevatum" from the United States (Twitch handle), wins an ORICO PSSD 1 TB portable SSD

A huge congratulations to you two! ORICO and TechPowerUp will return with more such interesting giveaways.

TechPowerUp and mobility computing hardware major ORICO announce a chance for you to bag one of two pieces of handy ORICO hardware in our latest Giveaway. We are giving away an ORICO PSSD fingerprint-encryption 1 TB portable SSD, and a TB3-S2 9-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 Dual M.2 bay docking station. Announced recently by the company, the TB3-S2 and PSSD boost your mobile productivity, especially if you're carrying around a thin-and-light commercial notebook that has minimal wired connectivity.

The PSSD takes advantage of USB 3.2 Gen 2, offering transfer speeds of 520 MB/s, along with native drive encryption with a biometric fingerprint sensor on drive. The drive comes partitioned with a primary partition that has the biometric security software that can be made to auto-run; which then decrypts the user-area upon successful authentication, either by password or fingerprint. The TB3-S2 is a force-multiplier for thin-and-light notebooks. It packs two M.2 PCIe/NVMe slots, letting you increase storage; along with a plethora of downstream display, USB, wired Ethernet, and audio connectivity. The Giveaway is open Worldwide (wherever legal), with entries open till March 21, 2022. To participate, head down to our Givelab page, where you can not only participate, but also increase your chances of winning, by sharing the giveaway across your social media.

For more information and to participate, visit this page.

ORICO unveiled a pair of innovating new storage and connectivity products over the last week. These include the TB3-S2 portable Thunderbolt docking station, and the PSSD portable SSD featuring fingerprint-based biometric security. The TB3-S2 is a compact multi-function docking station that measures 188 mm x 95 mm x 24 mm (WxDxH). It takes in a Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gbps) connection, and can daisy-chain it onward to another Thunderbolt 3 port with full 8K @ 60 Hz capability (depending on the input).

The box draws power from a 120 W power brick. Inside, you'll find two M.2-2280 NVMe slots that can hold up to 4 TB of storage. The display input from the Thunderbolt 3 port is put out as a standard DisplayPort 1.3. There are a boat-load of downstream connectivity options, which include two 10 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (from which one is type-C), two 5 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 1 type-A ports, a 60-Watt/15-Watt USB-PD port (purely for power delivery), a 1 GbE wired Ethernet interface, and a 2-channel audio with mic-input (USB DAC). Available now, the TB3-S2 is priced at USD $399.99.