CORSAIR , a world leader in PC gaming peripherals and enthusiast components, today announced the CORSAIR Force Series MP510 M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD, the latest and fastest in its range of M.2 solid state drives. The MP510 delivers blazing fast sequential read speeds up to 3,480MB/sec, and sequential write speeds up to 3,000 MB/s, making it CORSAIR's highest performing SSD yet.

Available in 240 GB, 480 GB, 960 GB, and 1920 GB capacities, the MP510 offers extreme storage performance in the ultra-compact and simple M.2 2280 form factor, fitting directly into a motherboard or notebook. Utilizing the ultra high-speed NVMe PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 interface for maximum bandwidth, the MP510 leaves traditional SATA 6Gbps and even previous generation M.2 SSDs in the dust. Loading everything from large video and image files to games, applications or the operating system faster than ever before, the MP510 supercharges your system's performance, whatever you're doing.

Mushkin introduced M.2-SATA variants of its cost-effective Source SSDs. Built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, the drives feature SATA 6 Gb/s interface. The drives combine a Silicon Motion SM2258XT DRAM-less controller with Micron 3D TLC NAND flash, and comes in capacities of 120 GB, 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB. On tap are sequential read speeds of up to 560 MB/s, with up to 520 MB/s sequential writes; up to 78,000 IOPS 4K random reads, and up to 81,000 IOPS 4K random writes. Among its unique features are LPDC ECC, Data Shaping, Global Wear-leveling, Static Data-refresh, and MEDS (Muskin Enhanced Data-protection Suite), an imaging and data-backup software. The drives are backed by 3-year warranties, and could be priced mostly under the $100-mark, except for the 960 GB variant.

3D QLC (quad-level cell) is the latest, manufacture-ready technology to grace the NAND panorama, with promises of increased density over 3D TLC (triple-level cell), thus bringing pricing per GB even lower. However, as with all wafer-based PC components, yields are an extremely important part of that process. Cost reduction can only be attained if manufacturing allows for a given percentage of a wafer to be fully functional and without defects that compromise its feature-set or performance. However, as cell design becomes more complex in a bid to increase areal density, yields have taken longer to mature.

According to DigiTimes, 3D TLC yields have only gotten off the ground in the beginning of this year - right around the time companies were rolling out their 3D QLC designs. And if TLC took longer than expected to achieve respectable yields, it seems that QLC memory will take even longer - we already knew that the Intel-Micron venture on QLC was facing less than 50% yields, but DigiTimes has now extended this struggle to what seems to be the entire NAND manufacturing industry (Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Toshiba/ Western Digital and Micron Technology/Intel). The result? Expected price fluctuations in the beginning of 2019, as predicted production volume fails to meet both projected and actual demand, with 3D TLC supplies having to cope with increased market demands.

IMFlash Technologies (IMFT), the Intel-Micron joint venture that manufactures NAND flash and 3D Xpoint memory for use in Intel and Micron end-user products, and Micron Technology-branded NAND flash supply to other SSD manufacturers, is facing a big hurdle with its QLC NAND flash manufacturing ramp-up, which if not checked, could influence SSD prices globally. The company is apparently seeing dangerously low yields of less than 50 percent for its 3D QLC NAND flash memory. This effectively makes its QLC NAND pricier (in terms of $/GB) than current-generation 3D TLC NAND.

The first victim of low yields of 3D QLC NAND flash is Intel's SSD 660p series, a mainstream NVMe SSD that brought 1 TB of storage under the $200-mark. Sources within IMFT tell Tweaktown that the company is seeing 48% yields in its 64-layer QLC NAND flash wafers (i.e. 52% of the wafer is unfit for further production). In contrast, 64-layer 3D TLC yields are above 90% (margin/incomplete dies are excluded from these figures). What's worse, the source predicts that the conditions may never get better with this generation.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash products, today announces the launch of XPG SX6000 Pro PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 2280 SSDs. With NVMe 1.3 technology and 3D NAND Flash, they sport excellent speeds and up to 1TB of capacity, making them a viable alternative to SATA SSDs. In addition, SX6000 Pro SSDs are slimmer than standard M.2 2280 SSDs for a higher level of compatibility thanks to a single-sided design.

ADATA produces the SX6000 Pro in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. For PC users looking at tangible performance enhancements, the SX6000 Pro makes complete sense as a SATA successor. The principal advantage of the SX6000 Pro is embodied in its superb cost-performance ratio. Using 3D TLC NAND, NVMe 1.3 technology, and a PCIe Gen3x4 interface, it reaches up to 2100 MB/s read and 1500 MB/s write and random performance of up to 250K/240K IOPS. This means up to four times the speed of typical SATA SSDs.

At the Flash Memory Summit (FMS) 2018, LITE-ON Storage previewed the first EDSFF 1U solid-state drive (SSD) to emerge from its work with CNEX Labs. The revolutionary drive gained great interest among storage advocates.

In collaboration with such partners, LITE-ON delivers an innovative and highly efficient storage solution for scalable computing that aligns to Open Compute Project (OCP) specifications. The resulting EDSFF (Enterprise and Datacenter SSD Form Factor) SSD will provide a more cost-effective solution for enterprise and hyperscale cloud environments.

"Standard SSD solutions are great at handling many typical business workloads, but the complexity of storing information in both cloud and data center infrastructure requires SSD firmware to be flexible and adaptable," said Charlie Tseng, CEO of LITE-ON Storage. "LITE-ON's expertise in SSD firmware is perfect for the varying needs of customers."

ADATA Ultimate SU800 launched mid-2016 to compete with performance-segment SATA SSDs of the time, such as the 850 EVO. It was one of the first drives in its segment to implement 3D TLC NAND flash, and came in capacities ranging between 128 GB to 1 TB. Two years later, ADATA augmented this series with a new 2 TB variant to go after the crowd that wants to take advantage of low NAND flash prices to grab a high capacity SATA SSD to use as a game library drive.

The new 2 TB variant (ASU800SS-2TT-C), continues to be based on the Silicon Motion SM2258G controller, cushioned by a DRAM cache, and uses Micron-made 3D TLC NAND flash. It uses up to 8 percent of its TLC NAND flash as SLC cache. The drive offers sequential transfer rates of up to 560 MB/s, with up to 520 MB/s sequential writes, and endurance of up to 1,600 TBW. LDPC (low density parity check code) and in-built DVESLP mode support make up its feature-set. Backed by a 3-year warranty, the drive is expected to be priced around $379.

Western Digital Corporation, a data technology leader, today introduced the new Ultrastar DC SS530 SAS SSD, the company's highest-density drive and the fastest dual-port SAS SSD in the market¹, enabling server and storage array manufacturers to offer customers substantially lower data center TCO for Fast Data applications. By doubling maximum capacity of the previous generation to 15.36TB within the same 2.5-inch 15-mm form factor, drive storage density also doubles, giving IT managers the potential to reduce the number of drives deployed, consolidate servers and open up valuable rack space for improved CapEx and OpEx costs.

Developed in partnership with Intel , the Ultrastar DC SS530 is based on a trusted third-generation platform that has been previously qualified at most major OEMs worldwide. It offers consistent performance and reliability to meet the rigorous demands of today's toughest data center workloads. Designed with a 12Gb/s SAS interface, and available in capacities from 400GB to 15.36TB, the Ultrastar DC SS530 delivers up to 440,000 random read and 320,000 random write IOPS - providing rapid access to "hot" enterprise data for higher productivity and operational efficiency.

Toshiba today introduced the XG6 series SSDs. Built in the M.2-2280 form-factor with PCI-Express 3.0 x4 interface, the drives take advantage of the NVMe 1.3a protocol, and succeed the XG5 series from 2017. The drives implement Toshiba's new 96-layer 3D TLC NAND flash dubbed BiCS Flash, which went into mass-production in Q1-2018. Available in 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB capacities, the drives offer sequential transfer rates of up to 3,180 MB/s reads, with up to 2,960 MB/s writes. Also on offer are 4K random access transfer rates of up to 355,000 IOPS reads, with up to 365,000 IOPS writes. The drives are expected to be backed by 5-year warranties, when they go on sale at prices competitive with the likes of Samsung's 970 EVO series.

Realtek, known more for its cheap Ethernet PHYs and audio CODECs, entered the SSD controller market in 2017, with mainstream SSD controllers. This year, the company plans to take on giants such as Silicon Motion, Phison, Intel, and Samsung, with its own high-performance controller, the RTS5762. The PCI-Express 3.0 x4 interface provides 4,000 MB/s of raw bandwidth per direction, and while it's technically impossible for any device to transfer its payload data at that speed (on account of various protocol overheads), very few PCI-Express 3.0 x4 SSDs get within 80th percentile of it (3200 MB/s per direction transfers). It's only recently that 3400 MB/s became the gold-standard of high-end M.2 NVMe SSDs, but Realtek plans to change that.

The RTS5762 is capable of up to 3,500 MB/s reads, or 87.5% saturation of the PCI-Experss 3.0 x4 bus. It supports up to 8 NAND flash channels, 3D TLC and 3D QLC NAND flash memory, and takes advantage of the newer NVMe 1.3 protocol. The only other controller right now that's capable of 3,500 MB/s reads is Samsung "Phoenix," found exclusively on the 970 Pro series (and no other brand's products). Sequential write performance is where this Realtek chip edges past Samsung, with the company showing CDM performance of up to 3,000 MB/s writes, whereas the 970 Pro is only specified to write up to 2,700 MB/s. Realtek also beefed up its mainstream NVMe controller portfolio with the new RTS5763DL. If drives based on this chip are priced right, it could carve out a new market segment between cheaper PCIe 3.0 x2 drives, and "upper mainstream" x4 drives such as the Samsung 970 EVO. Armed with just 4 NAND flash channels and no DRAM to cushion it, the RTS5763DL reads at up to 2150 MB/s, and writes at up to 1475 MB/s (as tested on CDM), making it faster than PCIe 3.0 x2 drives, at least in the sequential reads test.

BIOSTAR unveils its newest solid-state drive featuring 3D TLC NAND flash - the M500 M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD. The BIOSTAR M500 uses the compact M.2 2280 form factor that is compatible with latest-generation motherboards, laptops, and mini PCs. It supports the ultra-speed PCI-express Gen3x2 interface which offers builders greater compatibility. The BIOSTAR M500 SSD is NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) 1.2 compliant delivering high-performance speeds of up to 1700MB/s sequential read and 1100MB/s sequential write and random read/write IOPS of up to 200K/180K.

Smart Temperature Display
The BIOSTAR M500 Series SSD features visible smart LED indicators on its heatsink cover for temperature and data activity. The LED Smart Temperature display delivers real-time temperature status of the solid-state drive in three different levels: green for temperature below 50°C, yellow for temperature between 50°C to 65°C, and red for temperature above 65°C. The LED Data Transmission display data transmission status: blue light for access status and a green light for PCIe transmission mode (Gen 2 / Gen 3).

ADATA exhibited two new M.2 NVMe SSD with PCI-Express 3.0 x4 interface, the XPG SX7100 and the SX8200. The SX7100 is positioned a notch above PCIe 3.0 x2 drives, such as the SX6000 series, and could be priced close to those drives. This drive succeeds the XPG SX7000 from last year. It combines 2nd generation (10 nm-class) 3D TLC NAND flash memory with Realtek RTS5760 controller, which supports NVMe 1.3 and HMB.

The drive comes in a variety of capacities ranging from 120 GB all the way up to 1920 GB, with 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB along the way. It offers sequential transfer rates of up to 2100 MB/s reads, with up to 1500 MB/s writes; both of which are a significant step up from the 1800/850 MB/s reads/writes of the SX7000. ADATA didn't reveal when it plans to launch SX7100, but that when it does, it will strike a price-performance sweet-spot that could drive buyers away from both PCIe x2 and pricey PCIe x4 options.

Team Group at its Computex 2018 booth showed off its latest performance-segment M.2 NVMe solid-state drive, the T-Force Cardea S. You won't be faulted for confusing this with the original Cardea launched last year. The Cardea S is a mid-range drive, with PCI-Express 3.0 x2 interface. It's based on the Phison PS5008-E8 controller, mated to 10 nm-class 3D TLC NAND flash memory, and comes in 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB capacities. The controller takes advantage of the NVMe 1.3 protocol. The drive is designed to max out performance from this controller, and offers sequential speeds of up to 1600 MB/s reads, with up to 1100 MB/s writes, and up to 280,000 IOPS 4K random access performance. Since the controller runs a lot cooler than the E7 controller of the original Cardea, the drive makes do with a much lighter heatsink.

It's not just fast memory, but also fast storage from GALAX this Computex. The company unveiled three new SSD products, beginning with the Hall of Fame (HOF) E12 AIC PCIe SSD. This drive features signature HOF styling, complete with the white PCB, and a silvery shroud. There's also a dash of RGB LED lighting elements along the top and front of the shroud. The drive comes in 1 TB capacity, and combines 3D TLC NAND flash with new Phison PS5012-E12 controller. The drive takes advantage of PCI-Express 3.1 x4 and the NVMe 1.3 protocol. The drive is capable of sequential speeds of up to 3400 MB/s reads, with up to 3000 MB/s writes, and 4K random access speeds of up to 600,000 IOPS.

Next up, is the GALAX One 2.5-inch SATA drive. The model shown has 240 GB capacity, and combines MLC NAND flash with Phison PS3111-S11 controller, to serve up sequential transfer rates of up to 520 MB/s reads, and up to 460 MB/s writes, and 4K random access speeds of up to 90,000 IOPS reads, with up to 80,000 IOPS writes. Lastly, there's the GamerRGB, a 2.5-inch SATA drive with 256 GB capacity, the same PS3111-S11 controller, but RGB LED lighting. The company didn't reveal performance numbers for this drive.

Corsair today launched a new series of SSDs under their brand. The MP300 carry a more budget affiliation, offering a high-speed NVMe solution (which Corsair says is up to three times faster than SATA) for relatively low prices. Like other budget NVMe solutions, the Corsair MP300 runs on a PCIe 2x bus, instead of the higher performance 4x (which carries higher cost for the controllers, hence, the price savings).

With that bus, Corsair is quoting up to 1600 MB/s read speeds, and up to 1040 MB/s writes, which are still more than enough for mainstream workloads. The usage of 3D TLC NAND also helps in the cost savings, naturally - and doesn't carry the same performance and longevity issues as it may have had in its inception. Corsair is selling these drives at 120, 240, 480 and 960 GB capacities, at €59.99, €94.99, €154.99, and €314.99 respectively.

Mushkin launched the Pilot line of M.2 NVMe SSDs, which it debuted at the 2018 CES. The drives combine Silicon Motion SM2262 controller with 3D TLC NAND flash memory. Built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, the drives feature PCI-Express 3.0 x4 interface, and take advantage of the NVMe 1.3 protocol. The drive comes in four capacities - 120 GB, 250 GB, 500 GB, and 1 TB, which differ in performance.

The 120 GB variant offers sequential transfer speeds of up to 1215 MB/s reads, with up to 515 MB/s writes, up to 91,000 IOPS 4K random reads, and up to 133,000 IOPS 4K random writes. The 250 GB variant is almost twice as fast, with up to 2470 MB/s sequential reads, up to 1000 MB/s sequential writes, up to 179,000 IOPS 4K random reads, and up to 257,000 IOPS 4K random writes. The 500 GB variant is faster still, with up to 2680 MB/s sequential reads, with up to 1755 MB/s writes, up to 335,000 IOPS 4K random reads, and up to 277,000 IOPS 4K random writes. The 1 TB variant leads the pack, with up to 2710 MB/s sequential reads, with up to 1755 MB/s writes, up to 283,000 IOPS 4K random reads, and up to 280,000 IOPS 4K random writes. The drives are backed by 3-year warranties.

Apacer introduced the AS2280P2, a mid-range M.2 NVMe SSD. Built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, the drive features PCI-Express gen 3.0 x2 interface, taking advantage of the NVMe protocol. It features 3D TLC NAND flash memory, and comes in capacities of 120 GB, 240 GB, and 480 GB. The 120 GB variant offers sequential transfer rates of up to 1550 MB/s reads, with up to 530 MB/s writes; both the 240 GB and 480 GB read at speeds of up to 1650 MB/s, and differ with write speeds. The 240 GB variant writes at speeds of up to 950 MB/s, and the 480 GB up to 1000 MB/s. All variants offer 4K random access performance of up to 92,160 IOPS. Backed by 3-year warranties, the 120 GB variant is priced at 45.90€, the 240 GB variant 77.90€, and the 480 GB variant 156.90€.

Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today announced it is shipping the UV500 family line of SSD products. Available in multiple form factors, UV500 will be Kingston's first 3D NAND-enabled SSD featuring full-disk encryption. UV500 is powered by the Marvell 88SS1074 controller, and combined with 3D NAND Flash, delivers incredible read/write speeds of up to 520 MB/s and 500 MB/s, making it 10x faster than a 7200 RPM hard drive.

UV500 dramatically improves a system's overall responsiveness with incredible boot, loading and transfer times; and, with no moving parts is far less likely to fail compared to mechanical hard drives. UV500 protects sensitive data with 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption and supports TCG Opal 2.0. It is available in three different form factors (2.5", M.2 2280, mSATA) to accommodate any client system. UV500 is perfect as a boot drive or for primary storage as it is available in 120 GB, 240 GB, 480 GB, 960 GB and 1920 GB capacities.

COLORFUL Technology Company Limited, professional manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards and high-performance storage solutions is proud to announce the availability of its limited edition COLORFUL SL300 160G Spring L.E. solid state drive. Featuring an all-new pink frosted aluminum alloy shell, the COLORFUL Season series SSD is set to make a statement for builders who are looking to express themselves and create a stunning build featuring a pink color scheme or just want a snazzy pink SSD for their PC, the COLORFUL SL300 160G Spring L.E. is the only choice.

The COLORFUL SL300 Spring L.E. is based off the highly-commended SL300 series solid-state drives from COLORFUL. These SSDs feature a non-standard capacity due to newer 3D NAND flash specification which is the result of new developments in 3D NAND technology. This allows a large volume single BGA NAND flash chip to be created. For example, the COLORFUL SL300 Plus 160G uses a 4 die wafer array.

Transcend Information, Inc., a leading manufacturer of industrial-grade products, is proud to announce the release of 2.5-inch and M.2 form factor industrial solid-state drives featuring 3D TLC NAND flash memory. 3D TLC NAND flash memory has performance that can rival Planar (2D) MLC NAND flash, but at a very competitive price point. The new line of industrial SSDs also boast SLC caching, a RAID engine, low-density parity check (LDPC), and other features that make for a stable, long-lasting product ready for write-intensive industrial and embedded applications.

Built with high-quality 3D TLC NAND flash memory
This all-new series of SSDs uses high-quality 3D TLC NAND flash memory. 3D NAND flash breaks through physical limitations on Planar NAND by stacking layers of memory cells to allow for greater capacities and performance. Compared to Planar NAND, 3D NAND is faster, more reliable, and delivers greater performance. Devices manufactured with 3D NAND are price competitive, making them an excellent choice for embedded systems.

Crucial started selling all four models of its premium SATA SSD, the MX500. The drive was launched earlier this month. It comes in 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB variants; and in the 2.5-inch form-factor, with SATA 6 Gbps interface. M.2-2280 variants with SATA interface, which were shown off at the 2018 International CES, could launch a little later this year. The 250 GB variant is priced (MSRP) at USD $79.99 ($0.31 per GB), the 500 GB variant at $139.99 ($0.27 per GB), the 1 TB variant $259.99 ($0.25 per GB), and the range-topping 2 TB variant $499.99 ($0.24 per GB). All four models come with 5-year warranties.

Crucial MX500 combines Micron's 2nd generation 64-layer 3D TLC NAND flash memory with a Silicon Motion SM2258 controller, and a custom firmware by Crucial. The NAND flash chips by design offer the same levels of power-loss protection as drives that need capacitor banks to do so. Among its features are Dynamic Write Acceleration (SLC-cached writes), and Redundant Array of Independent NAND (RAIN). All four variants offer sequential transfer rates of up to 560 MB/s with up to 510 MB/s writes, and 4K random access performance ratings of up to 95,000/91,000 IOPS (reads/writes).

Mushkin updated its Triactor line of mainstream SATA SSDs with the new Triactor 3DX and 3DL. The "3D" symbolizes 3D NAND flash, in this case, 3D TLC NAND flash, mated to a Silicon Motion SM2258 controller. The drive comes in sizes of 120 GB, 250 GB, 500 GB, and 1 TB. It offers sequential transfer rates of up to 565 MB/s reads, with up to 530 MB/s writes, and 4K random access performance of up to 100,000/91,000 IOPS (read/write). The Triactor 3DX is built in the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch form-factor, while the Triactor 3DL is built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, with SATA 6 Gbps interface.

ADATA showed off its latest M.2 NVMe SSDs that support the latest NVMe 1.3 specification, and are based on some of the newer generation controllers, beginning with the XPG SX8200. This drive combines Silicon Motion SM2262 controller with 3D TLC NAND flash memory, and comes in capacities of 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB. The drive offers sequential transfer rates of up to 3200 MB/s reads, with up to 1700 MB/s writes; and features SLC caching, an LPDC ECC engine, and an internal RAID engine.

The ADATA XPG SX8200 is designed to succeed the XPG SX8000, which is second-fiddle to the company's fastest XPG SX9000-series, and competes with the likes of Samsung 960 EVO series. The ADATA IM2P33F8 implements Silicon Motion SM2263XT controller, which is DRAM-less and has just four flash channels. The drive offers sequential speeds of up to 2400 MB/s reads, with up to 1700 MB/s writes; and comes in capacities of 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB.

Kingston showed off its HyperX Savage EXO external SSD, targeted at notebook gamers, and game console users, so you could easily swap out game install folders of multiple games on the fly. Built in a compact, yet rugged polycarbonate chassis, the drive comes in capacities of 480 GB and 960 GB, implementing 3D TLC NAND flash memory. The drive takes advantage of USB 3.1 gen 2 (10 Gbps) interface, offering sequential transfer rates of up to 490 MB/s reads, and up to 480 MB/s writes (something not possible with USB 3.1 gen 1, due to interface overhead). Both type-A and type-C cables come included with the drive, a single cable handles both power and host-connectivity.

Colorful Technology Company Limited, professional manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards and high-performance storage solutions, is thrilled to announce the release of a new series of SSD from COLORFUL: the new PLUS Series SSD. Available in capacities up to 640GB, the COLORFUL PLUS Series SSD offers the latest in 3D TLC NAND Flash technology along with a new SMI SM2258XT controller offering a new NAND Flash configuration while still offering competitive endurance, capacity and price.

The COLORFUL Plus Series SSD are expected to ship to distributor by November and will be available in three capacities: 160GB(SL300 Plus 160G), 320GB (SL500 Plus 320G) and 640GB (SL500 Plus 640G).