ASRock Inc., a global leader in motherboards, graphics cards, mini PCs, and gaming monitors, is once again expanding its product lineup with the launch of power supply units (PSUs) for the DIY market. The new PSU product lineup is available under the well-regarded Taichi, Phantom Gaming, Steel Legend, and Challenger series, designed to meet a wide range of user needs.

ASRock's PSUs are fully compliant with the latest Intel ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 standards, supporting the instantaneous peak power loads of 200% to 235%. This ensures users receive stable power solutions for future technologies. Featuring native 12V-2x6 cables, the single-line output can deliver up to 600 W, designed to meet the high-power requirements of next-gen premium graphics cards. The dual-color 16-pin connector design enables quick identification, ensuring proper insertion into the GPU's power socket. Furthermore, the Taichi and Phantom Gaming models feature an exclusive embedded NTC sensor that monitors connector temperatures in real-time, activating protection mode if temperatures exceed safe limits, thereby ensuring system safety and stability.

GameMax, an emerging brand of PC gaming components including gaming cases and power supply units, introduces the refreshed RGB-Smart Series 80 Plus Gold power supply units now featuring ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 standards. The GameMax RGB-Smart Series is perfect for RGB lighting enthusiasts with its 140 mm smart ARGB cooling fan. Designed for high-end gaming systems, the GameMax RGB-Smart Series is available in up to 1300 W model. The RGB-Smart PSUs feature native 16-pin 12V-2x6 connector for the latest NVIDIA RTX graphics cards, supporting a maximum power output of 600 W. It also features a fully modular cable design, minimizing cable use for cleaner cable management.

The GameMax RGB-Smart's silent 140 mm ARGB cooling fan supports RGB synchronization via motherboard RGB sync. It supports RGB sync technologies from ASUS, MSI, and GIGABYTE. The refreshed GameMax RGB-Smart ATX 3.1 PCIe 5.1 Series is available in 750 W, 850 W, 1050 W, and 1300 W models—all available in black and white models to color match most PC build themes.

Kingston Digital, Inc., the flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions announced its latest data center SSD, DC2000B, a high-performance PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD optimized for use in high-volume rack-mount servers as an internal boot drive. Using the latest Gen 4x4 PCIe interface with 112-layer 3D TLC NAND, DC2000B is ideally suited for internal server boot drive applications as well for use in purpose built systems applications where higher performance and reliability are required. DC2000B includes on-board hardware-based power loss protection (PLP), a data protection feature not commonly found on M.2 SSDs. It also includes a new integrated aluminium heatsink that helps to ensure broad thermal compatibility across a wide variety of system designs.

"Whitebox server makers and Tier 1 server OEMs continue to equip their latest generation servers with M.2 sockets for boot purposes as well as internal data caching," said Cameron Crandall, enterprise SSD business manager, Kingston. "DC2000B was designed to deliver the necessary performance and write endurance to handle a variety of high duty cycle server workloads. Bringing the boot drives internal to the server preserves the valuable front loading drive bays for data storage."

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

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

KLEVV, an emerging memory brand introduced by Essencore today, is excited to unveil its latest M.2 Solid State Drive, the CRAS C910 Lite, packed with advanced specs for unparalleled performance. As a new addition to KLEVV's M.2 SSD lineup, the all-new CRAS C910 Lite utilizes PCI Express Gen 4 x4 interface supported by NVMe 1.4, ensuring lightning-fast data transfer rates excellent for competitive gaming and content creation.

Available in multiple storage capacities, including 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB, the CRAS C910 Lite features strictly-selected 3D NAND Flash components, enabling impressive sequential read/write speeds of up to 5000/4200 MB/s and 4K Random Read/Write IOPS of up to 680,000/880,000.
A feather-light weight of a mere 7gram thanks to its revolutionary ultra-thin, single-sided SSD architecture based on the M.2 2280, the CRAS C910 Lite redefines compact performance, making it a perfect fit for a wide array of devices from nimble mini-PCs to sleek laptops.

Chieftec is delighted to announce that the Polaris Pro & Polaris 3.0 PSU's now come with an extended 5-year warranty, ensuring even more reliability and peace of mind for Chieftec users. As part of our ongoing commitment to excellence, we are proud to enhance the warranty period for our flagship ATX 3.0 power supplies: the Chieftec Polaris Pro and Polaris 3.0 series. We stand behind the quality and reliability of our products, and the 5-year warranty reflects our confidence in the durability of high-end Chieftec products. With the new 5-year warranty, users can rest assured that their Chieftec Polaris Pro and Polaris 3.0 power supplies are protected for an extended period, allowing them to focus on what matters most: work, gaming, or creative endeavors!

ASUS at the 2023 Computex launched the ROG MATRIX GeForce RTX 4090, its absolute top-end custom-design graphics card, designed to be the fastest money can buy. The card features the industry's highest factory-overclock for an RTX 4090, and has its power limits set squarely at 600 W, maxing out the single 16-pin 12VHPWR connector. The card also features the strongest VRM solution ever by ASUS for a graphics card, to hold this PL. The star attraction with this card is that it is marketed as the first graphics card that incorporates liquid metal technology.

What it essentially means, is that the cooling solution uses liquid-metal thermal interface material (TIM) for the GPU. The enthusiasts among you know how difficult it is to apply and maintain liquid metal, and ASUS is among the first companies to do this on an industrial scale, using a fully automated process. The company originally designed this mechanized liquid-metal TIM application technique for its high-end notebooks, but figured it could use it even for graphics cards. Liquid-metal TIMs offer the highest possible thermal conductivity as the TIM is pure metal. It's also electrically conductive, which is why application and maintenance is extremely difficult. ASUS innovated a cold-plate design specifically for this task, so the graphics card could survive international shipping from its factories. A third innovation by ASUS has been to develop a special multi-layer resin that protects the SMD components on the PCB against being shorted by the liquid-metal. ASUS is so confident in its liquid-metal technology, that the company is backing this graphics card with a comprehensive 5-year warranty.

With the releases of the latest generation of Intel and AMD platforms, the era of PCIe 5.0 SSD has officially arrived. Team Group today has launched the T-FORCE CARDEA Z540 M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSD. Developed with outstanding technological expertise, it is the SSD gamers of all kinds have been waiting for. Now it's ready to lead the consumer SSD market into the new era of Gen 5. The Z540 PCIe 5.0 SSD uses the latest PCIe Gen 5 x 4 interface and supports the latest NVMe 2.0 protocol, allowing it to reach read and write speeds of up to 12,000 MB/s and 10,000 MB/s respectively, nearly double the theoretical speed limit of PCIe 4.0. Possessing cutting-edge specifications, Z540 SSD brings gamers an unprecedented, next-generation gaming experience.

The T-FORCE CARDEA Z540 M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSD is equipped with an exclusive ultra-thin graphene heatspreader that combines multiple patented technologies. It's made of 100% recyclable graphene material and utilizes the advantages of hexagonal honeycomb lattice structures to rapidly and evenly disperse heat horizontally, providing Z540 SSD with top-notch cooling. The Z540's ultra-thin graphene heatspreader is less than 1 mm thick and is compatible with various PCIe 5.0 motherboard heatsinks. Based on T-FORCE LAB's internal testing, the operating temperature of Z540 SSD combining motherboard heatsink and graphene heatspreader is 3-5°C lower than the temperature with only motherboard heatsinks. Moreover, CARDEA Z540 uses the latest intelligent thermal regulation technology with built-in temperature sensing to automatically adjust performance and prevent overheating. T-FORCE LAB has created numerous temperature solutions for the Z540 SSD to not only enhance and protect data integrity of the SSD but also maintain good operating temperatures at high speeds, extending the lifespan of the SSD.

In Win showed off the P-II line of power supplies offering ATX 3.0 + PCIe Gen 5 specs support, and 80 Plus Gold efficiency. The lineup includes four models based on Wattage—the P75II (750 W), P85II (850 W), P105II (1050 W), and the P130II (1300 W). The top-of-the-line 1300 W model comes with two 16-pin ATX 12VHPWR connectors that can deliver 600 W continuous power and excursion-tolerance within PCIe Gen 5 spec, whereas the other three models include one of these connectors. The 1050 W and 1300 W models also include six 6+2 pin PCIe power, whereas the lower models include four of these. Under the hood, these feature single +12 V rail design, and most common electrical protections. In Win didn't reveal pricing, but is backing these PSUs with a 5-year warranty.

Acer at the 2023 International CES showed off its latest lineup of memory and storage products targeting the DIY PC enthusiast market segment under its high-end Predator brand. Leading the booth is the Vesta II line of DDR5 memory modules featuring a high-end product design, and RGB LED lighting. The one shown to us featured a rather modest DDR5-5200 speed and 2x 16 GB density, but the company assured it is spreading the lineup to higher frequencies. The Pallas II line of performance-segment memory targeting creators, for example, does DDR5-6000.

A star attraction in the booth was the Predator GM7 M.2 NVMe SSD. Built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, the drive features a PCI-Express 4.0 x4 + NVMe 2.0 host interface, and combines a Maxiotech MAP1602 controller with YMTC 232-layer 3D TLC NAND flash based on the Xtacking 3.0 architecture. The drive offers sequential transfer speeds of up to 7400 MB/s reads, with up to 6300 MB/s writes, and comes in sizes of 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB, priced at USD $49.90, $89.90, and $159.99, respectively. Acer is backing these drives with a 5-year warranty.

MSI is announcing the launch of our new Gen4 PCIe NVMe models to its SSD category - SPATIUM M461, M452 & M453 in M.2 2280 form factors that can be easily installed into compatible desktop motherboards and laptops. These new products allow MSI to continue to refine its identity as a high-performance PC brand and grow its product ecosystem by expanding SPATIUM, our high-performance storage category. Our SSDs are built with high-quality, high-density 3D NAND flash that delivers astonishing performance and endurance for professionals, content creators, and gamers.

SPATIUM M461, The Competitive PCIe 4.0 SSD for Mainstream Segment.
SPATIUM M461 was developed to meet the expectations of mainstream SSD consumers. Blazing fast speeds up to 5000 MB/sec sequential read and 4200 MB/sec sequential write speeds allow users using the latest generation of PCs to enjoy the capabilities of the PCIe Gen4 interface. Available storage capacities are 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB.

MSI is launching a new blazing fast model to its SSD product line - SPATIUM M480 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 PLAY, exceeding all performance requirements for PlayStation 5 use. MSI SSDs enhances our company's identity as a high-performance PC brand by expanding our ecosystem and covering the high-performance storage category. These SSDs are built with high-quality, high-density 3D NAND flash that delivers great performance with up to 7000 MB/sec read. On SPATIUM M480 PLAY, the sleek dual finish aluminium heatsink is designed to fit the PlayStation 5. This improves heat-dissipation to sustain transfer speeds across all platforms for professionals, content creators, and gamers. Other performance-improving technologies include DRAM cache buffer and an SLC cache.

SPATIUM M480 PLAY is the optimal product made for console gaming in the SPATIUM lineup with four storage capacities - 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB. This brings next-level storage performance to players for PlayStation 5, content creators, and PC gamers. Expanding the storage device on the PS5 is a simple upgrade that allows for lightning-fast save and load times for large game files.

MSI is announcing the launch of a new Gen4 PCIe NVMe model to its SSD category - SPATIUM M450 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2. This new product allows MSI to continue to refine its identity as a high-performance PC brand and grow its product ecosystem by expanding SPATIUM, our high-performance storage category. Our SSDs are built with high-quality, high-density 3D NAND flash that deliver the best compromise of performance and endurance for professionals, content creators, and gamers.

SPATIUM M450 was developed to meet the expectations of mainstream SSD consumers. Its PCIe 4 interface offers fast speeds up to 3600 MB/sec sequential read and 3000 MB/sec sequential write speeds that allow users to enjoy rapid file transfers and short loading times. Available storage capacities are 250 GB, 500 GB, and 1 TB. M450 supports a comprehensive range of data error correction features including LPDC ECC and E2E Data Protection, providing a high rated TBW (Terabytes Written) for excellent durability and longevity backed with a limited 5-year warranty.

Update Feb 22nd: We've posted our in-depth review of the MSI Spatium M450.

ADATA Technology, a manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, mobile accessories, gaming products, electric power trains, and industrial solutions today announces a new series of solid state drives (SSD), the ADATA LEGEND series, geared toward creators of different needs and budgets. They include the ADATA LEGEND 740, 750, and 840.

The LEGEND 740 and 750 utilize PCIe Gen3 x4 and NVMe 1.3 to deliver sequential read and write speeds of up to 2,500/2,000 and 3,500/3,000 MB per second, respectively, to give creators the performance they need to create without limitations. Their M.2 2280 specifications support the latest Intel and AMD platforms for creating on the latest PCs, including desktop and laptops. For users seeking a further boost, the LEGEND 840 takes advantage of PCIe Gen4 x4 and NVMe 1.4 to offer read and write speeds of up to 5,000/4,500 MB per second.

Kingston FURY, the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today announced Kingston FURY Renegade SSD, its next generation PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 drive for gamers, enthusiasts, and high-power users. Kingston FURY Renegade SSD delivers cutting-edge performance in high capacities using the latest Gen 4x4 controller and 3D TLC NAND.

By maximizing the available bandwidth of PCIe 4.0, Kingston FURY Renegade SSD achieves speeds up to 7,300/7,000 MB/s read/write and up to 1,000,000 IOPS to deliver amazing consistency for an exceptional gaming experience. The drive is optimized to reduce game and application load times, stream and capture with ease and give your system an overall boost in responsiveness. Available in high capacities up to 4 TB, users can store an extensive library of their favorite games and media and still have space for the latest titles. In addition to formidable speeds and massive capacity options, Kingston FURY Renegade SSD combines a slim M.2 form factor and an advanced low profile, graphene aluminium heatspreader to keep your drive cool during intense usage and bring superior performance to the tightest of spaces in gaming PC's and laptops.

Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today announced KC3000, its next generation PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD for desktop and laptop PCs. KC3000 SSD offers next-level performance using the latest Gen 4x4 NVMe controller and 3D TLC NAND ideal for power users who require the fastest speeds on the market.

By leveraging Gen4 technology, KC3000 delivers speeds up to 7,0000/7,000 MB/s read/write of blazing-fast performance and full capacities up to 4096GB2 for optimal storage. Users can keep up with demanding workloads and experience better performance with software applications such as 3D rendering and 4K+ content creation by upgrading the systems storage. KC3000 is built with high-density 3D TLC NAND housed in the industry standard M.2 2280 form factor to store even more and enable users to take advantage of PCIe 4.0 speeds. With the combination of performance and endurance, KC3000 is reinforced with a low profile, graphene aluminium heatspreader to effectively disperse heat and keep your drive cool during intensive workloads.

The new C Series Bronze power supplies offer stable and safe power to all types of builds. The new lineup of Bronze PSUs generates less heat, keeping your system running quietly and efficiently. Their reliable components make up a unit that is backed by a 5-year warranty—the NZXT C Series Bronze PSUs are here to get your build powered up without letting you down.

Kingston, the flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today announced the availability of the DC1500M, a U.2 data center NVMe PCIe SSD for mixed-use workloads. Leveraging a high-performance Gen 3.0 x4 PCIe NVMe design, the DC1500M delivers predictable random IO performance as well as predictable latencies over a wide range of workloads.

"DC1500M adds support for multiple namespaces making it ideal for environments including virtualisation and web hosting," said Tony Hollingsbee, SSD business manager, Kingston EMEA. "From high-performance cloud services, media capture and transport to a range of big-data applications, DC1500M sets the standard for applications where QoS and predictability of performance are paramount. Data centers need drives that are reliable, have serviceable form factors and are equipped with the enterprise-grade features that make it easier to maintain SLAs."

LIAN LI Industrial Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of aluminium chassis and PC accessories, announces the SP750, a fully modular SFX size PSU. Perfect for power-hungry small form factor builds, the new 750 watt PSU features reliable Japanese capacitors, an 80 PLUS Gold certification, and a 5-year warranty. Built in a sleek and classic brushed aluminium housing with braided cables, the SP750 also runs quietly with its ZERO RPM mode under 40% load.

LIAN LI features an elegant and classic-looking SFX PSU with a brushed aluminium finish and braided modular cables, giving users the flexibility to utilize only the necessary cables to power their PC components, the flexible and braided motherboard, CPU, and PCIe cables enhance the system's aesthetics.

GIGABYTE today unveiled the M30 line of solid state drives built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, which leverage PCI-Express 3.0 x4 host interface. The drives combine an unknown controller with 256 MB of DDR3L DRAM cache, and 3D TLC NAND flash memory; and comes in capacities of 512 GB and 1 TB. Both these capacity variants have the same amount of DRAM cache. GIGABYTE is using a high-density PCB with 2 oz copper layers, which it claims, can lower controller temperature by up to 15 °C and NAND flash temperature by up to 5 °C.

As for performance, GIGABYTE claims that both capacity variants offer sequential reads of up to 3500 MB/s, and sequential writes of up to 3000 MB/s. The 1 TB variant offers 4K random reads of up to 308,000 IOPS, and random writes of up to 332,000 IOPS; while the 512 GB variant is slightly faster, offering up to 350,000 IOPS 4K random reads, and 302,000 IOPS 4K random writes. The drives are backed by 5-year warranty, the 1 TB variant offers an endurance of 650 TBW, and the 512 GB variant 350 TBW. The company didn't reveal pricing.

XPG, a fast-growing provider of systems, components, and peripherals for Gamers, E-sports Pros, and Tech Enthusiasts, announcesthe launch of the XPG GAMMIX S70 BLADE PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 2280 solid state drive (SSD). Sporting the latest PCIe Gen4 x4 interface and a host of other capabilities, this SSD delivers fast read/write speeds to meet the demands of gaming, graphics processing, and 5G applications. What's more, its unique heat sink design offers excellent thermal cooling for optimal performance and stability. Its compact M.2 2280 form factor makes it ideal for most laptop PCs, including Intel Evo certified laptops, and game consoles.

With the latest PCIe Gen4 interface, the GAMMIX S70 BLADE will help gamers dominate the competition with sequential read/write performance of up to 7400/6400 MB/s. This is up to two times faster than PCIe 3.0 SSDs and fifteen times faster than SATA SSDs. For ease of use, it is backward compatible with PCIe 3.0.The S70 BLADE is equipped with 3D NAND Flash for higher capacities (up to 2 TB) and enhanced efficiency and durability, and it is compliant with NVMe 1.4.

ADATA XPG, a provider of systems, components, and peripherals for gamers, esports pros, and tech enthusiasts, today announces the XPG GAMMIX S70 PCIe Gen4x4 M.2 2280 solid state drive (SSD). With the launch of the S70, XPG now offers a comprehensive lineup of Gen4 SSDs, which includes the GAMMIX S50 and S50 Lite, to meet a range of budgets and needs. With the adoption of next-gen PCIe 4.0, the GAMMIX S70 delivers unmatched read and write performance and has the distinction of being the world's fastest M.2 SSD.

With the advent of 5G networks and the ever-growing volume of data being processed, PCIe Gen4 is a critical upgrade that will bring storage devices to the next level. The GAMMIX S70 expands XPG's Gen4 SSD series with a new option for discerning users seeking to harness the best that PCIe 4.0 can offer. Sporting blazing-fast read/write speeds of up to 7400/6400 MB per second. Users will have no doubt they have reached the pinnacle of SSD performance. In combination with NVMe 1.4 compatible, Dynamic SLC Caching, the S70 offers performance far superior to that of SATA and PCIe 3.0 SSDs. For added ease of use and convenience, the S70 is backward compatible with PCIe 3.0.

ADATA XPG, a provider of systems, components, and peripherals for gamers, esports pros, and tech enthusiasts, today announces the XPG GAMMIX S50 Lite PCIe Gen 4x4 M.2 2280 solid state drive (SSD). With the advent of 5G networks and the ever-growing volume of data being processed, the PCIe Gen4 interface is a critical upgrade that will bring storage devices to the next level. The S50 Lite expands the GAMMIX S50 series with a new option for mainstream users wanting to harness the capabilities of PCIe 4.0.

"With the launch of the S50 Lite, we have now extended our PCIe 4.0 SSD offering to meet not only the demands of early adopters but also mainstream users, whether for work or play," said Ibsen Chen, Director of Product Marketing at ADATA. "With support from our strategic partners at Silicon Motion, we have invested in developing a next-generation SSD that is accessible and offers exceptional performance."

GIGABYTE today introduced a 2 TB variant of its AORUS Gen4 AIC SSD. This drive is essentially a PCI-Express 4.0 x16 to four M.2 PCIe Gen 4 x4 riser card that comes with four 500 GB AORUS Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSDs pre-installed. Using it requires a platform with PCIe lane segmentation (most modern platforms since 2016 do), and for the OS to support NVMe RAID.

The riser card component of the AORUS Gen4 AIC SSD has basic logic that controls a lateral blower based on drive temperature, and provides basic disk activity LEDs. Inside, a copper monoblock heatsink pulls heat from all four drives. Each of the four internal M.2 NVMe drives features 96-layer 3D TLC NAND flash memory, and Phison E16 controllers. With NVMe RAID striped, the card offers peak performance of up to 15,000 MB/s sequential reads, and up to 9,500 MB/s sequential writes. Random access performance is rated at up to 425,000 IPS 4K random reads, and up to 440,000 IOPS 4K random writes. GIGABYTE is backing the drive with a 5-year warranty. The company didn't reveal pricing.

Western Digital had already announced the Ultrastar DC HC550 drives back in late 2019, but only now have they actually been released for sale. The new drives make use of CMR (Conventional Magnetic Recording), where data is stored in parallel tracks that increase rewriting proficiency of the drives compared to SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording, in which data tracks are overlapped for higher data density). In addition to CMR, Western Digital is employing some form of energy assistance (the EA in EAMR), though the company hasn't slipped many technical details on what kind of energy assistance is actually employed.

The drives are available in either SATA or SAS connections, with a data density of up to 1,022 gigabits per square inch in these 18 TB drives. Nine platters are employed, with speeds rated at 270 MB/s at 7,200 RPM. A 512 MB cache helps increase overall data speeds, and WD is offering their usual 5-year warranty with continuous operation and 550 TBW per year ratings. Street pricing for these Ultrastar DC HC550 18 TB drives seems to over around €630.