Seagate Technology Holdings plc, today introduced the new FireCuda 520N NVMe solid state drive (SSD) with 2230-S2 M.2 form factor. The new drive is a perfect storage upgrade for Valve's Steam Deck, Microsoft Surface, ASUS ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and other compact devices with 2230 M.2 slots.

Available in 1 TB and 2 TB capacities, the FireCuda 520N is a PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD specifically designed for high performing hand-held gaming devices with high octane read/write speed of up to 5,000 MB/s for the 2 TB capacity and up to 4,800 MB/s for the 1 TB model. The drive offers PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD performance of desktop gaming, and it is backward compatible with Gen 3 and Gen 2 PCIe slots. The FireCuda 520N includes Seagate's three-year Rescue Data Recovery Service plan and a five-year limited warranty. It is available now for $109.99 (1 TB) and $189.99 (2 TB).

The advent of PCIe 5.0 SSDs with Phison's E26 controllers has been a double-edged sword. While these SSDs offer impressively high data throughputs, they come with a significant drawback: severe overheating issues that can cause the SSDs not only to throttle down but to shut off entirely. TechPowerUp first noted this issue back in May, in our Corsair MP700 review, where the uncooled drive shut down after 86 seconds of reads and after 55 seconds of writes. Regarding criticism from tech reviewers, Corsair has released a firmware update (version 22.1) for its MP700 SSD to ensure that it throttles down rather than shutting off when overheated. Yet, many other SSDs like the Crucial T700, Seagate FireCuda 540, Gigabyte Aorus Gen 5 10000, and ADATA Legend 970 still suffer from temperature issues.

However, it's crucial to note that these extreme overheating problems occur only when the SSDs run without any cooling. While some manufacturers have planned firmware updates to address the issue, Corsair is the only company that has taken tangible action so far. Crucial has released a new firmware (PACR5102), but the ComputerBase report indicates that the SSD continues to shut off at high temperatures. The problem, though, can generally be mitigated with proper cooling. Whether using the included cooler or placing the SSD under a motherboard cover, temperatures usually stay below the critical limit, thus avoiding a complete shutdown. When we tested the SSTC Tiger Shark Elite 2 TB with Phison E26 (with updated firmware) without adequate cooling, the SSD continued to operate and throttled down, indicating that the remaining SSDs using this controller need a proper firmware update that throttles the SSD instead of shutting it down.

Seagate Technology Holdings today introduced the next generation of SSD technology to its lineup, the FireCuda 540. The PCIe Gen 5 NVMe SSD delivers unparalleled performance to gamers, creators, and tech enthusiasts - adding the fastest speeds and endurance to the company's line of PC storage products.

Seagate's fastest and highest performance M.2 2280 SSD, the FireCuda 540 delivers sequential read speeds of up to 10,000 MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 10,000 MB/s. Built for sustained, pro-level gaming and accelerated content creation, the new drive performs up to 50% faster than Gen 4 M.2 NVMe drives and 17 times faster than SATA-based SSDs. With the latest 3D TLC NAND technology and built with a Seagate-validated E26 controller, the FireCuda 540 provides the most advanced speed and durability - allowing users to push limits when gaming or creating content. Plug-and-play compatible with all PCIe Gen 5 motherboards and backwards compatible with PCIe Gen 4, the drive is accessible and ready for trailblazing.

Not entirely unexpected, Seagate is getting ready to launch its first PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD which will be going under the name of FireCuda 540 and now details of the upcoming drive have appeared online courtesy of Amazon UK, B&H Photo and others that have put up the product for pre-order. For those worried about the lack of a 4 TB SKU, you can relax, as the company is planning a 4 TB SKU, which is made clear from the pictures posted by Amazon UK. However, changing the digit in the model number that represents the drive size, doesn't bring up any info about a 4 TB SKU at the moment.

It doesn't look like the FireCuda 540 will be competing with the fastest PCI 5.0 NVMe drives, as it's only listed as offering sequential drives speeds of up to 10 GB/s, although this applies to both read and write speeds for the 2 TB SKU, with the 1 TB SKU being somewhat slower with read speeds of 9.5 GB/s and write speeds of 8.5 GB/s. The 1 TB SKU is good for 1,000 TB TBW, with the 2 TB SKU doubling this to 2,000 TB and the 4 TB SKU apparently hitting 3,949 TB or as Seagate put it, this allows you to erase 90 percent of the drive every day for five years. B&H Photo has the drives listed at US$189.99 for the 1 TB SKU and US$319,99 for the 2 TB SKU—making both SKUs cheaper than Crucials T700—with Amazon UK listing the 1 TB SKU for £203.48 and no pricing for the 2 TB SKU. It's unclear when the Seagate FireCuda 540 will launch, but it can't be far away.

Seagate has released a new firmware update for its FireCuda 530 series of NVMe SSDs that adds DirectStorage support. Seagate is to our knowledge only the second company to release a firmware with DirectStorage support for its SSDs, but we're expecting more to follow. The FireCuda 530 is based on Phison's E18 controller, which is commonly found in a range of NVMe M.2 SSDs from several major and minor SSD brands, with Sabrent being the first company to have announced a DirectStorage firmware update for its drives based on the same controller.

To update to the new firmware, you need the serial number of your FireCuda 530 drive, which you then have to enter on Segate's support site to be able to download the update. The company didn't specify how the firmware update is done, but it seems to be a standalone installer, rather than using some kind of SSD tool, which most SSD makers provide for their drives these days. The new firmware is said to be "reducing CPU overhead and I/O latency, load times and asset streaming are streamlined—allowing for improved multitasking and optimized PC gaming with DirectStorage compatible games." The list of games that support DirectStorage is quite short at the moment, but hopefully we'll see more games implementing support now that there is supported hardware out there.

Today, Star Wars fans have another way to feel the power of the Force with three new collectible Seagate Hard Disk Drives (HDD) inspired by heroes and villains of the Star Wars galaxy. Featuring Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and Han Solo, the latest additions to the company's line of licensed special edition storage devices bring speed, capacity, and striking appearance to the battle stations of Star Wars collectors and tech enthusiasts.

The special edition FireCuda external hard drives represent the famed characters with three unique aesthetics: the courage of Luke Skywalker, the raw power of Darth Vader, and the confidence of the galaxy's favorite smuggler, Han Solo. The drives offer customizable RGB LED lighting and each design features a default custom character light out-of-the-box: a forceful blue for Luke Skywalker, a wrathful red for Darth Vader, and a white glow reminiscent of the Millennium Falcon for Han Solo. With built-in and customizable lighting options, all three of the drives enable Star Wars enthusiasts and gamers to awaken the powers of the Force at home.

Seagate announces three all-new external hard disk drives (HDD) featuring designs inspired by the stories and characters of Marvel Studios' Black Panther. The officially licensed HHDs are available this month and join the company's line of special edition storage devices. Paying homage to T'Challa (aka Black Panther), Shuri, and Okoye, these special edition HDDs deliver one-of-a-kind pieces of Marvel artwork to fans and highlight traits of the characters with customizable RGB LED lighting: magenta to honor Black Panther, cyan for the innovative style of Princess Shuri, and yellow for the elite strength of the warrior, Okoye.

With up to 2 TB of capacity, the FireCuda external HDDs are compatible with PC, Mac, PlayStation, and Xbox so tech enthusiasts can capture and access a wealth of media, files, and games, regardless of operating system. USB bus-powered and designed with USB 3.2 Gen 1 connection for universal compatibility and quick transfer speeds, the lightweight drives make it easy for Black Panther fans to take their whole library on the road.

With the great power of the hard drive comes the great responsibility to securely store and quickly access data. Inspired by the world of Marvel's Spider-Man, Seagate Technology plc today introduced three all-new officially licensed Marvel limited-edition Spider-Man external hard disk drive (HDD) designs joining the company's line of special edition storage devices.

Commemorating Spider-Man, Ghost-Spider (aka Gwen Stacy), and Miles Morales, these special edition HDDs deliver the Spider-Man fan an opportunity to own three unique drives featuring one-of-a-kind Marvel artwork. Each drive also features customizable RGB LED lighting, making it the ultimate accessory to Spidey-themed or other gaming set ups.

Today, Seagate celebrates Star Wars Day with the introduction of three collectible Hard Disk Drives (HDD) inspired by Boba Fett, Grogu, and The Mandalorian. Released on the fan holiday playing off of the popular Star Wars quote "May the Force be with you," the newest additions to the company's line of licensed special edition storage devices bring a tangible piece of the galaxy to the hands of collectors and tech enthusiasts.

"We are thrilled to announce the latest release in our ongoing collaboration with Lucasfilm, bringing three fresh and iconic designs to gamers and Star Wars fans," said Jeff Fochtman, senior vice president of business and marketing at Seagate Technology. "From the designs to the functionality of the drives, this release brings a force to the battle stations of Star Wars enthusiasts."

Seagate Technology Holdings plc, a world leader in mass-data storage infrastructure solutions, and Phison Electronics Corp., a global leader in NAND flash controller and storage solutions, announced today plans to expand their SSD portfolio of next-gen high-performance, high-density enterprise NVMe SSDs. The new SSDs will help enterprises lower total cost ownership (TCO) through increased storage density, lower power consumption, and higher performance. The companies also announced that they have entered a long-term partnership that will strengthen the development cycle and distribution of enterprise-class SSDs.

Seagate and Phison have collaborated on Seagate's mainstream SATA SSD products since 2017. That close cooperation has continued through the company's performance-leading line of FireCuda consumer gaming NVMe PCIe Gen4 x4 SSDs and the world's first purpose-built NAS NVMe SSDs. The partnership will now focus on meeting the evolving global enterprise demand for higher density, faster, and smarter storage infrastructure needs that complement HDD storage to enable comprehensive enterprise applications such as hyperscale data center, high-performance computing and AI.

Seagate Technology Holdings plc today introduced the new family of Star Wars Beskar Ingot Drives, the first release in a collaboration to bring designs inspired by the Star Wars franchise to its line of PC gaming storage devices, taking gamers' battle stations to the next level. The first release in the collaboration celebrates the legends of the Star Wars Mandalorian galaxy. These drives bring the iconic Star Wars "precious metal" aesthetic to the FireCuda line-up. The special edition designs will be available in M.2 NVMe, 2.5-inch SATA, and external HDD formats. Each drive resembles an ingot of Beskar, including its Imperial stamp featured prominently in the series, making these drives the ultimate collectible for Star Wars fans.

"We are thrilled to bring unique, iconic designs from one of the world's most popular franchises to the forefront of every gamer's battle station," said Jeff Fochtman, Senior Vice President of Business and Marketing at Seagate Technology. "This collaboration appeals to global audiences including gamers, PC builders, and Star Wars enthusiasts alike."

EK, the European manufacturer of premium liquid cooling gear, and Seagate, a renowned HDD&SSD manufacturer, have partnered to launch the FireCuda 530 solid state drive with a heatsink, offering a minimalist design, anodized-aluminium body, and finely textured micropore surface to improve heat transfer and lower SSD temperatures. Thanks to that, FireCuda 530 can run at peak speeds for extended periods of time. This cutting-edge SSD has a Seagate-validated E18 controller and the latest 3D TLC NAND memory, and achieves speeds of up to 7,300 MB/s.

This SSD delivers incredible transfer speeds of up to 7,300 MB/s with extremely fast response times allowing applications to run fast, snappy, and with no bottlenecks in the storage department. It is ideal for high-bandwidth video rendering, previewing, and as a Photoshop scratch-disk for large files. It also works amazing for gaming, providing fast load times and great access times. FireCuda 530 has DDR4 memory for caching, but it also uses an SLC dynamic cache alongside a technology called SmartFlush to recover the SLC cache space quickly and making sure it never fills up its buffer.

Sony has recently enabled the M.2 slot found in the PlayStation 5 with a beta update which allows users to upgrade the storage of their device with a compatible PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD. The PlayStation 5 can only install games to the internal storage as external storage is not fast enough so the introduction of this capability will help expand the 825 GB (667.2 GB usable) of internal storage. Sony recommends that users select a PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD with sequential read speeds of 5500 Mbps or higher but have yet to certify any specific models as compatible. Seagate has confirmed that their FireCuda 530 SDD which is offered with capacities from 500 GB to 4 TB will be compatible while various models from Corsair, Sabrent, and Western Digital also appear to meet the speed requirements. Sony should release this feature to non-beta users in the near future and also notes that some games may have reduced performance when running with an M.2 SSD.

Seagate today announced its newest PC gaming SSD, the FireCuda 530, at the company's inaugural virtual gaming event, SG21. The new drive offers gamers the latest PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD technology and the fastest performance from the company's line of PC gaming storage products - bringing speed, endurance, and high capacity to the peak of PC performance.

Delivering sequential read speeds of up to 7300 MB/s, the FireCuda 530 catalyzes PCIe Gen4 power with transfer rates up to two times faster than PCIe Gen3 SSDs and 12 times faster than SATA-based SSDs. The drive is built with a Seagate-validated E18 controller and the latest 3D TLC NAND to provide the most advanced speed and durability for PC gaming. Seagate also offers a minimalist heatsink option, specially designed by EKWB that swaps out cooling fins for a more massive, high-grade aluminium block with a finely textured finish, maximizing cooling.

Seagate has recently released a limited edition version of their FireCuda 520 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD inspired by Cyberpunk 2077. Seagate has designed a custom Cyberpunk 2077 heatsink and box for the drive and will only produce 2077 units. The custom neon yellow heatsink includes the Cyberpunk logo and addressable 5 V RGB lighting. Seagate claims that the large aluminium heatsink can reduce SSD temperatures by up to 22°C (71°F) however due to its size you may encounter mounting issues on some motherboards.

The drive is available in a single 1 TB capacity and features the same Phison PS5016-E16 SSD controller paired with Toshiba 96L TLC NAND as the normal FireCuda 520. The SSD also features impressive performance numbers with advertised read and write speeds up to 5,000 MBps and 4,400 MBps respectively while endurance is rated at 1,800 TBW. The drive includes a 5-year warranty from Seagate and is now available to purchase from select retailers worldwide with prices ranging from 280 USD - 310 USD which is significantly more than the FireCuda 520 1 TB RRP of 190 USD.

Seagate Technology, a world leader in data storage solutions, today announced two new additions to the company's line of PC gaming storage, the FireCuda Gaming Hard Drive and FireCuda Gaming Hub. Both new external HDD (Hard Disk Drive) solutions were designed for gamers who are looking to level up their battle stations with high—performing, mass capacity upgrades in a sleek enclosure.

Presented in a bold and refined design, the new FireCuda Hard Drive features RGB LED lighting that gamers can customize through Seagate's Toolkit software for an epic gaming atmosphere. It also features Razer Chroma RGB compatibility to synchronize users' Chroma-enabled gaming peripherals. The lightweight FireCuda Hard Drive is designed with USB 3.2 Gen 1 connection for universal compatibility and quick transfer speeds and is USB bus-powered, making it the winning choice for laptop and PC gamers on the go.

Late July Seagate brought you the Seagate FireCuda + TechPowerUp Forums Giveaway, letting you stand a chance to bring home a sweet Seagate FireCuda 120 1 TB SATA SSD, a handy expansion that lets you expand your game library. The FireCuda 120 has sufficient performance for snappy AAA game load times, and 1 TB of space lets you dump up to 20 AAA titles. It's equally formidable as a boot drive. Check out our comprehensive review of the drive here. The Giveaway closes tomorrow, but you still have time to drop in your hat. It's open for entries worldwide (wherever legal).

Seagate doesn't pick winners by random draw, but on the basis of the best response to the sentence "I need the Seagate FireCuda 120 SSD 1 TB because _______." What better place to pen your thoughts and meet like-minded gamers and PC enthusiasts than TechPowerUp Forums? Get cracking!

For more details and to participate, visit this page.

Boy, could I use a nice big SSD to store all these 100 GB+ AAA games to grind through. Storage solutions leader Seagate is giving away a 2.5" SATA FireCuda 120 1 TB solid-state drive on TechPowerUp Forums. Open worldwide (wherever legal), the Giveaway needs you to simply reply to the Giveaway thread completing the statement "I need the Seagate FireCuda 120 SSD 1 TB because _______." Open from today (July 28), you have until August 11, 2020 to drop your hat into the ring. Be creative, because the winner isn't selected by random. The winner will be contacted by private message on TechPowerUp Forums. While you're there, don't forget to stick around our vibrant community of PC enthusiasts and gamers.

For more information, and to participate visit the Seagate FireCuda 120 SSD Giveaway on TechPowerUp Forums.

Today, LaCie, the premium brand from Seagate Technology, announced two new storage solutions for creative professionals and prosumers. The new LaCie 1big Dock SSD Pro and LaCie 1big Dock enable professionals to streamline and optimize their studio workflow with a complete desktop storage solution. Designed by Neil Poulton, the LaCie 1big Dock SSD Pro (2 TB and 4 TB SSD capacities) and 1big Dock (4 TB, 8 TB, and 16 TB HDD capacities) add to LaCie's line of versatile data storage systems built for creative professionals.

LaCie's 1big Dock SSD Pro is ideal for editing data-intense 6K, 8K, super slow motion, uncompressed video, and VFX content. Building on LaCie's pedigree of unmatched performance and style, the 1big Dock SSD Pro leans on Seagate's cutting-edge FireCuda NVMe SSD and Thunderbolt 3 to deliver staggering read speeds of up to 2800 MB/s. It streamlines workflow with two Thunderbolt 3 ports that are USB-C compatible, and a docking station including one built-in USB 3.0 port, cinema-grade memory card slots (CFast 2.0, CFexpress, and SD), and a DisplayPort 1.4 output connection. It is the ideal peripheral for most professional cinema cameras including leading brands like ARRI, Blackmagic, RED, and Canon.

Seagate Technology plc., a world leader in data solutions, today announced the new FireCuda 120 SATA SSD designed for gamers who require speed, durability, and generous capacity to reach their peak performance and safeguard their vast digital libraries.

Underpinning the company's line of PC game storage, the FireCuda 120 takes gaming rigs to the next level with a SATA 6 Gb/s interface and roars to life with sequential read/write speeds of up to 560 MB/s reads and up to 540 MB/s writes, offering more responsive downloads, installs, and multitasking. The drive has capacities up to 4 TB, Seagate's highest capacity gaming SSD yet. Meeting the demands of sustained abuse, the FireCuda 120 was built for durability, delivering a 1.8M hour MTBF and up to 5600 TBW. For total peace of mind, Seagate backs the drive with a five-year limited warranty.

Seagate Technology, a world leader in data solutions, today added two new high-performance solutions to its industry-leading line of storage for gamers. The Seagate FireCuda 520 PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD and the FireCuda Gaming Dock featuring 4 TB of HDD storage capacity and an NVMe M.2 expansion slot for an optional ultra-fast SSD upgrade.

Built to deliver the intense speeds needed for the rigor of modern gaming, the FireCuda 520 SSD is the company's fastest solid-state drive and offers plug-and-play compatibility with all PCIe Gen4 motherboards. For laptop PC gamers looking for flexibility, the FireCuda Gaming Dock is an elite 4 TB HDD storage hub with an NVMe M.2 expansion slot for optional SSD upgrade that connects peripherals via a Thunderbolt 3 and offers a slick industrial design with LED illumination pushing your rig over the top.

Seagate eyes itself a slice of the M.2 NVMe SSD market targeting DIY gaming PC builders in 2019. It's come up with slightly more imaginative branding than arch-rival WD, with the FireCuda 510 and BarraCuda 510. The FireCuda 510 is the company's flagship drive, built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, and featuring a PCI-Express 3.0 x4 interface. This drive offers stellar sequential transfer speeds of up to 3450 MB/s reads, with up to 3200 MB/s writes, and random-access numbers of up to 620,000 IOPS reads, with up to 600,000 IOPS writes; which upstages even existing segment leaders such as Samsung 970 PRO and WD Black 3D, at least on paper. It comes in capacities up to 2 TB, and is backed by 5-year warranties.

The BarraCuda 510 isn't far behind its sibling, and despite its deceptive "green" branding, isn't a drab M.2-SATA drive. It's out to compete with the likes of the Samsung 970 EVO. With speeds of up to 3400 MB/s sequential reads, up to 3100 MB/s sequential writes, and a 5-year warranty, this drive debuts in just two models initially - 256 GB and 512 GB, with more models in the pipeline. Retail availability is expected to be in March, 2019 and pricing is not yet confirmed.