TEAMGROUP releases a solid state drive and a memory card designed for expanding storage space. These two products are: MP33 M.2 PCIe Solid State Drive that supports the latest NVMe 1.3 standard and adopts PCIe Gen3 x4 interface, and Classic SD Memory card that is suitable for Full-HD video recording with many capacities available to choose from.

TEAMGROUP releases MP33 M.2 PCIe Solid State Drive, which has the latest NVMe 1.3 standard, and adopts high speed PCIe Gen3 x4 interface and the newest generation of 3D flash memory technology, allowing capacity, performance, durability to be greatly improved in every way. MP33 has a mainstream 2280 (22 mm x 80 mm) size with maximum storage capacity up to 1 TB. The highest read/write speed can reach up to 1800/1500 MB/s, which is three times faster than the read/write speed of conventional SATA III interface. MP33 has built-in smart management mechanism and supports S.M.A.R.T function. It not only improves the accuracy and reliability of data transfer, but also allows consumers to experience a fast and stable performance. It is the wisest choice for your laptop, mini PC or gaming PC.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories today announces the launch of the XPG SX8100 PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 2280 Solid State Drive (SSD). Utilizing PCIe Gen3x4, 3D NAND Flash, and featuring 3500/3000MB/s read and write, the SX8100 M.2 2280 SSD gives DIY enthusiasts, overclockers and graphics professionals the performance they seek.

Supporting PCIe Gen3x4 and the NVMe 1.3 standard the SX8100 delivers read and write speeds of up to 3500/3000MB per second and random read and write of 300K/240K IOPS. Along with 3D NAND Flash, it offers high capacities, efficiency, and durability, while the M.2 2280 form factor supports the latest Intel and AMD platforms. With SLC caching and a DRAM cache buffer the SX8100 accelerates PC performance for quick access to files and game loading.

Western Digital unveiled a full fledged lineup of WD_BLACK series gaming storage devices. With it, the company is branching out WD_BLACK as its new brand targeted at the gaming crowd, both PC and console. The WD_BLACK brand is a divergence from the company's classic Western Digital Caviar Black line of premium internal hard drives. The brand had a rebirth of sorts with the WD_BLACK SN750 M.2 NVMe SSDs. Its designers are launching several new products, including the WD_BLACK P10 portable hard drive, the WD_BLACK D10 external desktop hard drive, the WD_BLACK P50 portable SSD, and Xbox One variants of the P10 and D10.

The WD_BLACK P10 is a pocket-size portable hard drive with a single USB 3.1 cable needed for both power and connectivity. It comes in 2 TB, 4 TB, and 5 TB capacities. Its Xbox One variant has the Xbox One decal on its body, and includes a 2-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. The WD_BLACK D10 is meant to sit on your desk with its separate power and host-connectivity cables. It also puts out USB type-A high current ports to recharge your wireless gaming peripherals. The base variant of the WD_BLACK D10 comes in 8 TB capacity, while the D10 Xbox One edition comes with 12 TB capacity and a 3-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Lastly, there's the WD_BLACK P50. This portable SSD encloses an NVMe drive that serves up sequential transfer rates of up to 2000 MB/s by utilizing USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) interface. A single cable handles power and host connectivity. It comes in capacities of 500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB.

Greenliant is now sampling its new high-reliability SATA 6 Gb/s ArmourDrive EX Series products to customers that need ultra robust data retention, ultra high endurance data storage capable of operating under heavy workloads in extreme environments. Designed with Greenliant's EnduroSLC Technology, SATA ArmourDrive EX Series solid state storage modules achieve 50K, 100K and industry-leading 250K+ program-erase (P/E) cycles and provide enhanced data retention. EnduroSLC-enabled SSDs offer high data storage integrity and can withstand wide temperature operations without losing data.

The SATA ArmourDrive EX Series expands the EnduroSLC product family, which also includes SATA 6Gb/s NANDrive and 100-ball/153-ball eMMC NANDrive ball grid array (BGA) solid state drives (SSDs). "SSD and memory card users that need super-high endurance and long-term data retention over a broad temperature range have limited options, since today's NAND flash marketplace is highly focused on consumer applications," said Jim Handy, principal analyst, Objective Analysis. "Greenliant's EnduroSLC products should find a warm reception among these elite users."

QNAP Systems, Inc. today launched the new TVS-x72N 5GbE NAS series, powered by 8th Generation Intel Core i3 processors and features a 5GBASE-T port to deliver transfer speeds up to five times faster than Gigabit Ethernet, making 4K video transfer, display, and editing smooth and streamlined. The TVS-x72N comes with two built-in M.2 SSD slots for enabling SSD caching, features HBS 3 with data de-duplication for faster data backup and recovery, and provides cloud storage gateway functions to create a cost-effective hybrid cloud storage environment.

"With computers and networking devices now widely supporting Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), the common Ethernet networking speed has increased from 1 Gigabit (GbE) to 2.5 GbE and 5 GbE," said David Tsao, Product Manager of QNAP, adding, "Users can add the TVS-x72N 5GbE NAS that offers four transfer speeds to their network environment to optimize their network storage usage experience."

At the 2019 Flash Memory Summit, Realtek announced a slew of new Flash memory controllers targeting a diversity of devices, spanning from USB flash drives to USB external SSDs, M.2/U.2 NVMe internal SSDs. Leading the pack is the RTS5771, the company's new flagship NVMe SSD controller that features a PCI-Express 4.0 x4 host interface, 8 NAND Flash channels with up to 1,200 MT/s speeds per channel, NVMe 1.3, and DRAM cache. This becomes the third PCIe gen 4.0-capable client-segment NVMe SSD controller after the Phison E16 and the Marvell 88SS132x.

The RTS5765DL is its cost-effective sibling, which has PCI-Express 3.0 x4 host interface, just 4 NAND Flash channels, and is DRAM-less, allowing manufacturers to design cost-effective SSDs. It still has 1,200 MT/s bandwidth per channel, so drives that implement it can offer sequential speeds similar to premium drives from the previous generation. The new RTL9210 is a bridge chip that converts USB 3.1 gen 2 (10 Gbps) to PCI-Express 3.0 x2, ideal for cost-effective external NVMe SSDs. The controller also features an integrated RGB LED logic, so drive designers can bling up their creations.

SMART Modular Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of SMART Global Holdings, Inc., and a leader in specialty memory, storage and hybrid solutions including memory modules, Flash memory cards and other solid state storage products, today announced the introduction of three new families of SSD products on display this week at the 2019 Flash Memory Summit in Santa Clara, CA.

The three new Enterprise Grade SSD product families - the S1800, the Q400 and the R800 - offer the quality, performance and reliability expected in business critical applications in storage, networking, data communication and industrial embedded market segments. These SSD products are designed for performance consistency in continuous workload conditions.

Western Digital today announced two new 96-layer 3D flash NVMe SSD families, the Ultrastar DC SN640 and Ultrastar DC SN340. Both are purpose-built for either mixed-use-case workloads or very read-intensive applications, respectively. The new Ultrastar drives help meet the evolving, and increasingly specific workload demands placed on data centers today, while building a strong, flexible foundation for the zettabyte-scale era of the future. Leveraging Western Digital's in-house SSD controller designs, firmware development and vertical integration, these new solutions underscore the company's strengths in developing innovations that allow customers' data to thrive, from edge to core to cloud.

NVMe is having a great impact on enterprises and what they can do with data, particularly for real-time analytics, M2M and IoT, and emerging technologies like composable infrastructure. Data center customers understand the nature of their data streams and application workloads and are realizing that today's general-purpose architectures are inefficient and can carry resource and cost overhead.

Marvell today released the industry's lowest power PCIe Gen4 NVMe solid-state drive (SSD) controller portfolio. Marvell's newest SSD controllers are designed to meet the need for lower power and higher performance in next-generation data centers and edge devices as artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G gain momentum. This breakthrough technology delivers unparalleled performance in an ultra-compact footprint, leveraging the company's complex system-on-chip (SoC) design expertise and groundbreaking storage IP to help data center, notebook, tablet, gaming and edge computing platform architects advance their solutions for the highly distributed data era.

"Marvell's latest family of storage controllers has been architected to optimally address edge computing and data center pain points of power-performance and capacity-performance," said Nigel Alvares, vice president of marketing for the Flash Business Unit at Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. "With today's launch, we're once again demonstrating Marvell's leadership in storage, delivering the industry's first 4-Channel PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD controllers with the industry's lowest power consumption that will help revolutionize SSD solutions for the data economy."

AMD today addressed multiple issues with its 3rd generation Ryzen processors through a highly-recommended update to its Chipset Driver software. To begin with, it stated that several users noticed anomalous behavior with 3rd generation Ryzen chips where the voltages and clock-speeds would be raised as the processor would misinterpret low-scale performance requests from certain software as a request to unlock higher performance states (combinations of higher clock-speeds and voltages to support them). This first came to light when users reported abnormally high voltages at idle when performance was measured by certain software that caused the Observer Effect. The new version 1.07.29 of AMD Chipset Drivers refine the AMD Ryzen Balanced Windows power scheme to be more aware of low-priority workloads and ensure the right state when the system is idling. AMD recommends Ryzen Master software. Version 2.0.0.1233 (or later), as they have fixes to the hardware monitoring module.

The AMD Chipset Drivers 1.07.29 also includes a "beta" fix for the bug that rendered "Destiny 2" unplayable on machines powered by 3rd generation Ryzen processors. The company had earlier tried to fix this bug through an update to its AGESA processor microcode, through ComboAM4 1.0.0.3ABA, although that particular version, not to be confused with the widely circulated 1.0.0.3AB, was found to be buggy and pulled. AMD said it's working on a newer version of AGESA, version ComboAM4 1.0.0.3ABB, which will include "a more comprehensive solution" to the bug affecting "Destiny 2."

ADATA Technology (Taiwan Stock Exchange: 3260.TWO), a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories today announces the launch of the XPG GAMMIX S50 PCIe Gen 4 x4 M.2 2280 solid state drive (SSD). Utilizing next-generation PCIe Gen 4 x4 and implementing the NVMe 1.3 standard, the S50 delivers blazing-fast read/write performance of 5000 / 4400 MB per second. What's more, it features an aluminium heat sink for excellent heat dissipation, 3D Flash memory with up to 2 TB capacity, SLC caching, a DRAM cache buffer, End-to-End Data Protection, and Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) error correcting code technology.

The S50 supports the NVMe standard and utilizes the latest PCIe Gen 4 x4 interface to let users enjoy sustained read/write speeds of up to 5000 / 4400 MB per second. What's more, with 3D Flash memory it offers a leap forward in capacity, efficiency, and durability. Also with the M.2 2280 specification, it supports the latest Intel and AMD platforms. These capabilities make the S50 ideally suited for gamers, PC enthusiasts, overclockers, and graphics professionals.

TEAMGROUP's numerous products with great features have successfully attracted attention from around the world. In addition, two products with exclusive patents are released today as well, they are T-FORCE CARDEA Liquid water cooling M.2 PCI-e SSD and T-FORCE CAPTAIN RGB Control Box. T-FORCE CARDEA Liquid M.2 PCI-e SSD is the world's first solid state drive that combines water cooling and M.2. This innovative new product uses self-circulation cooling to lower the temperatures effectively. T-FORCE CAPTAIN RGB Control Box has 4 5V ARGB output connectors and one 12 V RGB output connector. Moreover, it supports multiple devices so the style is switchable with any combination when building yourself a PC and a variety of lighting effects can enhance the atmosphere. The two new T-FORCE products released today have exclusive patents. They are both innovative and unique, and TEAMGROUP's strength in research and development is displayed through them.

T-FORCE CARDEA LIQUID is the world's first, water cooling M.2 PCIe solid state drive specially built for gaming and high-performance PC. The crystal -clear outer casing structure, and T-FORCE LOGO's metal trim and the sliding rail design (Taiwan Utility Model Patent No. M574264) are the perfect combination of craftsmanship and style. After TEAMGROUP laboratory's testing and burn-in tests, by using the concept of self-circulation cooling effect, this product is proven it can effectively lower the temperature down 10 degrees. T-FORCE CARDEA LIQUID has PCIe Gen3 x4 high speed interface. The read/write speed is up to 3400/3000 MB/s, and random read/write speed is up to 450K/400K IOPS. In addition to the effective cooling effect which can keep the system stable, its excellent performance is also reliable. This year, it not only won the COMPUTEX d&i award, but it was also praised by everyone during its first appearance at the COMPUTEX 2019.

Greenliant has started sampling its NVMe M.2 ArmourDrive solid state drive (SSD) modules to customers requiring high-performance, high-capacity removable data storage that can withstand extreme environments. The new industrial temperature (-40°C to +85°C) 88 PX Series NVMe M.2 ArmourDrive SSDs use 3-bits-per-cell (TLC) 3D NAND flash memory and are built in the widely used 2242 and 2280 form factors.

88 PX Series NVMe ArmourDrive SSDs provide high performance and low latency for high transactional and business critical applications. NVMe is a highly scalable protocol optimized for efficient data transport over PCIe for storage on NAND flash. Small form factor, power efficient M.2 2242 products support the PCIe Gen3x2 interface and can reach up to 1,550/950 MB/s sequential read/write performance. Offered with hardware encryption and DRAM, M.2 2280 products support the PCIe Gen3x4 interface and can reach up to 3,470/3,000 MB/s sequential read/write performance. These versatile NVMe M.2 ArmourDrive form factors are ideal for space-constrained, embedded and enterprise systems in cloud computing, broadcasting, industrial gaming, factory automation, networking and security.

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices, announces the latest B365 series motherboard supporting the newest 9th and 8th Generation Intel Core Processor in a compact Micro ATX form factor, the BIOSTAR B365MHC. It is perfect for running office tasks to browsing the web and watching videos online.

The Micro ATX form factor allows the motherboard to fit in most PC cases making it perfect for office space saving while being packed with features including supporting up to 32 GB of DDR4 memory at 2666 MHz GbE LAN with Super LAN surge protection for enhanced bandwidth capacity, stability and superior performance. HDMI offers up to a 4K resolution with highly detailed content, while the PCIe M.2 expansion slot offers up to 32 Gb/s and supports for Intel Optane Technology which reduces boot times and improves overall performance. The BIOSTAR B365MHC is designed to offer unanimity with Intel's B365 chipset to give the power and performance needed for office and home multimedia uses.

As the world leading motherboard brand, MSI is proud to announce that our X570 motherboards are available in the market with the launch of AMD Ryzen 3000 series processors. For all types of users such as gamers, overclockers, designers and professionals, MSI X570 motherboards include MEG, MPG, PRESTIGE, and PRO series to meet a great variety of needs.

In particular, all MSI X570 motherboards support the latest Lightning Gen 4 solution, including both PCIe and M.2 slots for up to 64 GB/s bandwidth. Moreover, the MSI exclusive new feature Frozr Heatsink integrates the heatsink and a patented fan with double ball bearings for better durability, combining with Propeller Blade Technology to generate more airflow, lower noise and Zero Frozr Technology to auto-adjust fan speed for chipset temperature, and based on personal preference. MSI X570 motherboards also apply IR digital power design and server grade PCB construction to ensure precise and undistorted power delivery and better signal transfer effectiveness.

ADATA Technology (Taiwan Stock Exchange: 3260.TWO), a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories today announces the launch of the ADATA Ultimate SU650 M.2 2280 SATA Solid State Drive (SSD). Equipped with 3D TLC Flash memory, the SSD offers up to 480 GB of capacity and sports read/write speeds of up to 550/510MB/s. What's more, it also supports intelligent SLC caching and features Low-density parity-check (LDPC) error correcting code technology for enhanced performance and data integrity. Sporting an M.2 2280 form factor the SU650 is ideal for both laptop and desktop PCs and does away with the connection of cumbersome cables during installation.

Implementing 3D NAND Flash, the SU650 features higher storage capacities (120 GB, 240 GB, and 480 GB), improved efficiency, and better reliability. Whether used as storage or a boot drive, it's a great upgrade choice for users, especially those making a change from hard disk drives (HDD) to SDD. In addition, 3D NAND Flash consumes less power, up to 80% less than HDDs, which is ideal for users that often work on laptops for extended periods.

American flash memory products manufacturer Sabrent announced a client-segment M.2 NVMe SSD that takes advantage of PCIe gen 4.0, the Rocket NVMe 4.0 series. Based on the same Phison PS5016-E16 controller as most PCIe gen 4.0 SSDs launched so far, the drive uses 96-layer 3D TLC NAND flash by Toshiba. It also appears to have higher on-paper performance numbers than most drives from other brands that use the same combination of controller and NAND flash, with up to 5,000 MB/s sequential reads, and up to 4,400 MB/s sequential writes, on both its 1 TB and 2 TB variants. The company didn't bother with a sub-terabyte variant. The 1 TB variant is priced at USD $229.99 ($0.23 per GB), and the 2 TB variant at $429.99 ($0.21 per GB).

ASUS today rolled out an entry-level mini-ITX motherboard for the AMD socket AM4 platform, the Prime A320I-K. Based on the AMD A320 chipset, the board supports 1st and 2nd generation Ryzen processors out of the box, including the 8-core models. The tiny A320 chipset is tucked away behind a metal heatspreader underneath the M.2-2280 slot. The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors, conditioning it with a 6-phase VRM that makes do without a heatsink.

Storage connectivity on the A320I-K includes four SATA 6 Gbps ports, and an M.2-2280 slot with PCI-Express 2.0 x4 and SATA 6 Gbps wiring from the SoC. The board's lone expansion slot is a PCI-Express 3.0 x16. USB connectivity includes six USB 3.1 gen 1 ports, four on the rear-panel and two via headers; and four USB 2.0 ports, of which two are via headers. Display connectivity includes one each of DisplayPort and HDMI. Networking is care of a single 1 GbE interface driven by a Realtek RTL8111H controller, and the onboard audio solution is an entry-level Realtek ALC887. We expect the Prime A320I-K to be priced around $60.

It looks like SSD manufacturers such as Corsair will price some of the first M.2 PCIe gen 4.0 NVMe SSDs at a premium compared to existing drives that use PCIe gen 3.0. The company on the sidelines of Computex launched its MP600 series of high-end M.2 SSDs that take advantage of PCI-Express 4.0 x4 bus (64 Gbps) on the upcoming AMD "Valhalla" desktop platform, with up to 4950 MB/s of sequential read speeds. Ahead of their market availability alongside AMD Ryzen 3000 "Matisse" processors and AMD X570 chipset motherboards on July 7th, Cowcotland scored prices of the 1 TB and 2 TB models in Europe.

According to the French publication, the 1 TB variant of MP600 is priced at 249€ (0.24€ per GB), and the 2 TB variant at 449€ (0.22€ per GB), including VAT. To put these prices into perspective, the 960 GB variant of Corsair's current flagship SSD, the MP510, is priced at 160€, and its 1920 GB variant at 320€. Stateside, the Intel 660p 1 TB PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 NVMe drive is priced at $99.99 on Newegg, although it isn't generally counted as a premium SSD. Its 2 TB variant is priced at $192 on the same site. Nearly all client-segment PCIe gen 4.0 SSDs launched so far are built around the new Phison PS5016-E16 controller.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today announced the new NVMe architecture and PCIe 4.0 interface based M.2 SSD. The new SSD comes in 3 different capacity sizes, uses a full body copper heatsink to bolster heat dissipation during operation, and delivers sequential read/write speeds at 5000/4400 MB/s. GIGABYTE Ultra Durable certified, the new SSD has undergone rigorous stress tests to ensure that the SSD performs at an elite level users expect from an AORUS product.

AORUS NVMe Gen4 SSD uses an all new PCIe 4.0 controller with Toshiba Bisc4 Nand Flash memory particles, providing up to a 40% performance boost over PCIe 3.0 which translates to 5000 MB/s sequential read speeds. Whether reading data or booting up games, the SSD boasts data transfer rates at unprecedented speeds. The new series offers 3 capacity options at 500 GB, 1 TB, 2TB, comes in 2280 module sizing, and supports the PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 interface. Whereas SATA SSDs use data and power cables, the M.2 SSDs are easier to configure with its cable free design which also improves airflow in the chassis, increasing overall heat mitigation.

Last Friday, we reported ASMedia working on new-generation socket AM4 motherboard chipsets that succeed the AMD B450 and A320, which could hopefully offer significantly cheaper alternatives to boards based on the feature-rich AMD X570 chipset. The DigiTimes story we cited was updated to clarify that the chipset only supports PCI-Express gen 3.0, and not the newer PCI-Express gen 4.0. There are two distinct ways of interpreting this information.

One, that motherboards based on B550 and A520 completely lack PCIe gen 4.0, including the main PCI-Express x16 (PEG) slot and the M.2 slot wired to the AM4 SoC; and two, that only the downstream PCIe lanes and the chipset bus are PCIe gen 3.0, while the main PEG slot and M.2 slot from the SoC remain gen 4. We lean toward the latter interpretation being more plausible, that AMD B550 and A520 motherboards will at least feature one PCI-Express 4.0 x16 slot, and one M.2 slot that has PCI-Express 4.0 x4 wiring from the AM4 SoC; while the ASMedia chipset is connected to the SoC over PCI-Express 3.0 x4, and downstream PCIe lanes put out by the chipset are gen 3.0, too. These ASMedia-sourced AMD 500-series chipset motherboards could also implement the latest PCB, CPU VRM, and memory wiring specifications released by AMD that enable CPU and memory overclocking levels unattainable on motherboards based on older chipsets.

Experience the sensation of evolution in bloodbath battle! The latest masterpiece in Apacer Gaming series, Apacer AS2280P2 PRO M.2 PCIe "PANTHER" SSD; equipped with "battle armor". When the battle is fierce, the "battle armor" will evolve from orange to a dazzling golden color when temperature rises, cheering on gamers even more! The sequential read/write speed of Apacer AS2280P2 PRO can reach up to 1,580/950 MB/s, and the random write performance can even reach up to 92,160 IOPs, bringing the best gaming experiences for gamers with their best performances.

Gamers may have had the experience of almost being defeated during a battle, but then their characters suddenly leveled up and their HP/MP were instantly filled, the battle situation was reversed all of sudden! Apacer is dedicated to creating unique gaming experiences for gamers, AS2280P2 PRO SSD is equipped with a creative "battle armor" that changes color with temperature, reproducing the exciting sensation when leveling up during death battles. The "battle armor" displays a passionate orange color under room temperature, but when it heats up during battles, it will evolve into a dazzling golden armor, accompanying players to enjoy killing enemies on the battlefield.

ADATA Technology (Taiwan Stock Exchange: 3260.TWO), a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories announces that it has upgraded the endurance rating of its industrial-grade 3D TLC solid state drives (SSD) to 3K P/E cycles, bringing their endurance, reliability, and stability up to par with 2D MLC SSDs. Combined with their ability to operate in a wide range of temperatures (-40° C to 85° C), they are excellent solutions that provide the durability and consistency required by applications such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), Intelligent Transportation Systems, surveillance systems, data centers, network operations, defense systems, and energy exploration.

The continual improvements in NAND Flash design and manufacturing, as well as the ever-changing demands of the market, have driven 3D NAND to become a popular memory solution across many industries. Despite its growing prominence, 3D NAND has had two major deficiencies, namely the ability to operate in extreme temperatures and achieve higher endurance ratings. To fill this gap, ADATA has upgraded its industrial-grade 3D TLC SSDs to an endurance rating of 3K P/E cycles, which makes them comparable to 2D MLC SSDs. At the same, ADATA 3D TLC SSDs are also designed to operate in a wide temperature range (-40° C to 85° C), delivering a memory solution that is long-lasting, robust, and reliable.

AMD X570 is the company's first in-house design desktop motherboard chipset for the AM4 platform. The company sourced earlier generations of chipset from ASMedia. A chipset in context of the AM4 platform only serves to expand I/O connectivity, since an AM4 processor is a full-fledged SoC, with an integrated southbridge that puts out SATA and USB ports directly from the CPU socket, in addition to LPCIO (ISA), HD audio bus, and SPI to interface with the firmware ROM chip. The X470 "Promontory Low Power" chipset runs really cool, with a maximum TDP of 5 Watts, and the ability to lower power to get its TDP down to 3W. The X570, on the other hand, has a TDP of "at least 15 Watts." A majority of the X570 motherboards we've seen at Computex 2019 had active fan-heatsinks over the chipset. We may now have a possible explanation for this - there are just too many things on the chipset.

According to AMD, the X570 chipset by itself can be made to put out a staggering twelve SATA 6 Gbps ports (not counting the two ports put out by the AM4 SoC). A possible rationale behind this may have been to enable motherboard designers to equip every M.2 slot on the motherboard with SATA wiring in addition to PCIe, without needing switches that reroute SATA connection from one of the physical ports. It's also possible that AMD encouraged motherboard designers to not wire out SATA ports from the AM4 SoC as physical ports to save costs on switches, and dedicate one of them to the M.2 slot wired to the SoC. With the two SATA ports from the SoC out of the equation, and every other M.2 slot getting a direct SATA connection from the chipset, motherboard designers can wire out the remaining SATA ports as physical ports, without spending money on switches, or worrying about customer complaints on one of their drives not working due to automatic switching. This is an extreme solution to a rather simple problem.

ASUS today rolled out the latest in its series of M.2 NVMe RAID add-on cards, the Hyper M.2 x16 Card V2. A successor to a similar card ASUS released back in 2017, this one comes with improved electrical components, so each of its four slots is guaranteed to put out 14 Watts of power. The card splits a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 link to four M.2-22110 slots, each with PCI-Express 3.0 x4 wiring. There's no PCIe switch logic involved, so your motherboard is required to support PCIe lane segmentation (most HEDT motherboards since 2016 do). The card supports Intel VROC (virtual RAID on CPU), and is tested to work on AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors. ASUS didn't change the thermal solution. You still get a chunky aluminium shroud covering the whole card, and lateral-flow fan pushing air across the drives, which can be turned off. The company didn't reveal pricing.