ADATA showed off a pair of mainstream M.2 PCI-Express SSDs, which could form the gateway to M.2 drives for those wanting a little more than SATA drives, and a price slightly above the fastest SATA solutions. The lineup consists of the XPG SX6000 and the XPG SX7000. The XPG SX6000 is based on a Realtek RTS5760 DRAM-less controller, mated to 3D TLC NAND flash. Available in capacities of 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB, the drive serves up sequential speeds of up to 850 MB/s reads, with up to 850 MB/s writes, which is still higher than the fastest SATA drives, and its 570-ish MB/s rated speed. Add to this, the drive supports the NVMe protocol, and takes advantage of its huge command-queue depth.

The XPG SX7000 is positioned above the SX6000, and features Silicon Motion SMI2262G controller with a DRAM cache, mated with 3D TLC NAND flash. Available in the same capacities as the SX6000, the drive serves up over double its read performance, with up to 1,800 MB/s reads, yet the same 850 MB/s writes. ADATA had a live CDM session in its booth, and visitors could ask them to run the benchmark live, as you could see the drives in an open-air bench.

MSI showed off three of its premium-segment socket LGA2066 motherboards, the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon, X299 Gaming M7, X299 SLI Plus, and X299 Tomahawk. All four boards are based on a common PCB, with subtle variations to the designs of the PCH/VRM heatsinks, I/O shroud, and PCB paintjobs, besides some included accessories. Kudos to MSI engineers for minimizing R&D costs, let's just hope that these boards are priced within 10 percent of each other.

The board draws power from 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, and 4-pin ATX (on some of the higher-end models). A 9-phase VRM conditions power for the CPU. Eight DDR4 DIMM slots, and four PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots are wired to the CPU. Three 32 Gb/s M.2 and one 32 Gb/s U.2 are common across all boards. Also common here is the Audio Boost IV onboard audio solution, with a 120 dBA SNR CODEC, audio-grade capacitors, and OPAMP. Some of the models feature just the one GbE interface driven by i219-V controller, some feature two; and some of the higher-end models such as the Gaming M7 and Gaming Pro Carbon even feature Killer 802.11ac+BT4.1 WLAN cards. The higher-end boards also feature a bigger spread of RGB LEDs. Pricing-wise, one can expect the X299 SLI Plus to be the cheapest, followed by the X299 Tomahawk, X299 Gaming Pro Carbon, and the X299 Gaming M7. We wonder why.

Here's the first picture of MSI's flagship socket LGA2066 motherboard, the MSI X299 XPower Gaming AC. It features a polarizing silvery/white design, which you'll either love or hate. Built in the ATX form-factor (well, midway between ATX and E-ATX), the board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, 4-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, and an optional 4-pin Molex. A 14-phase VRM conditions it for the CPU, which is wired to eight DDR4 DIMM slots, and four PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x16/NC/x16/NC or x16/NC/x8/x8 or x8/x8/x8/x8).

Can you imagine five M.2 SSDs in your rig? MSI can, and besides three 32 Gb/s M.2 slots on the board (two 110 mm and one 80 mm), an included PCIe 3.0 x8 riser card gives you two additional 110 mm 32 Gb/s slots. Other storage options include a 32 Gb/s U.2 port, and ten SATA 6 Gb/s. The board supports NVMe RAID and Optane. Networking is care of two Intel i219-V driven GbE interfaces, and an Intel-driven 802.11ac WLAN with Bluetooth 4.1 connection. MSI Mystic Light RGB software marshals not just a splattering of RGB LEDs all over the board, but also an "art in motion" LED ornament on the PCH heatsink.

Toshiba today unveiled the XG 5 series performance-segment SSDs in the M.2-2280 form-factor. These drives take advantage of the PCI-Express 3.0 x4 interface, and the NVMe 1.2 protocol. At the heart of these drives is Toshiba's 64-layer BiCS Flash (3D TLC NAND flash) memory. Available in capacities of 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB, the drive offers sequential transfer speeds of up to 3,000 MB/s reads, with up to 2,100 MB/s writes. The drive features an SLC-cache feature, in which the drive treats a small portion of the TLC NAND flash as SLC NAND, by storing just 1 bit per cell, hot data is juggled in and out of this portion. The drives will go on sale in the first week of June.

ASRock showed off its premium gaming-grade X299 Fatal1ty Professional Gaming i9 and X299 Killer SLI/ac motherboards. The two boards are based on a common PCB, but differ with the former featuring 10 GbE network connectivity and Creative Sound Blaster Cinema audio DSP, while the latter lacks them. If you want the feature-set of the X299 Killer SLI/ac but the white+black color scheme isn't rubbing of on you, ASRock has you covered with the X299 Fatal1ty Gaming K6. Drawing power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors, the boards employ a 14-phase VRM to condition power to the CPU, which is wired to eight DDR4 DIMM slots, and four PCI-Express 3.0 x16.

Storage connectivity on the boards includes three 32 Gb/s M.2 slots, and six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Both boards further feature two USB 3.1 ports (of which one is type-C), about 8 USB 3.0 ports, and network connectivity that includes 802.11ac WLAN, Bluetooth 4.1, and at least one gigabit Ethernet connection driven by an Intel i219-V controller. The Fatal1ty Gaming i9 tops this with Aquantia AQC107 controller-driven 10 GbE. The two feature Aura Sync RGB headers.

ASUS returned to its extremely durable TUF (The Ultimate Force) line of motherboards with the TUF X299 Mark 2. You'll notice that it dropped the "Sabertooth" moniker. This LGA2066 motherboard covers all the feature-set checkboxes of a premium motherboard plus the military-grade durability people have come to expect of the TUF series. It draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, 4-pin ATX, and 8-pin EPS power connectors, conditioning it using an 8-phase VRM.

The TUF X299 Mark 2 features eight DDR4 DIMM slots, three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x16/x16/NC or x16/x8/x8), an open-ended x4, and two x1 slots completing the expansion area. Storage features include two 32 Gb/s M.2 slots (of which one is perpendicular), and six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. USB connectivity includes two USB 3.1 ports (one each type-A and type-C), and eight USB 3.0. 8-channel HD audio driven by a Realtek ALC1220A CODEC, and a single gigabit Ethernet connection, powered by Intel i219-V make for the rest of it.

Professional overclocker Nick Shih has led ASRock design teams through some of the most well laid-out motherboards for enthusiasts. His latest creation is the ASRock X299 OC Formula. This board gets down to the brass-tacks of overclocking-grade motherboards with a simple layout that's stripped of everything unnecessary. It draws power from a 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, a 6-pin PCIe, and 4-pin ATX. The CPU is powered by a 14-phase VRM, and wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots, and five PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots. A PCIe 3.0 x4 makes for the rest of the expansion. Overclocking features include ultra fine-grained voltage control using onboard controls, and an OC Formula kit. Storage connectivity includes two 32 Gb/s M.2-22110, and eight SATA 6 Gb/s. 802.11ac WLAN, and gigabit Ethernet, besides ASRock's top of the line onboard audio make for the rest of it.

GIGABYTE updated the BRIX UHD SFF desktop it showed off in 2016, with the new BRIX VR BNi7G6-1060, a desktop with actual gaming credentials, targeted at VR gaming. The BNi7G6-1060 is based on the same cuboidal chassis as the BRIX UHD, with updated hardware - 7th gen Core "Kaby Lake" mobile processors, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 graphics (not sure if 3 GB or 6 GB), two DDR4 SO-DIMM slots, two 32 Gb/s M.2-2280 slots, 802.11ac WLAN, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI 2.0 display output, and USB 3.1 type-C ports.

Kingston introduced the SSDNow KC1000 line of PCI-Express SSDs in the M.2-2280 form-factor. The drives feature PCI-Express 3.0 x4 interfaces, and take advantage of the NVMe protocol. They combine MLC NAND flash memory with Phison PS5007-E7 controller, and come in capacities of 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB.

All three variants read at speeds of up to 2,700 MB/s; the 480 GB and 960 GB variants write at speeds of up to 1,600 MB/s, while the 240 GB up to 900 MB/s. 4K random read performance is rated at 290,000 IOPS for the 480 GB and 960 GB variants; and 225,000 IOPS for the 240 GB variant. 4K random writes, on the other hand, are chalked at up to 190,000 IOPS for all variants. Kingston is selling the KC1000 are both standalone M.2 drives, and in combination with a PCIe x4 to M.2 adapter add-on card. The drives are backed by 5-year warranties.

MSI, the leading gaming motherboard brand, is proud to announce the all-new Z270 GOLDIKE GAMING motherboard. As the pinnacle of GAMING in terms of design, performance and features, the new Z270 GODLIKE GAMING raises the bar once again for motherboard development. With plenty of world's first and exclusive technologies such as Killer xTend and the new ASMedia 3142 USB 3.1 Gen2 controller, the new Z270 GODLIKE GAMING motherboard closely follows the GODLIKE standard.

With our continuous strive to push the gaming industry forward, we are excited to once again work close with Rivet to be world's first motherboard brand to launch Killer xTend on our new Z270 GODLIKE GAMING. With GODLIKE at the heart of a gaming rig, it allows it to act as a Killer fueled router to pass on and strengthen the internet signals, with lower latency, offering the best online experience when gaming on LAN or WIFI. Like GODLIKE GAMING, Killer's new technology is packed with new cutting-edge technologies, such as their exclusive gaming bandwidth management. The MSI and Killer gaming experience has now been expanded throughout the complete household.

ASUS today introduced the Republic of Gamers (ROG) STRIX X370-F Gaming motherboard, positioned below its flagship ROG Crosshair VI Hero, but above its Prime X370-Pro upper mid-range motherboard. Based on the AMD X370 chipset, and ready for socket AM4 Ryzen processors, the board is characterized by its RGB LED lighting chops. The VRM and chipset heatsinks feature RGB LEDs with diffusers, the board is peppered with status LEDs, and features RGB LED headers. The included ASUS Aura Sync RGB lets you orchestrate your LED setup.

Built in the ATX form-factor, the STRIX X370-F Gaming draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors. A 10-phase VRM conditions power for the AM4 SoC, which is wired to four reinforced DDR4 DIMM slots, supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR4 memory; and two reinforced PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (electrical x8/x8 with both populated), with NVIDIA SLI support. The third x16 slot is electrical x4 and wired to the chipset. Three other x1 slots make for the rest of the expansion.

ASUS has further increased its Intel 200-series chipset-based motherboards with the addition of two Mini-ITX motherboards. The H270I and B250I join the ROG staple of motherboards from ASUS, which means these come packed with features and are being marketed for gamers. Though the features are looking a bit thin, which was to be somewhat expected given the lack of PCB real-estate to house them.

These two motherboards do not support any kind of OC, and memory speeds are thus limited to the stock Intel 2400 MHz (and further limited to two sticks of memory up to a 32 GB total.) Furthermore, there is a single PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, a gaping absence of PCI ports, but a saving grace of two M.2 ports in each motherboard. Which are, yes, very hard to see: one of them fits in the front of the PCB, under the double-decker heatsink design over the PCH that allows an M.2 drive to be stacked on top of it, which means the PCH and the M.2 drive are cooled by the top of the heatsink. The other, which we can't see in the pictures, is located on the back of the motherboard. Both M.2 connectors can handle full-speed PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe SSDs, as well as Intel Optane Memory, but only one of them supports SATA-based M.2 solid state drives.

Update: Apparently, there was a miscommunication between Gigabyte and user Treebsquire's Aero 15 seller, Scan. The nature of this miscommunication - and how this would lead to a report on battery issues - is still up in the air, but it would seem that Gigabyte isn't recalling their Aero 15 laptops after all, so rest easy if you have one of these.

Gigabyte has recently launched the Aero 15, a gaming laptop which really does bring some value to the wording "Aero" through some interesting aesthetics and an amazing thickness (1.9 cm) for the hardware under the hood: packed inside the AERO 15 is the latest 7th gen Intel Core i7-7700HQ, NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1060 GDDR5 6GB graphics, DDR4 ram, as well as a PCIe M.2 SSD (through different configurations.)

It's apparently a good product, having received some respectable reviews, and its 94Wh battery was being touted as a distinguishing feature, as being up to 2x larger than average battery sizes for laptops, which was able to power the laptop through 10 hours of Mobilemark's 2014 Productivity Mode. However, it would seem that this battery is capable of bringing problems to the user, and potentially put their safety at risk. Just one week after release, Gigabyte is recalling their Aero 15 laptops. A user on Reddit brought the issue to the community, saying that a Gigabyte rep he contacted informed him the Aero 15's have a battery fault.

M.2 thermal guards, heat spreaders, and heat sinks are all the rage nowadays, with some companies releasing standalone solutions - like Aqua Computers and SilverStone. Other manufacturers opt for bundling built-in solutions with their motherboards, like MSI's M.2 Shield. The efficacy of these solutions is sometimes put into question - we all remember the reports of MSI's solution being snake-oil that doesn't really contribute to better heat dissipation.

However, a feature is a feature is a feature, and motherboard makers don't look well towards other manufacturers offering something they don't. As such, Gigabyte is now teasing its own AORUS-branded M.2 Thermal Guard, through the company's Twitter. The finned design should allow the Thermal Guard to better partake on your system's airflow. What seems interesting is how close this M.2 slot is located to the motherboard's bottom, close to USB headers. The fact that this motherboard also includes what seems to be a debug port places this as probably a top-of-the-line offering. It would make sense for Gigabyte to debut another piece of tech on their top-end motherboards rather than on a middling or budget offering, so, we should be looking at an incoming announcement for a new AORUS-branded mobo.

Transcend Memory announced four client SSD product lines based on 3D NAND flash memory. The lineup begins with the new MTS810 and MTS420 lines of mainstream SSDs built in the M.2-2280 and M.2-2242 form-factors, respectively, which take advantage of the SATA 6 Gb/s interface. The MTS810 succeeds the MTS800 series the company launched in 2016. It is based on a newer TLC NAND flash memory, and a more compact SSD controller made by Silicon Motion. The drive puts out up to 560 MB/s of sequential transfer rates. The MTS420 is its miniaturized version in the M.2-2242 form-factor. Both drives will be available only in 128 GB capacities.

Next up, is the SSD230 series. The company already announced this drive back in November 2016. Built in the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch form-factor, it comes in 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB capacities, and offers sequential transfer rates of up to 560 MB/s reads, with up to 520 MB/s writes. Lastly, Transcend unveiled its latest high-performance M.2-2280 SSD, which takes advantage of the PCI-Express 3.0 x4 interface with NVMe 1.2 protocol, the MTE850 series. Available in 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB capacities, the drive belts out sequential transfer rates of up to 2,500 MB/s reads, with up to 1,100 MB/s writes. It features 3D MLC NAND flash memory.

MSI today introduced its entry-level gaming-grade socket AM4 motherboard, the A320M Gaming Pro. This board is based on the same exact PCB as the A320M Grenade, but tops it up with slightly more premium black capacitors, a pitch-black PCB (compared to brown on the A320M Grenade) and MSI's signature dragon red color scheme for some of the slots and connectors. The board could be priced slightly above the A320M Grenade. The feature-set of the two boards, however, appears to be identical.

Built in the narrow micro-ATX form-factor, the A320M Gaming Pro draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, and conditions it for the SoC using a 6-phase VRM. Expansion slots include one reinforce PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot, and two PCIe gen 2.0 x1. Storage connectivity includes four SATA 6 Gb/s ports, and one 32 Gb/s M.2 slot. USB connectivity includes six 5 Gb/s USB 3.0 ports. 6-channel HD audio (Realtek ALC887 controller) and gigabit Ethernet (Realtek RTL8111H controller) make for the rest of it. The board features red LED illumination and RGB LED headers, which can be controlled using the Mystic Light app. Expect a sub-$80 price.

In what could be the first of many such bundles by motherboard manufacturers, MSI is preparing special SKUs of its motherboards that include Intel Optane cache SSDs. The drives won't be free, but the bundle would be slightly cheaper compared to buying the board and the drives separately. These bundles will be demarkated as variants of existing motherboards, and will come with the drives pre-installed on the boards' M.2 slots. MSI announced two such SKUs for now, the B250M Bazooka Opt Boost, and the Z270 Tomahawk Opt Boost, which come with 16 GB Intel Optane memory pre-installed and configured.

The 16 GB Intel Optane memory offers burst speeds that are 14X those of regular hard drives. The latest Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver, when configured for Optane caching, juggles "hot" data (most frequently accessed data) in and out of the drive from your main storage (HDD or even SSD), thereby boosting performance. MSI did not reveal pricing of the two SKUs, but they are expected to be nominally cheaper than purchasing the boards and drives separately.

In case Intel's DC P4800X SSD (you know, the Optane-based SSD that sells for $1,520 for 375 GB) is too expensive for your wallet, Intel has now announced availability of the much more cost-effective Optane Memory accelerator, which is available in 16GB or 32GB single-sided M.2 2280 form factor drives. Just keep in mind that while you can order yours today, it's not meant to ship out until April 29th - but that's not too far off in any case.

If you're thinking of integrating one of these babies on your system (which actually do wonders for mechanical drives' performance, it seems, putting out 1.4GB/s data transfer speeds, as well as a 204MB/s low 4K read performance), just keep in mind compatibility is... iffy, as in, limited to the latest and greatest platform Intel has to offer. If you're not rocking something better than a Kaby Lake i3, and a 200 series chipset, you're out of luck. This seems like a strange occurrence, given that users with older, mechanical drive-based systems were looking to reap the greatest benefits from installing one of these puppies into their system, but this choice from Intel looks to stand more on platform support and the requirements of having such a technology in place than a way of artificially limiting compatibility. The 16GB model MEMPEK1W016GAXT starts at $45, and the 32GB model is expected to go for around $77.

MSI, a world leader in gaming hardware, continues to innovate its critically-acclaimed gaming laptops with the announcement of the new GP62X GP72X Leopard series. MSI continues to redefine gaming performance in a portable gaming laptop with a 120Hz 5ms screen, a NVMe M.2 solid state drive that breaks the current bandwidth limitation, and updated SteelSeries RGB keyboard with Silver Lining print.

Screen tearing and jitters are a thing of the past with the all new full HD 120 Hz panel with 5ms response time. The ultra-fast refresh rate lets you react instantly to your game, giving you a true MSI gaming experience. The GP62X and GP72X Leopard series gaming laptops use a NVMe solid state drive so gamers can experience full performance potential of the latest SSD technology with extreme read speeds up to 2,200MB/s. The line includes an Intel 7th Generation KabyLake processor, one stick of 16GB DDR4 RAM (upgradeable to 32GB) and up to a GeForce GTX1060 graphics card.

Synology Inc. launched DiskStation DS1517+ and DS1817+ together with the Expansion Unit DX517 today. These powerful and scalable 5-bay and 8-bay tower servers offer a high-performance, reliable, and versatile network-attached storage solution for tech enthusiasts and small/medium-sized businesses. The exciting new feature in DS1517+ and DS1817+ is the inclusion of a PCIe slot, which allows users to install an optional 10GbE network interface card or Synology's new M2D17 M.2 SATA SSD adapter. In addition, DS1517+ and DS1817+ both come in 2GB and 8GB memory configurations, which can be upgraded to 16GB thanks to the easily accessible memory compartment.

Installing an additional network interface card allows enthusiasts and businesses to take advantage of up to two 10GbE ports to boost maximum throughput. When combined with the Intel Atom quad-core 2.4GHz processor and equipped with optional dual channel memory, DS1517+ and DS1817+ can deliver sequential throughput performance up to 1,179 MB/s reading and 542 MB/s writing speeds. With the introduction of Synology's new M2D17 PCIe adapter card, DS1517+ and DS1817+ can be equipped with dual M.2 SATA SSDs, allowing users to enhance performance and latency using SSD caching without occupying the front drive bays.

MSI, world leading in motherboard design, launches five new ATX GAMING motherboards based on the AMD AM4 X370 and B350 chipset. These new GAMING models are positioned in the Performance GAMING segment, a series all about Gaming In style. Its new flagship is the X370 GAMING PRO CARBON AC with Mystic Light RGB, to fully customize its looks, but now also available with Intel WIFI AC. The new X370 and B350 GAMING motherboards all support the upcoming AMD RYZEN Series processors and 7th Gen A-series / Athlon Processors and are ready to fully utilize performance on AM4 with the exclusive MSI A-XMP feature, maximizing DDR4 speed & stability.

MSI today introduced the B350 Gaming Plus, a gaming-grade socket AM4 motherboard based on the mid-range AMD B350 chipset. Built in the ATX form-factor, the board is based on the same PCB as the B350 Tomahawk, and draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, and conditions it for the AM4 SoC with a 6-phase VRM. The AM4 socket is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots, supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR4 memory; and one PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot, with a metal reinforcement brace. The second x16 slot is electrical x4, and wired to the B350 chipset. Two each of PCIe x1 and legacy PCI make for the rest of the expansion area.

Storage connectivity on the MSI B350 Gaming Plus includes four SATA 6 Gb/s ports, and one 32 Gb/s M.2 slot with NVMe booting support. USB connectivity includes eight USB 3.0 ports (six on the rear panel including a type-C port, and two via headers). Display outputs include one each of DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI. The onboard audio solution combines a Realtek ALC892 8-channel HD audio CODEC with ground layer isolation, and audio-grade capacitors. Gigabit Ethernet is handled by a Realtek RTL8111H controller. We expect the board to be priced around the $120 mark.

With Intel launching its new Optane memory technology boosting HDD and SSD performance, MSI introduces a new feature to support its speed enhancing capabilities to the maximum. Optane Genie is an easy and smart installation tool found in the latest BIOS, which enables the use of Optane memory with just 1-click, while normally users would have to go through several challenging steps to successfully configure and enable Optane memory boosting. Just click Optane Genie and follow the instructions to finish the easy setup, making Optane easy to use for anyone. All MSI 200 series motherboards already support Intel Optane Memory but we strongly recommend updating to the latest version for the best performance regarding Optane and inclusion of the new and exclusive MSI Optane Genie feature.

Almost one year ago Aqua Computer launched the kryoM.2 for the first time: an adapter card with passive heat sink for M.2 SSDs. The popularity of M.2 SSDs continues to grow and the thermal problems of these small ultrafast drives will continue too. Aqua Computer has put a lot of development energy into an improved version: the kryoM.2 evo.

The kryoM.2 evo is a high-quality PCIe card that is capable of maximizing the performance of M.2 SSDs. To achieve this, Aqua Computer drastically increased the size of the main heat sink. A second smaller heat sink has been integrated to the backside of the board. This patent-protected system encloses the SSD between these two heat sinks and also cools it from both sides.

Aqua Computers kryoM.2 micro is a passive heatsink for M.2 SSDs which is simply clipped onto the SSD with the enclosed stainless steel clips. Before this, the enclosed thermal pad for the front and an isolation sticker for the back must be applied. The cooling performance is sufficient for many applications and due to the compact dimensions, the SSD with kryoM.2 micro fits almost all M.2 slots on mainboards.

During assembly, the SSD is not subjected to mechanical stress. The clips are slid on from the sides and then clamped onto the edge of the heat sink. The clamp does not touch the edge of the SSD board while doing this.