Apacer knows it best when it comes to speed and uncompromised gaming performance. Z280, the latest answer to advanced SSDs, supports PCIe Gen 3 x4 and is compliant with NVMe 1.2 in a M.2 form factor. The blazing speed will boost the game status without getting too costly. With sustained read/write performance at 2750MB/s and 1500MB/s, the compact M.2-2280 keeps everything efficient at a massive capacity of 480GB. Want to be one step ahead of others? Look no further than Z280, the high-performing SSD that is compatible with mini PCs and laptops.

Rapidity & Jumbo Storage
Built with upscale SSD technologies that Apacer is synonymous for and excellent quality MLC, the cutting-edge Z280 is compliant with NVMe 1.2 standard and features the latest PCIe Gen 3 x4 interface to provide up to 4 times of bandwidth. The expert team at Apacer raised the bar of the industry by creating a blistering transmission at 2750/MB & 1500MB per second. Offering a massive memory capacity of 480GB, Z280 has a random write of 175,000 IOPs to ensure all actions in each gaming scene is smoothly processed, fluid and sharp, efficiently boosting a gamer's status.

In addition to the StoreJet 600 for Mac, Transcend introduced a two new M.2 PCIe SSD models, beginning with the MTE820 designed for PCs, and the JetDrive 820 for Macs. The MTE820 is based on the same controller as the MTE850 the company launched in May, but features 3D TLC NAND flash memory instead of 3D MLC NAND. At the heart of this drive is the Silicon Motion SM2260 controller. Built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, the drive takes advantage of 32 Gb/s M.2 (PCI-Express 3.0 x4 wiring), and the NVMe 1.2 protocol. It offers sequential transfer speeds of up to 1,760 MB/s reads, with up to 860 MB/s writes. The drive is available in 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB capacities.

Next up, is the JetDrive 820. Designed for Macs after late-2013, the drive features a proprietary PCI-Express 3.0 x2 interface for Macs, and comes in capacities of 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB. It's based on the same combination of controller and memory as the MTE820 - SMI2260 with 3D TLC NAND flash, and on account of its host interface, offers sequential transfer speeds of up to 950 MB/s reads, with up to 950 MB/s writes, on Macs with PCIe 3.0 NGFF slots. On older Macs with gen 2.0 slots, it offers up to 700 MB/s reads, with up to 650 MB/s writes.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of highperformance DRAM modules and NAND Flash products,today launched industrial-grade ISDD336 SD cards and IUDD336 microSD cards. Diversifying ADATA offerings for industrial storage, all models feature wide temperature tolerance as well as shock, vibration, and humidity resistance well beyond consumer product ratings. ISDD336 and IUDD336 cards utilize durable and long-lasting 3D MLC NAND Flash, and are fully compliant with SD 3.0/SPI specifications, making them reliable choices for embedded systems. Performance across the board reaches 95MB/s read and 90MB/s write. Customers can choose ISDD336 SD cards in 16GB to 256GB capacities, and IUDD336 microSD cards in 16GB to 128GB capacities.

ADATA continues to increase its focus on industrial-grade products, with more offerings for users. As the SD standard has clear advantages for industrial customers thanks to its compact form factor, durability, and low power requirements, ADATA strives to provide more choice in the SD space. Thus, ISDD336 cards arrive in SD form factor while IUDD336 cards deliver the same quality and performance in microSD.

Phison isn't just a budget controller brand, as you well know, so in addition to their interesting, 2-channel NVMe NAND controller in the Phison E8, which should see products hitting retail in the following months, the company is also catering to the high performance crowds with the impressive E12 and S12 controllers. The E12 is definitely the star of Phison's new controller line-up - just look at those ratings of 3200 MB/s sequential read, 3000 MB/s sequential write, and 600K random read and random write IOPS. Naturally, those rated speeds should be taken with a measure of salt, as NAND type, its implementation and firmware tweaks all matter tremendously in extracting the best possible performance from high speed storage.

Contrary to the E8 budget Phison controller, the E12 will feature a full NVMe PCIe x4 interface, which allows for those speed ratings. The S12, on the other hand, is a more common SATA III controller, which means that its speeds of 550 MB/s sequential read and 530 MB/s sequential write are already hitting the interface's limits. Other than the interface and the rated speeds and IOPS, though, the specs are the same on these controllers: support for 3D NAND on MLC/TLC/QLC arrangements, 8-channel, LDPC, SmartECC, and End-to-End DPP support.

Crucial, a leading global brand of memory and storage upgrades, today announced the availability of a new offering in its solid state drive product portfolio: BX300. It combines Micron 3D NAND with a value-conscious design to deliver the features DIY upgraders and builders are looking for. The new SSD includes 3D MLC NAND in a 2.5-inch form factor drive, and is available in 120GB, 240GB, and 480GB capacities.

Upgrading from a traditional hard drive to a solid state drive has never been easier. The Crucial Advisor tool helps users determine a compatible upgrade based on their system's manufacturer, make, and model. Supporting the BX300 is Crucial's mobile-friendly install guide so users of all technical ability levels are armed with the straightforward, step-by-step information they need to successfully install an SSD. Data migration is also simplified with free access to Acronis True Image HD software.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash products,today launched the industrial-grade ICFS314 CFast storage card. Designed for demanding applications and harsh or high traffic environments, the ICFS314 uses 3D MLC NAND to increase durability and longevity. As a CFast 2.0 product, it delivers data in the SATA III (6Gbps) protocol, capable of 550MB/s read and 520MB/s write (more than twice CFast 1.0 speeds). The ICFS314 consumes just over 2W, making it exceedingly power efficient, and is available in a wide range of capacities from 32GB to 512GB.

The shift to more efficient, higher density, and longer lasting 3D NAND is well under way in SSDs. Enterprise and industrial users now also have the option of benefitting from 3D NAND advantages on CompactFlash/CFast products, such as the ICFS314. Stacked or layered NAND improves on its planar predecessor in every way, from speed to lifespan. The ICFS314 arrives in up to 512GB of meticulously-sorted 3D MLC NAND.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of highperformance DRAM modules and NAND Flash products,today launched the industrial-grade IM2S3338 M.2 2280 and IM2S3334 M.2 2242 SATA 6Gbps solid state drives. Both utilize the compact M.2 form factor for an easy fit in various installations and transfer data at up to 560MB/s read and 525MB/s write. They use durable and long-lasting 3D NAND, MLC/TLC for the IM2S3334 and TLC on the IM2S3338. The two drives are carefully tested for survivability in extreme temperatures and humidity as well as resistance to shocks and vibration. ADATA integrates LDPC error correction to promote data integrity plus DRAM and SLC caching to help sustain peak performance on both model ranges.

ADATA continues to place an emphasis on serving industrial and commercial applications such as manufacturing, surveillance, retail, transportation, and medical care. The IM2S3338 and IM2S3334 provide additional options, this time in the M.2 form factor. The IM2S3338 uses 3D TLC in capacities from 128GB to 1TB. It delivers 560MB/s read and 520MB/s write. The IM2S3334 carries highly durable 3D MLC NAND in 120GB to 512GB, and 3D TLC in 128GB to 512GB, and runs at up to 560 MB/s read and 525 MB/s write. Users therefore get a comprehensive range of models to choose from based on required capacity and planned budget.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of highperformance DRAM modules and NAND Flash products,today launched industrial-grade ISSS314 solid state drives in 3D MLC and 3D TLC versions. All models can withstand a wide temperature range, extreme shocks and vibrations, as well as humidity to meet the needs of industrial users. Using hardened and carefully sorted components, ISSS314 SSDs consume just 2.5W to lower operating costs while providing speedy 560 MB/s read and 520 MB/s write. They are offered in 3D MLC and 3D TLC NAND plus capacities ranging from 32GB to 512 GB in order to better cover and serve as many budgets and needs as possible.

The increased durability and power efficiency of stacked NAND Flash compared to older planar NAND offers very appealing advantages in applications that require non-stop and long term use. The ISSS314 range has an MTBF of 2 million hours, which is 25% more than comparable 2D NAND drives. At the same time, they consume just 2.5W per drive while reaching 512 GB in capacity. Modest power draw translates into major electricity savings over the life of the drive, especially in large installations where many units are needed. Across the range, ISSS314 drives reach 560 MB/s read and 520 MB/s write.

Colorful today rolled out a trio of budget SSD lines. These include the CN600 series, the CN500 series, and the SL500 series. The CN600 series is built in the M.2-2280 form-factor with PCI-Express 3.0 x2 wiring, and is characterized by a heatspreader over the controller and NAND flash chips; the CN500 is also built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, but features SATA 6 Gbps wiring; whereas the SL500 is a conventional 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch drive with SATA 6 Gbps interface. All three drives are available in 240 GB capacities.

The CN600 series drives combine a Realtek RTS5760 controller with TLC NAND flash memory, and offers sequential transfer speeds of up to 800 MB/s, with up to 700 MB/s writes, and up to 50,000 IOPS random reads, with up to 100,000 IOPS random writes. The CN500 series drives, on the other hand, pair a Silicon Motion SM2246EN controller with MLC NAND flash, offering up to 530 MB/s reads, with up to 250 MB/s writes, and up to 70,000 IOPS random reads, with up to 60,000 IOPS random writes. Lastly, there's the SL500 series, which combine Silicon Motion SM2256 controllers with TLC NAND flash, serving up 530 MB/s reads, with up to 450 MB/s writes, and up to 80,000 IOPS random access. The company didn't reveal pricing or availability information.

If there's one thing enthusiasts usually complain regarding SSDs is that here doesn't seem to exist any viable alternatives to a good old high-capacity platter-based drives. Where are my 2 TB SSDs for 200$? How can I possibly save my entire music library in this puny 512 GB SSD that has already cost me my arms and legs?

Well, those answers might not be coming anytime soon (even though the advent of QLC NAND might change that.) In the meantime, we can put our eyes on Viking Technology, so as to see that a halo SSD product can achieve amazing storage capacity in a standard form factor. The company has just started selling their UHC (Ultra High Capacity) Silo Series, which leverage SK Hynix's MLC NAND (if the capacity doesn't put your $ klaxons running, the use of MLC should.) The SSDs leverage a 6 GB/s SAS interface, and deliver 500 MB/s read and 350 MB/s write speeds. The manufacturer says these can sustain up to 60,000 IOPS on random reads, and 15,000 IOPS on random writes. These may sound low in high-performance terms (and they sort of are), but remember these are products geared for the enterprise market. Pricing wasn't (maybe smartly) disclosed. I believe I'd laugh maniacally should I know how much they cost. However, if you must have a high-capacity SSD, you know where to look for.

Corsair has quietly added a new SSD to its portfolio which is currently available on Newegg. The new Neutron NX500 SSDs come in somewhat unusual 400 GB and 800 GB capacities, which likely means an overly increased over provisioning so as to ensure top endurance and performance. The Neutron NX500 SSDs come in the add-in NVMe card form factor, with a beefy heatsink to top it all up. That heatsink serves to cool not only the NAND chips, but also the Phison E7 controller that's lurking underneath.

Interestingly, and even though 3D TLC NAND is all the rage these days due to increased density on the same footprint, without bringing any serious, real-world problems related to endurance, as we've seen, the Neutron NX500 appears to pack MLC memory. Do you even remember that? That's part of the reason why performance is rated so high: there's 3,000 MB/s read, 2,400 MB/s writes, 300,000 IOPS in random read, and 270,000 IOPS on random write workloads. Though you will have to pay a pretty penny for this kind of performance: the 400 GB Corsair Neutron NX500 is currently retailing for $319.99, while the 800 GB version won't give you any benefits from the economy of scale: it retails for $699.99.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash products,today launched the industrial-grade IM2P3388 PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 2280 solid state drive. It employs 3D MLC NAND Flash and an SMI controller to deliver performance several times faster than SATA III SSDs, with read up to 2500MB/s and write reaching 1100MB/s. The M.2 2280 form factor fits easily in the IT setup of industrial and enterprise users, while the IM2P3388 can withstand a wide temperature range, shocks, and vibration. The IM2P3388 is offered in up to 1TB and supports a range of features such as S.M.A.R.T, TRIM, power fail protection, and secure erase.

The IM2P3388 complies with NVMe 1.2 specifications to provide performance optimized for low latency, big bandwidth PCI Express 3.0 x4 (four lanes). Users tap up to 2500MB/s read and 1100MB/s write, greatly accelerating data transfers to help increase productivity and efficiency. ADATA is offering the IM2P3388 in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. All models carry premium 3D MLC NAND that has been carefully sorted, tested, and verified to the highest standards. SLC and DRAM caching provide speed boosts for sustained performance during even the most intense activity sessions, preventing bandwidth or IOPS drop offs.

Mushkin introduced the an update to its Reactor line of SATA SSDs with the new Reactor Armor3D series. Built in the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch form-factor with SATA 6 Gbps interface, the drives combine Silicon Motion SM2258 controllers with 3D MLC NAND flash. The drive is available in 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB models. All three offer sequential read speeds of up to 565 MB/s. The sequential write speeds are rated at up to 300 MB/s, 500 MB/s, and 510 MB/s for the 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB models, respectively.

4K random read performance is rated at up to 63,000 IOPS for the 240 GB model, up to 80,000 IOPS for the 480 GB, and up to 77,000 IOPS for the 960 GB model. 4K random write performance of the drives are rated at up to 70,000 IOPS for the 240 GB model, and 80,000 IOPS for the 480 GB and 960 GB. As with all SMI-based drives, the Reactor Armor3D offers LPDC ECC, and SLC cache, which treats a small portion of the MLC NAND flash as SLC, and juggles frequently accessed data in and out of it, for improved performance. The drives are backed by 3-year warranties, and could replace the current Reactor series from the product stack. We expect them to be priced around $90 for the 240 GB model, $160 for the 480 GB, and $270 for the 960 GB.

At Computex 2017, Teamgroup put on a show with their products, hoping to place itself in consumers' eyes as having all the latest technologies they could possibly want. Starting with their SSD, there's the heatspreader-equipped M.2 NVMe SSD T-Force Cardea, an MLC SSD (so, a dying breed) with either 240 or 480 GB capacity, which includes a beefy red heatsink to reduce throttling possibilities.

Here are some of the first pictures of GeIL Shuttle series SSDs. Built in the M.2-2280 form-factor with PCI-Express 3.0 x4 interface, the drives take advantage of the NVMe 1.2 protocol, and are characterized by a prominent aluminium heatsink over the controller, DRAM, and NAND flash chips, which keeps temperatures of these chips below 38°C in a common work environment. The GeIL Shuttle series drives combine a Silicon Machines SM2260 controller with 3D MLC NAND flash (G2 variant) and 3D TLC NAND flash (G1 variant). The drives offer sequential performance of up to 2,000 MB/s reads, with up to 1,000 MB/s writes.

Team Group earned acclaimed for getting M.2 SSD cooling right, with its Cardea M.2 NVMe SSD. A chunky aluminium heatsink cools the controller and MLC NAND flash chips, to help the drive churn out some of the highest sustained performance figures in its segment. Team Group designed its notebook/SFF friendly variant, the Cardea-Z (or Cardea Zero).

The Cardea-Z features the same PCB, same controller, and same NAND flash as the original Cardea, but replaces the chunky heatsink with an aluminium heatspreader, which is just a thin sheet of metal. This makes the drive fit into notebooks and certain SFF desktops. Its controller takes advantage of the NVMe 1.2 protocol, and is mated with MLC NAND flash memory. It comes in capacities of 240 GB and 480 GB, churning out the same rated performance figures as the original - up to 2,600 MB/s reads with up to 1,400 MB/s writes for the 240 GB variant, and up to 2,650 MB/s reads, with up to 1,450 MB/s writes for the 480 GB variant. Both variants offer over 180,000 IOPS 4K random access speeds.

Team Group is beginning to bundle dual-channel memory kits with 2.5-inch SATA SSDs. The bundle is slightly (5-10%) cheaper than buying its parts separately. The T-Force Dark Bundle Pack includes three combinations - a 2x 8 GB DDR4-2666 kit with a 240 GB SSD, a 2x 8 GB DDR4-3000 kit with a 480 GB SSD, and a 2x 16 GB DDR4-3200 kit with a 960 GB SSD.

The DDR4-2666 kit does its rated speeds with 15-17-17-35 timings, the DDR4-3000 kit ticks at 17-18-18-38, and the DDR4-3200 kit at a tight 15-15-15-35. The T-Force Dark SSD features MLC NAND flash. All three variants offer up to 520 MB/s sequential reads, the 240 GB writes at up to 300 MB/s, while the 480 GB and 960 GB ones at up to 460 MB/s. All variants offer up to 75,000 IOPS 4K random access performance.

It appears that although MLC NAND-based SSDs have many advantages to HDD's from a physical-reliability point of view, the old spinning rust drives might still have one advantage over SSDs: A specially crafted write operation can't corrupt your data.

That's what a new report from Carnegie Mellon University, Seagate, and ETH Zürich is showing: That MLC-based SSD Drives are vulnerable to data-corrupting attacks as simple as a specially crafted write operation.

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.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of highperformance DRAM modules and NAND Flash products,today launched industrial-grade ISSS333 solid state drives in 3D MLC and 3D TLC versions. The ISSS333 range offers robust temperature, vibration, and shock tolerance as required in commercial and industrial applications. At the same time, users tap fast performance via universally-compatible SATA 6Gbps in a standard 2.5" form factor. Compared to mechanical storage, ISSS333 drives deliver vastly increased reliability, speed, and power efficiency.

While SSDs become more popular as industrial and commercial storage, demand diversifies. Consequently, ADATA offers the ISSS333 range in 3D MLC and 3D TLC (multi-level cell and triple-level cell) versions. The use of 3D NAND ensures improved reliability and efficiency compared to older 2D NAND, with the MLC models ranging in capacity from 120GB to 1TB while TLC ISSS333 drives ship in 128GB to 1TB.

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.

Palit Microsystems Ltd, the leading graphics card manufacturer, now is expanding a new product lineup-SSD storage business. SSDs are now considered essential components of any modern gaming rig. Adding SSD into Palit product line is aim to provide a total solution for computer users, who can not only enjoy GeForce graphics technologies, but also with faster storage processing. Installing OS/Apps/Games and stored on an SSD, Palit SSD will make your Windows boots faster and game levels load in a snap.

Palit's UV-S series SSD is equipped with a SATA III interface in a standard 2.5 inch form factor. The drive provides fast read speeds that can effectively shorten boot time and boost application launch speed, giving it an enormous advantage over traditional HDD. Palit UV-S SSD has a wide range of capacities, fast read/write performance and low energy consumption, making it the ideal storage solution to satisfy every need.

ADATA launched the XPG SX950 line of performance segment SSDs, which it unveiled at the 2017 International CES expo. Available in 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB capacities, these drives combine a Silicon Motion made controller with 3D MLC NAND flash memory, to belt out performance of up to 560 MB/s sequential reads, with up to 530 MB/s sequential writes; and up to 90,000 IOPS 4K read/write random access performance. The controller features SLC caching, with which the drives treats a small portion of the MLC NAND user area as SLC NAND, and juggles hot data in and out of this portion, for improved performance. Built in the 7 mm thick 2.5-inch form-factor, the drives take advantage of SATA 6 Gb/s interface. The company is backing these drives with an interesting 6-year product warranty.

Intel is readying a fleet of new SSDs based on its new 3D XPoint non-volatile memory, a technology that Intel hopes will replace NAND flash in the years to come. The company developed this technology in collaboration with Micron Technology, under its IMFlash Technologies banner. The first Intel SSDs with this memory will be sold under the Optane brand. There are several sub-brands targeting the various market segments (client, enterprise, data-center, etc.), and technical slides of the data-center targeted Optane DC P4800X SSD were leaked to the web.

One of the first Optane DC P4800X SSDs comes in a rather measly capacity of 375 GB. The drive is built in the half-height PCI-Express add-on card (AIC) form-factor, with PCI-Express 3.0 x4 host interface. The drive belts out sequential transfer rates of up to 2400 MB/s reads, with up to 2000 MB/s writes, which may not sound like much given that even TLC NAND flash based PCIe 3.0 x4 drives offer higher transfer rates; until you look at three key metrics - latency, random-access performance, and endurance.

Super Talent introduced the SuperCache AIC314 PCI-Express SSD. Built in the half-height add-on card form-factor, with PCI-Express 3.0 x4 interface, the drive combines a Phison PS5007-E7 controller with MLC NAND flash memory, and comes in capacities of 480 GB, 960 GB, and 1920 GB. The drive takes advantage of the new NVMe protocol, and offers sequential transfer rates of up to 3000 MB/s reads, with up to 2200 MB/s writes; 340,000 IOPS 4K random reads, with up to 260,000 IOPS 4K random writes. The drives feature banks of capacitors that mitigate data loss to power outages. Super Talent is targeting enterprises with these drives.