Nextorage Corporation will launch a PCIe Gen 4.0 x4 ("PCIe 4.0") M.2 2280 NVMe SSD "NEM-PA series" for the USA market from March. The products are initially sold on Amazon. Nextorage was established on October 1, 2019, as a company specializing in the memory storage solutions business led by engineers and staff who built on 20 years of history in memory storage at Sony.

The NEM-PA series is an M.2 2280 SSD equipped with a PCIe 4.0 / NVMe 1.4 controller and a 3D TLC NAND, and comes with a heatsink for heat dissipation. The drive achieves sequential read up to 7,300 MB/s, sequential write up to 6,900 MB/s, and random read/write up to 1,000 K IOPS (in a PC environment). The NEM-PA series delivers both high-speed loading and smooth gaming experience.

Silicon Power (SP) releases its newest PCIe 3.0 SSD, the UD80, featuring storage capacities up to 2 TB with 3D NAND flash technology. The UD80 strikes a perfect harmony between cost and performance to breathe new life into your system without burning a hole in your pocket. Designed for creators that need more than just a jolt of inspiration, the UD80 provides exceptional value and a performance boost with a PCIe Gen 3 x4 interface - a boost that leaves SATA III SSDs behind in the dust.

The UD80 utilizes the speed capabilities of PCIe 3.0 with the efficiency of NVMe and Host Memory Buffer (HMB) technology. Let your creative juices flow with rapid read and write speeds up to 3,400 MB/s and 3,000 MB/s, respectively. At the same time, experience seamless productivity via the higher performance and lower latency that's achieved by NVMe 1.4 and HMB technology.

MSI Is ready with the monstrous WS WRX80 motherboard for AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO workstation processors. Slotted in the company's MSI PRO lineup, the board is based on the AMD WRX80 chipset, features the sWRX8 CPU socket, and comes with out of the box support for Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5000WX processors based on the "Zen 3" architecture, as well as previous-generation Threadripper 3000WX "Zen 2" processors. Built in the E-ATX form-factor, the board draws power from a 24-pin ATX, two 8-pin EPS, as well as two 6-pin PCIe power. It uses an expensive 14-layer PCB, and the CPU VRM solution is made up of 11 phases, using 105 A power-stages.

The sWRX8 socket is flanked by eight DDR4, each with a dedicated 1DPC path to the processor's 8-channel memory interface. There are seven PCI-Express 4.0 x16 slot, all wired to the processor and running at full x16 bandwidth. There could be as many as four M.2 NVMe slots with PCI-Express 4.0 x4 wiring, with an included M.2 to PCIe card with four additional M.2 slots. Other storage options include two U.2 ports, and eight SATA 6 Gbps. Networking options include 10 GbE, 2.5 GbE, and Wi-Fi 6E with Bluetooth 5.2. There's also an ASpeed AST2600 BMC IPMI remote-management chip with its dedicated 1 GbE management port. USB connectivity includes 20 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 ports. We'll know more about this board as Threadripper PRO 5000WX nears retail availability. Right now it's exclusive to the Lenovo ThinkCenter P620 pre-built workstation.

Intel debuted its Socket LGA1700 motherboard lineup with Z690, and later B660 and H610 chipset options, but the H670 seemed elusive. Motherboard vendors are slowly launching their H670-based offerings, and MSI joined the party with the MAG H670 Tomahawk WiFi DDR4. The board is very similar in design to the company's MAG B660 Tomahawk-series motherboards, but with a little more I/O, and a broader chipset bus. The key feature that sets the H670 apart from the B660 is the 8-lane DMI 4.0 chipset bus, compared to 4-lane DMI 4.0 on the B660.

Another key difference between the H670 Tomahawk and B660 Tomahawk is that the PCI-Express x16 slot is Gen 5 capable on the H670 board, but this is due to MSI's design choices. On paper, B660 platforms can have Gen 5 PEG slots. Yet another key differentiator between the H670 and B660 chipsets, is that the H670 puts out 12 PCIe Gen 4 downstream lanes, and MSI leveraged this to put out two chipset-attached M.2 NVMe slots with Gen 4 x4 wiring. Connectivity includes a 2.5 GbE wired networking interface driven by an Intel i225-V controller, an Intel AX200 WiFi 6 + Bluetooth 5.2 module; and 8-channel HD audio driven by the 12-year old Realtek ALC897 CODEC. The company didn't reveal pricing.

Axiomtek—a world-renowned leader relentlessly devoted in the research, development and manufacture of series of innovative and reliable industrial computer products of high efficiency - is pleased to introduce the DSP511, a 4K Ultra HD digital signage player with four HDMI 2.0 ports and a 2.5G Ethernet port, which enhance multiple view and real-time displays. The outstanding signage player is powered by the 11th generation Intel Core i5/i3 (codename: Tiger Lake-UP3) which makes it much more versatile in smart retail applications such as interactive advertisement or AI precision marketing.

In addition to the standard GbE LAN port, it adds a 2.5G LAN port to support faster internet transmission to upload videos and advertisements in higher resolutions for real-time display. It has four HDMI 2.0 ports for multiple displays and the resolution can reach 4K 60 Hz. The DSP511 utilizes the Intel Tiger Lake-UP3 processor; with Iris Xe Graphics, the computing performance is boosted. While the computing capability is powerful enough, even for Artificial Intelligence (AI) processing, the digital signage player doesn't need a discrete graphics card. Measuring 260 x 160 x 26 mm, the DSP511 is perfectly suited for menu board and video wall solutions in airports, shopping malls, and other commercial premises that require reliable 24/7 operation.

Micron, today announced it is sampling the world's first vertically-integrated 176-layer NAND solid-state drive (SSD) for the data center. The Micron 7450 SSD with NVMe delivers quality-of-service (QoS) latency at or below 2 milliseconds (ms), a wide capacity range and the broadest set of form factors available to meet the needs of the most demanding data center workloads.

This new data center SSD includes Micron's industry-leading NAND, which contains 176 layers of storage cells and proven CMOS-under-the-array technology, to deliver an ultraefficient design. Integrated with Micron's own DRAM, internally developed SoC and associated firmware, this vertically integrated SSD enables the company to rapidly respond to customer needs in the market and support strengthened device security.

While NVMe storage devices offer significant performance and reliability advantages over their platter-based counterparts, many Linux and VMware based applications continue to rely on older SAS & SATA solutions due to the ready availability of firmware level RAID storage and native driver support. This combination greatly simplifies the kernel update process while minimizing downtime. RAID solutions with native driver support will be treated as embedded devices, and do not need to be updated separately to comply with the kernel change.

The SSD6200 product family was designed to address these concerns. The NVMe RAID capability is integrated at the firmware level, and functions independent of the host. In addition, SSD6200 series controllers are natively supported by all major Virtualization platforms, such as VMware, Microsoft Hyper-V and Proxmox, and all current versions and distributions of Windows, Linux and FreeBSD operating systems. This native, In-Box driver support ensures administrators are free to update the Kernel, apply patches, or download and install scheduled updates whenever the need arises, using standard operating procedures. No work-arounds, no hassles, no surprises.

QNAP, today released the flagship dual-CPU, NVMe all-flash storage TDS-h2489FU. Powered by Intel Xeon Silver 4300 processors (16 or 32 Cores) and featuring twenty-four U.2 NVMe Gen 4 x4 SSD bays, the TDS-h2489FU provides over 1 million iSCSI 4K random read IOPS with ultra-low latency. Besides exceptional hardware and connectivity (including two 25 GbE SFP28 ports, four 2.5 GbE RJ45 LAN ports, two PCIe Gen 4 slots, and 1200 W redundant power supplies) the TDS-h2489FU uses the ZFS-based QuTS hero operating system that provides powerful data reduction and SSD optimization tools, maximizing all-flash investments for HPC, virtualization, file servers, and 4K/8K multimedia applications.

"The all-flash TDS-h2489FU drives high I/O performance and low latency with server-grade Xeon processors and U.2 NVMe Gen 4 x4 storage", said Jason Hsu, Product Manager of QNAP, adding "capable of empowering mission-critical, latency-sensitive workloads out-of-the-box, with flexible PCIe Gen 4 expansion, the TDS-h2489FU can be further configured to meet extended mix-use applications and data transfer needs."

TerraMaster, a professional brand that specializes in providing innovative storage products for home, businesses and enterprises, introduces the all-new T9-423 9-bay high-performance NAS designed for small- and medium-sized businesses. The TerraMaster T9-423 is ideal for enterprise applications such as file storage servers, mail servers, web servers, FTP servers, virtual machine hosts, and other enterprise-level applications.

The TerraMaster T9-423 is powered by a quad-core 2.00 GHz (2.90 GHz boost) Intel Core processor and comes with two 2.5 GbE ports with support for Link Aggregation, delivering speeds of up to 283 MB/s. It supports multi-user and high-concurrent file access. Its compact chassis can be mounted vertically and horizontally to provide builders flexibility of use.

IBM today unveiled IBM FlashSystem Cyber Vault to help companies better detect and recover quickly from ransomware and other cyberattacks. The company also announced new FlashSystem storage models, based on IBM Spectrum Virtualize to provide a single and consistent operating environment, that are designed to increase cyber resilience and application performance within a hybrid cloud environment.

According to the IBM Cyber Resilient Organization study, 46 percent of respondents surveyed reported experiencing a ransomware attack over the past two years. With cyberattacks continuing to grow, and with average recovery time lasting days or even weeks, business and reputational risks are unprecedented. Even with prevention and detection tactics in place, organizations also must be ready to recover their operations quickly to minimize loss of business and other costs.

Western Digital has expanded its WD Black series of SSDs with yet another model today and the SN770 seems like yet another dilution of the Black brand, as it's WD's second PCIe 4.0 DRAM-less Black series drive. On the upside, capacities range from 256 GB to 2 TB, unlike the SN750 SE which tops out at 1 TB and sequential speeds are also up, with read speeds rated at up to 5150 MB/s and write speeds of up to 4900 MB/s. This is still a far cry from the SN850, which should be considered the only high-end consumer SSD from WD at the moment.

WD did also provide some random performance numbers in the shape of up to 740K IOPS read and 800K IOPS write, which should make this one of the fastest DRAM-less SSDs currently on the market. WD claims the SN770 is 20 percent more power efficient than the SN750 SE, without providing any further details. WD provides a five year warranty for all SKUs and have rated the drives at a 1.75 million hour MTTF time, with the 1 TB SKU having a 600 TBW or 0.33 DWPD write endurance rating. Pricing starts at US$59.99 for the 250 GB SKU, with the 500 GB SKU coming in at US$79.99, the 1 TB at US$129.99 and the 2 TB at US$269.99. This places the 1 TB SKU at US$30 less than the SN850 and the same amount more than the SN750 SE. The SN770 is available as of today.

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

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

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

Transcend, recently released its industrial-grade 112-layer PCIe M.2 SSDs. Coming with a M.2 2280 form factor and up to 2 TB capacity, this new series of SSDs is embedded with high-speed PCIe Gen4 x4 and PCIe Gen3 x4 interfaces. Leveraging advanced technologies and manufacturing process, Transcend enhances the drive performance and reliability, offering another durable storage solution for AI, 5G communication, enterprise servers, and IPC.

Thanks to the new generation of 3D NAND flash technology, memory cells can be vertically stacked to 112 layers, and the storage density per cell reaches 1
TB, a two-fold increase compared to 96-layer SSDs. 112-layer 3D NAND also delivers higher transfer speeds, 50% higher throughput than its predecessor. Transcend's 112-layer 3D NAND SSDs offer an endurance rating of 3K P/E cycles, and are able to operate securely under an extended temperature range (-20°C~-75°C). All drives have undergone robust tests to ensure that optimal reliability can fully support heavy industrial workloads.

MAINGEAR—an award-winning PC system integrator of custom gaming desktops, notebooks, and workstations—today announced that new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics cards are now available to configure within MAINGEAR's product line of award-winning custom gaming desktop PCs and workstations. Featuring support for real-time ray tracing effects and AI technologies, MAINGEAR PCs equipped with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 offer gamers next-generation ray-traced graphics and performance comparable to the latest consoles.

Powered by Ampere, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 features NVIDIA's 2nd gen Ray Tracing Cores and 3rd generation Tensor Cores. Combined with new streaming multiprocessors and high-speed G6 memory, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 can power the latest and greatest games. NVIDIA RTX on 30 Series GPUs deliver real-time ray tracing effects—including shadows, reflections, and Ambient Occlusion (AO). The groundbreaking NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) 2.0 AI technology utilizes Tensor Core AI processors to boost frame rates while producing sharp, uncompromised visual fidelity comparable to high native resolutions.

To meet the demand for high-speed storage driven by big data, TEAMGROUP is utilizing its years of experience in computer storage solutions to launch the newest PCIe Gen5 SSD this year. In light of the generational advancements of PCIe 5.0, the company is actively committed to developing products using cutting-edge technologies. With its expertise in R&D and dedication to product excellence, the company is excited to enter the next era of SSD storage solutions and to deliver spectacular new products to the world.

TEAMGROUP is releasing its first PCIe Gen5 SSD under its gaming sub-brand T-FORCE as part of the CARDEA series. It is capable of maximum sequential read speeds of over 13,000 MB/s and write speeds exceeding 12,000 MB/s, and together with a maximum storage capacity of 4 TB, it will be the highest performance PCIe Gen5 flagship SSD on the market when launched. The T-FORCE PCIe Gen5 SSD will support the latest NVMe 2.0 and will be enhanced using proprietary technology to improve durability and product lifespan. The new hardware and support will enable its Gen5 SSDs to fully meet the needs of the gaming computing market, video streaming, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and other next-gen digital domains. TEAMGROUP plans to mass-produce T-FORCE CARDEA series' PCIe Gen5 SSD in 2022 Q3, and will also launch a variety of efficient cooling solutions for the PCIe Gen5 SSD. Together with its global motherboard manufacturing partners, TEAMGROUP will continue to refine specifications and technologies of the latest generation of SSDs to meet market demands and provide consumers around the world with a stable and rapid storage experience.

Introducing the EVGA Z690 CLASSIFIED - The latest addition to EVGA's most-respected line of motherboards. This motherboard fully supports the latest 12th Gen Intel Core Series Processors and takes full advantage of PCIe Gen5 and PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSDs. The EVGA Z690 CLASSIFIED provides unbeatable power, performance and stability via a 19-phase VRM and 10-layer PCB. Moreover, this board supports up to 128 GB of DDR5 memory, 2x 2.5 Gbps NIC + Wi-Fi 6E / BT 5.2, 7.1 HD audio, and multiple USB options. The EVGA Z690 CLASSIFIED is designed for nothing less than the ultimate gaming experience.

PATRIOT, a global leader in performance memory, SSDs, gaming peripherals, and flash storage solutions, is pleased to announce the PATRIOT P400 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe M.2 SSD with capacities of 512 GB and 1 TB. The PATRIOT P400 was built using the latest PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe controller and best-in-class components to deliver faster data access, multi-application processing, and quick transfer speeds up to 5000 MB/s in sequential. The PATRIOT P400 can offer double the transfer speeds compared to standard PCIe 3x4 solutions with lower power consumption making it the best solution for laptop battery efficiency. In addition, the exclusive thin graphene heatshield provides outstanding heat dissipation, especially in systems with limited space.

"The PATRIOT P400 M.2 is designed to be an ideal solution for budget-minded users looking to achieve a cost-efficient storage solution with PCI Express gen4x4 performance. Our design team has created an excellent thermal solution using a slim graphene heatshield which can avoid any physical interference when using this drive-in system with limited space, such as a thin laptop." Said Roger Shinmoto, the vice president of PATRIOT MEMORY.

A disturbing trend among entry-level M.2 NVMe SSDs is a complete disregard from manufacturers for consistency in the brands and types of the various key components of the drives. The companies simply advertise a certain set of performance and endurance numbers, which serve as ends to reach by whatever means (of controller or NAND flash combos). This was recently illustrated with the Kingston NV1, which presents an extreme case of "hardware lottery." You can get either a SMI or Phison controller, and either a TLC or QLC NAND flash (combinations thereof).

Cutting through all this, ADATA is making a reassuring guarantee with regards to its recently announced entry-level NVMe product, the XPG Atom 50. In an exclusive comment to TechPowerUp, the company said that all XPG Atom 50 drives in the market will come with a consistent combination of controller and NAND flash. The drive combines an Innogrit IG5220 RainierQX controller with Micron "B47R" 176-layer 3D TLC NAND flash chips, a combo ADATA guarantees it will never break. We recently reviewed the 1 TB variant of this drive, and found it to offer excellent performance leveraging PCIe Gen4, at a price you'd typically find PCIe Gen3 drives at.

Although not available in retail quite yet, Intel has officially launched its NUC 11 Essential models built around its Jasper Lake SoCs and thanks to the new processor options, Intel's entry level NUC models are looking quite promising. Not only are we looking at much better GPUs, with a 78 percent increase of execution units at the high-end, but even the low-end CPUs have had a 33 percent increase, when comparing Jasper Lake to Gemini Lake, which some older NUC models were based on. This is quite a jump, but it's hardly surprising, as Gemini Lake was launched at the tail end of 2017.

There's also official support for up to 32 GB of RAM and a boost in memory speed from 2400 MHz to 2933 MHz. Processor speeds have obviously been bumped somewhat as well between the processor generations, alongside with the GPU speeds, but we're mostly looking at a few hundred MHz here, depending on the CPU model. All the new NUC models appear to be using the 10 W TDP Jasper Lake CPU SKUs and all of them should also come with 64 GB of eMMC soldered down, plus an M.2 2280 SATA and NVMe capable slot for SSDs.

The all-new XPOWER XS70 PCIe 4.0 SSD from Silicon Power (SP) is about to take gaming to new highs with its thrilling performance and unique design that will give hardcore gamers the boost to take on opponents for hours on end.

With a standard data transfer rate that's 2x faster than the 3.0 version, the XS70 PCIe Gen4 x4 with 3D NAND flash memory and NVMe 1.4 support is exactly what serious gamers need to crush the competition. Mind-blowing continuous read and write speeds up to 7,300 MB/s and 6,800 MB/s, respectively, enable the XS70 to push the limits of what an SSD can do so you can break new records.

Infortrend Technology, Inc. (TWSE: 2495), the industry-leading enterprise storage provider, satisfies requirements of high throughput and fast response time for high-performance computing (HPC), media post-production, and medical PACS applications ­— with EonStor CS NVMe SSD storage delivering 13 GB/s throughput in a 3-node cluster, and performance linearly increases in a scale-out mode.

Today's HPC applications perform computationally intensive operations with billions of files across multiple resources of different nature at PB scale. Storage for HPC, therefore, must be able to simultaneously support multiple random and sequential IO workloads of different sizes. Otherwise, it can extensively delay the HPC application output and the company's success. EonStor CS NVMe SSD storage, CS 4014U, effectively eliminates these concerns and guarantees fast response time, satisfying various types of IO profiles.\

Netac has recently announced four new NVMe SSDs aimed at various market segments with the NV7000, NV5000, NV3000 RGB, and NV3000. The NV7000 is a flagship PCIe 4.0 drive featuring a composite aluminium alloy fin heatsink design and boasting sequential read and write speeds of 7200 MB/s and 6850 MB/s, respectively. The flagship SSD also features random read/write speeds of 940K and 1000K IOPS and is offered in 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB configurations. The NV500 is another PCIe 4.0 drive with lower performance coming in at 5000 MB/s and 4400 MB/s for sequential read/write and will be available in 500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB capacities.

The NV3000 RGB is a PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD featuring an ARGB heatsink compatible with all mainstream motherboard lighting ecosystems. The drive is equipped with an independent DRAM cache allowing it to reach sequential read speeds of 3500 MB/s and sequential write speeds of 2100 MB/s and will also be offered in 500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB models. The NV3000 features reduced performance than its RGB counterpart with max speeds of 3100 MB/s and 2100 MB/s and is only available in 250 GB, 500 GB, and 1 TB sizes.

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced it has begun volume shipments of the world's first 176-layer QLC NAND SSD. Built with the most advanced NAND architecture, Micron's 176-layer QLC NAND delivers the industry's leading storage density and optimized performance for a broad range of data-rich applications. Designed for use cases spanning client and data center environments, Micron's transformative new NAND technology is now available with the introduction of the Micron 2400 SSD, the world's first 176-layer PCIe Gen4 QLC SSD for client applications. The new 176-layer QLC NAND will also be incorporated into select Micron Crucial consumer SSDs, and available as a component for system designers.

Micron's groundbreaking 176-layer QLC NAND provides a layer count and density unprecedented in QLC NAND flash and follows Micron's delivery of the industry's first 176-layer TLC NAND. Additionally, Micron's 176-layer QLC NAND enables 33% higher I/O speed and 24% lower read latency than Micron's prior generation solution. Its replacement-gate architecture is the only mass production QLC flash storage that combines charge trap with a CMOS-under-array design. These improvements are driving adoption of QLC SSDs in the client PC market, which is expected to triple QLC adoption by 2023, exceeding 35%, and reaching nearly 80% bit share in 2025.

TEAMGROUP today announced the worldwide release of the T-FORCE DELTA TUF Gaming Alliance RGB DDR5 DESKTOP MEMORY and T-FORCE CARDEA Z440 TUF Gaming Alliance PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD at the end of this month. The first batch will be available on the North American Amazon store. Created in collaboration with ASUS TUF Gaming Alliance, the two products combine military gaming style and top-notch performance. The addition of the co-branded series to the hardcore gaming alliance means higher quality products and more pleasing, cohesive setups for the gaming enthusiast market.

The T-FORCE DELTA TUF Gaming Alliance RGB DDR5 DESKTOP MEMORY is the first ASUS TUF Gaming Alliance certified and rigorously tested DDR5 RGB gaming overclocking memory. The design merges stealth fighter-inspired aesthetics with TUF Gaming Alliance's unique gaming elements to create a distinctive look that features an ultra-wide 120° angle heatspreader and striking RGB lighting. It supports ASUS Aura Sync lighting control software, allowing gamers to adjust its RGB effects however they like to create custom and eye-catching gaming rigs. The product's first release will have speeds of 5,200 MHz and come in a 2x 16 GB dual-channel kit.

QNAP Systems, today launched the QM2-2P410G1T and QM2-2P410G2T PCIe Gen 4 Cards; and the QM2-2P10G1TB PCIe Gen 3 Card. All three PCIe cards allow adding M.2 NVMe SSD slots and 10GbE connectivity to a QNAP NAS or PC/server/workstation, with no driver installation required. NAS users can improve overall NAS performance by enabling SSD caching, and upgrade NAS storage capacity without occupying any 3.5-inch drive bays. PC/server/workstation users can increase their storage capacity while also boosting overall IOPS performance by offloading bandwidth-demanding tasks to SSDs to minimize application loading times.

The QM2-2P410GxT series and the QM2-2P10G1TB features single/dual 10GBASE-T Multi-Gigabit (10G/5G/2.5G/1G/100M) network ports to boost bandwidth-demanding tasks. With QNAP 10GbE switches, you can easily upgrade to a high-speed network environment. M.2 SSD thermal sensors allow real-time temperature monitoring, with a quiet cooling module (heatsink and smart fan) to keep the SSDs running within optimal temperatures. A tool-less design also enables quick M.2 SSD installation and replacement.