Klevv today announced the launch of the CRAS C700 RGB NVMe M.2 SSD, which dials RGB goodness up to at least 12. The new SSD makes use of the PCIe 3.0 4x interface through the NVMe 1.3 protocol, enabling up to read 1500MB/s read and 1300MB/s write speeds. Klevv have made this SSD available in 120 GB, 240 GB and 480 GB capacities. There's SLC caching on-board, which means performance will certainly be slower in more data-heavy operations, in the event that the SLC cache overflows. The RGB goodness is distributed through 8 individually-addressable LEDs behind a gem-like diffuser, which provides an even glow that's programmable through most motherboard RGB control software.

Klevv also announced that the CRAS C700 RGB NVMe M.2 SSD makes use of 10-layer PCB for "better data integrity", as well as a 27% reduction in operating temperatures for the SD due to KLEVV's heatsink design. An unannounced feature for the RGB power in these SSDs is the ability to illuminate even Game of Thrones' Season 8, Episode 3 from inside your PC case.

Kingston at CES 2019 also showcased their high-tier KC2000 series SSD. These differ from the likely market-warping A2000 series SSDs in terms of pure performance, for those that only care for that metric. While the A2000 series has the potential to bring SATA SSDs completely out of the equation (if promises of lower pricing paired with three to four times higher performance come true), the KC2000 will be gunning for the upper tiers of the market in terms of performance.

The KC2000 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe SSDs will be available in capacities ranging from 256 GB to  2TB, boasting performance of 3 GB/s read and 2 GB/s write. Unlike their lower-tier counterparts, which make use of a variety of lower-tier controllers and Toshiba's 3D TLC NAND, these will contain the SMI SM2262en controller paired Intel 3D TLC NAND flash memory. These SSDs should be released sometime in Q2 2019 and will have a security software suite included.

GIGABYTE introduced the X299-WU8, a high-end desktop motherboard being sold as a quasi-workstation-class board, in the CEB form-factor (305 mm x 267 mm). Based on Intel X299 Express chipset, it features out-of-the-box support for Intel's socket LGA2066 Core X 9000-series processors, in addition to existing Core X 7000-series. A design focus with this board is on PCIe connectivity. The board employs two PLX PEX8747 PCIx gen 3.0 x48 bridge chips, which convert two gen 3.0 x16 links from the processor to four downstream x16 links, which can further be switched to x8. All seven expansion slots are PCI-Express 3.0 x16 physically, which are electrically "x16/NC/x16/NC/x16/NC/x16" or "x16/x8/x8/x8/x8/x8/x8." The topmost slot stays x16, while the other six share three x16 links depending on how you populate them. The board has certifications for 4-way SLI and CrossFireX.

The GIGABYTE X299-WU8 draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and two 8-pin EPS connectors, conditioning it for the CPU with an 8+1 phase VRM. An additional 6-pin PCIe power input, which is optional, stabilizes slot power delivery to the graphics cards. The CPU socket is flanked by eight DDR4 DIMM slots, supporting up to 128 GB of quad-channel DDR4 memory. Storage connectivity is surprisingly sparse, with just one M.2-2280 slot that has PCIe 3.0 x4 wiring, and eight SATA 6 Gbps ports. USB connectivity includes USB 3.1 gen 2 (including a type-C port), a number of USB 3.1 gen 1 ports, both on the rear panel and via headers; high-end onboard audio including an ALC1220 CODEC and headphones amp; and two 1 GbE networking interfaces. Expect this board to be priced around $600, given that the PEX8747 isn't cheap these days, and this board has two of it.

One of the first Intel NUC (next unit of computing) mini PCs to feature completely discrete GPUs (and not MCMs of CPUs and GPUs), the "Crimson Canyon" NUC8i3CYSM and NUC8i3CYSN, are up for pre-order. The former is priced at USD $529, while the latter goes for $574. The two combine Intel's 10 nm Core i3-8121U "Cannon Lake" SoC with AMD Radeon 540 discrete GPU. Unlike the "Hades Canyon" NUC, which features an MCM with a powerful AMD Radeon Vega M GPU die and a quad-core "Kaby Lake" CPU die; the "Crimson Canyon" features its processor and GPU on separate packages. The Radeon 540 packs 512 stream processors, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs; with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory.

All that's differentiating the NUC8i3CYSM from the NUC8i3CYSN is memory. You get 4 GB of LPDDR4 memory with the former, and 8 GB of it with the latter. Both units come with a 2.5-inch 1 TB HDD pre-installed. You also get an M.2-2280 slot with PCIe 3.0 x4 wiring, and support for Optane caching. Intel Wireless-AC 9560 WLAN card handles wireless networking, while an i219-V handles wired. Connectivity includes four USB 3.0 type-A ports, one of which has high current; an SDXC card reader, CIR, two HDMI 2.0 outputs, and 7.1-channel HD audio. The NUC has certainly grown in size over the years. This one measures 117 mm x 112 mm x 52 mm (WxDxH). An external 90W power-brick adds to the bulk.

ASMedia is giving finishing touches to the ASM2824 PCI-Express gen 3.0 x24 switch. With half the fabric as the PLX PEX8747, the chip takes in PCI-Express 3.0 x8, and puts out four PCI-Express 3.0 x4 connections. In theory, this would let a motherboard designer create four M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 slots from 8 downstream PCIe lanes of the Intel Z390 chipset, saving the remaining PCIe lanes for onboard USB 3.1 controllers (preferably sourced from ASMedia itself), since Intel canned the older 14 nm version of the Z390, which was supposed to put out six 10 Gbps USB 3.1 gen 2 and ten 5 Gbps USB 3.1 gen 1 ports directly from the PCH.

With all four downstream slots populated, ASMedia promises NVMe RAID bandwidths of up to 6,500 MB/s, with some CDM numbers even crossing 6,700 MB/s. Then again, one has to take into account that the test platform probably had the ASM2824 wired to the CPU's PCIe root-complex, and not that of the chipset. Intel is yet to modernize the lousy DMI 3.0 chipset-bus between its latest processors and chipset, and is physically PCI-Express 3.0 x4, which is fundamentally outdated for the bandwidth-heavy interfaces of this generation, such as USB 3.1, M.2 NVMe, and even the upcoming SD Express. The ASM2824 is also a godsend for the AMD AM4 platform, which not only has the same PCI-Express 3.0 x4 chipset bus between the AM4 SoC and the X470 chipset, but also a poor downstream PCIe feature-set of the X470, with just 8 gen 2.0 lanes. Motherboard designers can wire out all of those lanes to an ASM2824 for up to 24 downstream lanes.

The SD Association announced today SD Express which adds the popular PCI Express and NVMe interfaces to the legacy SD interface. The PCIe interface delivering a 985 megabytes per second (MB/s) maximum data transfer rate and the NVMe upper layer protocol enables advanced memory access mechanism, enabling a new world of opportunities for the popular SD memory card. In addition, the maximum storage capacity in SD memory cards grows from 2 TB with SDXC to 128 TB with the new SD Ultra Capacity (SDUC) card. These innovations maintain the SDA's commitment to backward compatibility and are part of the new SD 7.0 specification.

"SD Express' use of popular PCIe and NVMe interfaces to deliver faster transfer speeds is a savvy choice since both protocols are widely used in the industry today and creates a compelling choice for devices of all types," said Mats Larsson, Senior Market Analyst at Futuresource. "The SD Association has a robust ecosystem with a strong history of integrating SD innovations and has earned the trust of consumers around the world."

QNAP Systems, Inc. (QNAP) today unveiled the QXG-10G1T, a 5-speed PCI Express 10GBASE-T/NBASE-T NIC that supports 10GBASE-T/1000BASE-T/100BASE-TX and also 5GBASE-T/2.5GBASE-T (IEEE 802.3bz; NBASE-T) speeds. When used with Cat 6a cables, the QXG-10G1T can greatly improve network connection speeds to maximize transmission performance.

The QXG-10G1T is equipped with the Aquantia AQtion AQC107 NIC that supports 10/5/2.5/1Gbps and 100Mbps speeds. The RJ45 connector design also allows users to use their existing cables. By using Cat 5e cables, transmission speeds can reach up to 5Gbps, while using Cat 6a cables can deliver up to 10Gbps connectivity.

Today, Intel announced the Intel SSD DC P4510 Series for data center applications. The P4510 Series uses 64-layer TLC Intel 3D NAND to enable end users to do more per server, support broader workloads and deliver space-efficient capacity. The P4510 Series enables up to four times more terabytes per server and delivers up to 10 times better random read latency at 99.99 percent quality of service than previous generations. The drive can also deliver up to double the input-output operations per second (IOPS) per terabyte. The 1 and 2TB capacities have been shipping to cloud service providers (CSPs) in high volume since August 2017, and the 4 and 8TB capacities are now available to CSPs and channel customers. All capacities are in the 2.5-inch 15 mm U.2 form factor and utilize a PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4 connection.

To accelerate performance and simplify management of the P4510 Series PCIe SSDs and other PCIe SSDs, Intel is also delivering two new technologies that work together to replace legacy storage hardware. Intel Xeon Scalable processors include Intel Volume Management Device (VMD), enabling robust management such as surprise insertion/removal and LED management of PCIe SSDs directly connected to the CPU. Building on this functionality, Intel Virtual RAID on CPU (VROC) uses Intel VMD to provide RAID to PCIe SSDs. By replacing RAID cards with Intel VROC, customers are able to enjoy up to twice the IOPs performance and up to a 70 percent cost savings with PCIe SSDs directly attached to the CPU, improving customer's return on their investments in SSD-based storage.

Patriot is aiming to join the high-end, M.2, NVMe SSD playing field with its upcoming Viper SSD family. The company has already shed most details (but not all) on the specs of these upcoming SSDs, which will carry Phison's latest E12 controller, the cream of the crop when it comes to Phison-manufactured solutions. The E12 is controller by Phison is NVMe 1.3 compliant, supports 8 NAND channels, and delivers a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface with strong ECC algorithms. These features are being paired with Toshiba's 64-layer BICS 3D NAND flash memory. The company wants these to succeed to the company's previous Hellfire flagships, with more appealing and modern design, performance, and features.

The Viper SSDs will be available from 240 GB to 2 TB capacities, and Patriot is quoting Phison's own performance estimates for the Phison E12 controller as the performance speeds of its Viper SSDs: 3200 MB/s sequential read, 3000 MB/s sequential write, and 600K random read and random write IOPS. Due to how the showcased Viper SSDs already carry product stickers and retail packaging design seems to be finished, these are expected to be out sooner, rather than later, and will be another options for users looking to bring their storage to some measure of Warp speeds.

EDGE Memory, a leading U.S.-based supplier of memory and storage upgrades, is announcing the NextGen M.2 PCIe 2280 SSD, adding a powerful PCIe NVMe based solid state drive solution to its product portfolio.

With transfers speeds up to 3.2GB/s and an IOPS rating of up to 370,000, the NextGen SSD is set to be one of the fastest drives available on the market. Powered by a Silicon Motion based SM2262 controller and a PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe 1.3 interface, this drive delivers incredible performance. NextGen M.2 SSDs provide the advanced features and speeds to satisfy the needs of enthusiasts and power users everywhere.

AMD's second-generation Ryzen processors, which debut some time in Q1-2018, will be accompanied by the company's new 400-series motherboard chipset, even though they are expected to work with existing socket AM4 motherboards based on 300-series chipsets (with BIOS updates). The 400-series Promontory chipset surfaced on the PCIe Integrators List of PCI-SIG, the standards governing body of the PCI bus (which also oversees PCIe specifications development).

The listing seems to confirm that 400-series chipset will feature PCI-Express gen 3.0 general purpose lanes. These are downstream PCIe lanes put out by the chipset, to run the various external onboard controllers on the motherboard, and usually wired to the x1 and x4 PCIe slots. The current 300-series chipset only features up to 8 PCIe gen 2.0 general purpose lanes, and that was seen as a drawback. AMD Ryzen socket AM4 processors put out additional gen 3.0 lanes besides the 16 lanes allocated to PEG (one x16 or two x8, physically x16 slots); and 4 lanes serving as chipset bus. These additional gen 3.0 lanes typically drive a 32 Gb/s M.2 slot. With 400-series chipset bringing gen 3.0 general purpose lanes, one can expect newer socket AM4 motherboards with more than one 32 Gb/s M.2 slot (one from the SoC, another from the chipset).

MyDigitalSSD today announces the SBX-series, the consumer grade MyDigitalSSD Super Boot eXpress (SBX) PCIe 3.0 x2 NVMe SSDs featuring the Phison E8 (PS5008-E8) controller. The follow-up to MyDigitalSSD's award-winning enterprise BPX series, SBX NVMe SSDs offer a cost-competitive upgrade option to SATA SSDs with max sequential speeds of 1.60 GB/s read and 1.30 GB/s write.

Designed with best-in-class price, performance, and endurance in mind, SBX pairs Toshiba TLC 3D NAND with NVMe technology to maximize bandwidth while lowering latency for guaranteed peak performance under heavy workloads for near-instant responsiveness when used as either a boot or storage device in Z97 / X99 / X199 / X299 / Z170 based motherboards and more.

Intel today announced that its new family of 8th Gen Intel Core desktop processors will be available for purchase beginning Oct. 5, 2017. The new desktop processor family is built for gamers, content creators and overclockers who require premium performance. Ranging from Intel Core i3 to Intel Core i7, these processors deliver premium performance for what comes next, opening the door for a new level of faster, easier and more immersive experiences.

This new family introduces the first-ever 6-core Intel Core i5 desktop processor and first-ever 4-core Intel Core i3 desktop processor. The family offers a wide range of performance options for consumers with unlocked1 "K" processors that deliver maximum tuning flexibility at each brand level and up to 40 platform PCIe 3.0 lanes for system expandability on graphics, storage and I/O. These processors are supported with new Intel Z370 chipset-based motherboards.

After years of continued innovation in PCIe's bandwidth, we've hit somewhat of a snag in recent times; after all, the PCIe 3.0 specification has been doing the rounds on our motherboards ever since 2010. PCI-SIG, the 750-member strong organization that's in charge of designing the specifications for the PCIe bus, attribute part of this delay to industry stagnation: PCIe 3.0 has simply been more than enough, bandwidth-wise, for many generations of hardware now. Only recently, with innovations in storage mediums and innovative memory solutions, such as NVMe SSDs and Intel's Optane, are we starting to hit the ceiling on what PCIe 3.0 offers. Add to that the increased workload and bandwidth requirements of the AI field, and the industry now seems to be eager for an upgrade, with some IP vendors even having put out PCIe 4.0-supporting controllers and PHYs into their next-generation products already - although at the incomplete 0.9 revision.