At CeBIT, Plextor showed off a yet unnamed line of consumer SSDs featuring 19 nm triple-level cell (TLC) NAND flash memory. The series consists of 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB variants, with 256 MB, 512 MB, and 768 MB of DDR3 DRAM cache, respectively. The three are driven by Marvell 88SS9189 processor, and are built in the 2.5-inch form-factor, with SATA 6 Gb/s interface.

The 128 GB variant offers sequential read speeds as high as 530 MB/s, with up to 380 MB/s writes, and 72,000 IOPS 4K random write performance. The 256 GB variant ups that with 540 MB/s reads, and 450 MB/s writes. Leading the pack is the 512 GB variant, with 540 MB/s reads, and 465 MB/s writes. The lineup is expected to be launched this August.

MSI displayed its upcoming Z87A Gaming Series motherboard. The company is yet to begin work on cosmetic details such as PCB color, heatsinks, component color scheme, etc., but a bulk of its development is complete. To begin with, the board uses a strong 16-phase VRM to power the CPU, which draws power from two 8-pin EPS connectors. The CPU is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3 memory; and three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots in x16/NC/NC or x8/x8/NC or x8/x4/x4 configurations, depending on how they're populated. Four x1 slots make for the rest of its all-PCIe expansion slot area.

Storage connectivity on the Z87A Gaming Series includes eight SATA 6 Gb/s slots, two of which are driven by a third-party controller. 8-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, eight USB 3.0 ports (six on the rear panel, two by header), dual-HDMI and DisplayPort display outputs; effectively make for the rest of the board. The same exact PCB could be used to create two SKUs, the Z87A Gaming Series, and the Z87A-GD65. Apart from a swankier color scheme and heatsink design, the Gaming Series variant could feature a few additional overclocking features.

The Z87X-OC may be reserved for people who seldom patronize the PC case industry; but for everyone else, GIGABYTE has three options based on Intel's Z87 Express chipset, which supports overclocking on 4th generation Core "Haswell" K-series processors (detailed here). Leading the trio is the feature-rich Z87X-UD5H, followed by the fairly well-equipped Z87X-UD3H, and trailed by the most affordable of the three, Z87X-D3H.

The Z87X-UD5H packs a massive 16-phase CPU VRM, even if it's not backed by the Z87X-OC's voltage-control/monitoring paraphernalia. The CPU is wired to three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x16/NC/NC or x8/x8/NC or x8/x4/x4), three PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and a legacy PCI. The board features a total of ten SATA 6 Gb/s internal ports, six of which are driven by the Z87 PCH, four by third-party controllers. Display connectivity includes two HDMI ports, and one each of dual-link DVI and DisplayPort. 8-channel HD audio with TOSLINK digital output, two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, eight USB 3.0 ports (six rear, two by header), make for the rest of it.

At a private media unveiling held on the sidelines of CeBIT, GIGABYTE disclosed its next-generation flagship motherboard, the Z87X-OC. Like most socket LGA1150 motherboards unveiled this week, this one is still under development, and the company is yet to finalize color-scheme and heatsinks for the PCH and VRM, so don't judge it by its looks just yet. The Z87X-OC is designed primarily for overclockers.

The LGA1150 socket is powered by an 8-phase VRM, which draws power from a combination of 4-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS, in addition to the board's 24-pin ATX connector. To stabilize the board's various power domains, you can optionally plug in a 6-pin PCIe power connector. The board gives overclockers a high degree of physical on-the-fly voltage control, and measurement points. One of the chipset's four USB 3.0 ports are wired out as a type-A port on-board, letting you install and run your Windows 7/8 installation off a USB 3.0 flash-drive.

BIOSTAR unveiled a trio of socket LGA1150 motherboards at CeBIT. Unlike ASRock's creations, its boards appear more complete, with heatsinks and finalized board color scheme. All three feature the company's Puro HiFi technology, a high-quality on-board audio with a focus on physically improving audio quality, rather than artificially. Among the boards are the HiFi-B85S2, the HiFi-Z87X3D, and the HiFi-H87S3+.

To begin with, the HiFi-H87S3+ features the micro-ATX form-factor, which still leaves room for four DDR3 DIMM slots, a simple 4-phase VRM to power the CPU, one each of PCI-Express 3.0 x16 and legacy PCI, two PCI-Express 2.0 x1; 6-channel Puro HiFi audio, DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI display outputs; a pair of USB 3.0 ports, and six internal SATA 6 Gb/s connectors. It is based on the H87 chipset. The HiFi-B85S2 features a slim ATX form-factor, is based on the B85 Express chipset, features just the two DDR3 DIMM slots, a PCI-Express 3.0 x16, a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4) wired to the PCH; two each of PCI-Express 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI; six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, 6-channel Puro HiFi audio, gigabit Ethernet, four USB 3.0 ports, and a display connectivity loadout of DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI.

Here is the first selection of ASRock socket LGA1150 motherboards, pictured at the 2013 CeBIT expo being held in Hanover, Germany. Intel's 4th generation Core "Haswell" desktop processor family introduces the new 1150-pin LGA socket and Intel 8-series chipset, to form the platform. An upgrade to to "Haswell" processors should hence also involve buying new motherboards. Top-two motherboard manufacturers ASUS and GIGABYTE reportedly lack booths at CeBIT, leaving only the rest to show off their LGA1150 goods. This first compilation includes boards by ASRock and BIOSTAR. The boards are also a little rough on the edges, as their component/PCB color schemes, heatsinks, etc., haven't been finalized.

ASRock unveiled two LGA1150 motherboard models, the entry-level B85M, and the high-end Z87-Extreme6 (pictured in that order). The B85M, based on the chipset that succeeds today's small business-optimized B75 chipset, is a compact micro-ATX motherboard. It features just the two DDR3 DIMM slots, an expansion area with a PCI-Express 3.0 x16, a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4), and two legacy PCI slots. Connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, 8-channel HD audio, four USB 3.0 ports, gigabit Ethernet; DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI display outputs, legacy connections such as COM/LPT over headers, and PS/2 mouse/keyboard connectors.

MSI launched the X79A-GD45 PLUS socket LGA2011 motherboard, targeting the US $200~250 price-range. The board uses a 9-phase DrMOS VRM to power the CPU socket, which is wired to eight DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 128 GB of quad-channel DDR3-2400 MHz memory; and three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (gray). The other two PCI-Express x16 slots (black) are electrical gen 2.0 x4, and wired to the X79 PCH. A lone PCI-Express 2.0 x1 finds some room in there.

The X79A-GD45 PLUS sticks to the chipset's feature-set, with very little third-party controller functionality. Storage connectivity includes two SATA 6 Gb/s and three SATA 3 Gb/s, all of which are internal ports. The board features four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear panel, two by headers), 8-channel HD audio with optical and coaxial SPDIF outputs, gigabit Ethernet, PS/2 mouse/keyboard, and a number of USB 2.0/1.1 ports making up the rest of the connectivity. It is driven by an AMI UEFI BIOS, with a few overclocker-friendly features such as diagnostic LEDs, POST state display, accessible CMOS reset button, etc.

HighPoint Technologies launches the Industry's fastest USB 3.0 RAID HBAs available for Mac OS X 10.8x Mountain Lion - the RocketU 1144CM. This third generation, PCIe 2.0 RAID HBA delivers 5 Gb/s per-port performance and supports up to 4 external USB SSD's, hard drives or Enclosures. HighPoint's innovative 4-Port HBA architecture delivers revolutionary USB 3.0 performance. Unlike conventional USB 3.0 HBA's, each port has a dedicated USB 3.0 SuperSpeed controller, and delivers the fastest SATA performance possible over USB connectivity.

The four independent 5 Gb/s USB 3.0 Type-A connectors can be used simultaneously, and deliver an unprecedented transfer bandwidth of 20 Gb/s; ideal for multi-drive configurations of high-performance SATA 6 Gb/s SSDs and hard drives. The RocketU 1144CM is powered by HighPoint's industry proven hardware assisted RAID technology, and was designed specifically for Mac Pro workstations and high-performance applications. RocketU 1144CM HBAs are fully compatible with OSX 10.6x and later, including the most up to date builds of Mountain Lion 10.8x.

ASUS augmented its socket FM2 motherboard lineup with the F2A85-V, a lite variant of the F2A85-V Pro the company kicked off its Trinity APU-compatible motherboard lineup with. The new F2A85-V trims down on a few things over the -Pro variant, such as simpler independent VRM and FCH heatsinks with no heat-pipe connecting them, fewer APU power phases, and a lighter expansion slot layout that isn't ideal for multi-GPU setups.

To begin with, the F2A85-V features a 6-phase APU VRM that draws power from a 4-pin ATX connector, compared to the 8-phase one drawing from an 8-pin EPS, on the F2A85-V Pro. The FM2 socket is connected to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting a maximum of 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1866 MHz memory; and a single PCI-Express 2.0 x16. Other expansion slots include a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4, wired to the A85X FCH), two PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and three legacy PCI slots.

In addition to the FM2A85X-ITX, ASRock expanded its socket FM2 motherboard lineup with the FM2A85X Pro. This slim ATX form-factor motherboard, as the name suggests, is based on AMD A85X chipset, supporting socket FM2 APUs. By ATX standards, the board has a very slim feature-set, which should keep its price considerably low. To begin with, the FM2 socket is powered by a cost-effective 5-phase VRM, which draws power from an 8-pin EPS connector. It is wired to just two DDR3 DIMM slots (32 GB max., dual-channel DDR3-1866); and a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 connector.

In addition to a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 that's wired to the APU, the FM2A85X-ITX features another long slot, only this one is electrical 2.0 x4, and wired to the A85X FCH. Three PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and two legacy PCI make for the rest of the expansion slot area. The board features a total of eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports, but are spread apart in two clumps of four ports each. Connectivity is pretty basic: dual-link DVI, D-Sub, four USB 3.0 ports (two rear, two by header), 6-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, PS/2 mouse and keyboard; and a number of USB 2.0/1.1 ports. We expect this one to go for around $80, if not less.

In what could bring an ear-to-ear grin on DIY NAS/home-server builders, ASRock launched the industry's first mini-ITX motherboard with a total of eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports (of which one is eSATA 6 Gb/s). The new FM2A85X-ITX, as the name suggests, is a socket FM2 motherboard based on the AMD A85X chipset, in the mini-ITX form-factor. Everything on this board is just where you'd want it to be: the centrally-located APU socket is powered by a fairly strong 6-phase VRM, which along with ancillary phases, draws power from 24-pin ATX and 4-pin CPU power connectors.

The APU socket, which supports today's AMD A-series "Trinity" APUs, and likely tomorrow's A-series "Richland" APUs, is wired to two DDR3-DIMM slots supporting a maximum of 32 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1866 memory; and the lone expansion slot, a PCI-Express 2.0 x16. The AMD A85X FCH wires out seven internal SATA 6 Gb/s ports (with RAID 0/1/10 support), and an eSATA 6 Gb/s port. Display connectivity includes one each of dual-link DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI. The board features a total of four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear panel, two by headers). Gigabit Ethernet, 8-channel HD audio, PS/2 keyboard, and a number of USB 2.0/1.1 ports make for the rest of the connectivity. The ASRock FM2A85X-ITX is expected to be priced around US $110.

MSI rolled out a new value socket AM3+ motherboard, the 970A-G43. Based on the AMD 970 chipset with SB950 southbridge, the ATX form-factor board covers all the essentials for a single graphics card gaming PC build, on a tight budget. It uses a simple 5-phase VRM to power the AM3+ socket. The board uses an all solid-state capacitor loadout, by saving on MOSFETs. The CPU VRM uses inexpensive On-Semi DPAK fare. The socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1866 MHz memory.

Among the expansion slots are a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (wired to the 970 northbridge), a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4, wired to the SB950 southbridge), and two each of PCI-Express 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI. Storage connectivity is care of six SATA 6 Gb/s ports supporting RAID 0/1/5/10. A couple of 2-port USB 3.0 controllers wired out four ports, of which are two are given out by a standard front-panel header. Completing the package are 8-channel HD audio (Realtek ALC887), gigabit Ethernet (Realtek 8111E), and a handful of USB 2.0/1.1 ports. The board is driven by AMI UEFI BIOS. The 970A-G43 is priced at $89.99.

AMD's A-series "Trinity" line of APUs may have helped make the APU outsell CPUs in 2013, but it won't be long before they're replaced by the new "Richland" A-series APUs for desktops and mainstream notebooks. "Richland" is a tweaked version of "Trinity" which sees AMD stick to the 32 nm process, and retain the "Piledriver" CPU micro-architecture, but increase CPU clock speeds, add a faster DDR3-2133 MHz dual-channel IMC, and integrate a Radeon HD 8000 series Graphics CoreNext iGPU into the silicon. Desktop APU models will take up with A##-6000 series numbering scheme.

The series will be led by AMD A10-6800K, which features every component on the "Richland" silicon unlocked, which includes two "Piledriver" CPU modules amounting to four x86-64 cores, and all stream processors on the iGPU unlocked, with the highest CPU and iGPU clock speeds enabled in the lineup. The iGPU model for this chip is Radeon HD 8670D. The A10-6800K features unlocked multipliers, making overclocking a breeze. Trailing it is the A10-6700, which features all physical components unlocked, but with slightly lower clock speeds, and locked BClk multipler. It features the same iGPU as its bigger sibling, the HD 8670D.

Buffalo Japan unveiled the HD-PUSU3 line of slimline portable HDDs. Measuring 79 x 115 x 8.8 mm (WxDxH), and weighing 140 g, the drives enclose 500 GB 7 mm-thick Ultraboook-grade HDDs, which are connected over SATA 6 Gb/s, and wired to the host over USB 3.0, with a single cabling looking after power and connectivity. Available in red (HD-PUS500U3-R), black (HD-PUS500U3-B) and silver (HD-PUS500U3-S), the drives ship with Windows and Mac installers for its Turbo PC EX2 software that works to increase throughput of the drives. Slated for February, it is priced at 11,655¥ ($132).

In addition to the DVRP-U8H DVD writer, Japanese company I-O Data also announced the HDPD-AUT line of shock-resistant drive enclosures. In addition to shock-absorbing material, the enclosure also features active shock-resistance. It packs a 3-axis G-sensor that can detect a drop in progress, and quickly park the drive, if it's running. HDD parking minimizes the risk of head contact with the platters, which permanently damages the drive.

Internally, the enclosures feature polyurethane thermoplastic elastomer membranes lining the inner sides, and a polycarbonate body that can dissipate shock. The HDPD-AUT can enclose 2.5-inch SATA 6 Gb/s HDDs and SSDs with 9 mm thickness, connecting them to host machines over USB 3.0, with a single cable handling both power and connectivity. Measuring 84 x 120 x 19 (WxDxH), it weighs about 180 g. The enclosures will be sold dry (no enclosed drive), or with 500 GB and 1 TB HDDs, and in two color options, black and silver.

Intel's known lineup of low-power Atom processors based on the "Silvermont" micro-architecture spans across the "ValleyView" line of chips for tablets, nettops, and embedded systems, "Avoton" line for micro-servers, and a third line that completes the triad, "Rangeley." Designed for the networking and communications market, such as high-density switches, internet- and telephone-exchanges, etc., these chips are the first Atom-branded products to pack up to eight x86 CPU cores.

The eight-core chips are built into a single-chip SoC design. The cores feature out-of-order execution, much like "Avoton," CPU clock speeds of up to 2.40 GHz, and an instruction-set that's carefully measured for Rengeley's target application, which includes SSE4.1/SSE4.2, AES acceleration, VT-x, and x86-64. Rangeley is also among the first Atom chips to feature a dual-channel DDR3 integrated memory controller, supporting DDR3-1600 MHz, blurring the lines between it and other Intel processors. Thanks to out-of-order execution, the chip gains a 35 percent performance increment over previous-generation "Saltwell" architecture. Since it's an SoC, its core-logic is completely integrated into the CPU package. Connectivity includes PCI-Express 2.0 (a total of 16 lanes spread across 4 ports), two SATA 6 Gb/s ports, gigabit Ethernet MAC, and legacy I/O.

Orico unveiled the new 9648RUSI3 drive enclosure that can either be used as a 1U rack-mounted device, or on a desk, with its feet attached. The enclosure, which comes in graphite black, and silvery aluminum, packs four 3.5-inch caddies with SATA 6 Gb/s interface, supporting drives as big as 3 TB. It features RAID 0, 1, 0+1, JBOD modes, and a total volume size of 12 TB is supported. While it's not quite a NAS due to the lack of a network interface, it features two high bandwidth interfaces: eSATA 6 Gb/s, and USB 3.0, in addition to FireWire 800. It is priced at the equivalent of $480.

Plextor, leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital storage devices, will introduce the M5M Solid State Drive at CES 2013. The streamlined M5M provides the same high-performance and reliability expected of a Plextor SSD in a space one-eighth the size of a standard 2.5 inch drive, making it especially well-suited for use in ultrabooks.

64/128/256 GB Versions. The M5M is an mSATA 6 Gb/s SSD following the JEDEC MO-300 form factor. It will be available during the first quarter of 2013 in 64/128/256 GB capacities. All versions feature sequential read speeds of 540 MB/s. The sequential write speeds for the three models are 160 MB/s, 320 MB/s and 430 MB/s respectively.Image courtesy of Anandtech.

A PCI-Express variant of OCZ's Vector SSD is exhibited at CES. Pictures reveal it to be a compound SSD, that uses two subunits of the Vector 256 GB, striped into RAID 0, and connected to a SATA 6 Gb/s RAID controller that talks to the rest of the system over PCI-Express 2.0 x4. Each of the two Vector SSD subunits on Vector PCIe features an OCZ-Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller, sixteen 25 nm Intel-made MLC NAND flash chips, and 512 MB of DDR3 DRAM cache.

OCZ ran benchmarks of the drive, which reveal performance upscaling over the 2.5-inch SATA Vector SSD that's expected of a RAID 0 setup. Sequential speeds were as high as 926.2 MB/s reads, with 881 MB/s writes, a respectable 563 MB/s 4K-QD64 reads, with 501 MB/s 4K-QD64 writes. Overall, the Vector PCIe is a suitable successor to the company's 2-subunit RevoDrive, and is aimed more at consumers, but could help businesses just as well, thanks to the good multi-threaded performance of the Barefoot 3 platform.

Zalman unveiled the ZM-HE400 and ZM-HE135 (pictured in that order). Available in silver and black, the ZM-HE400 measures 146 x 80.8 x 14 mm (LxWxH), with room for a 2.5-inch SATA 6 Gb/s drive, which it then connects to the host over USB 3.0, but not before a physical authentication layer. The enclosure features a felt-touch number-pad and a small LCD display, that let you set and authenticate a numerical password before accessing the 256-bit AES-encrypted contents of the drive. The ZM-HE135, which measures roughly the same, featuring the same 2.5-inch SATA 6 Gb/s bay that connects to the host over USB 3.0, lacks a physical authentication, but still encrypts your Precious using 256-bit AES, and authenticates on mount.

Micron Technology, Inc. today introduced the M500 solid state drive (SSD), featuring terabyte-class capacity, new ultra-slim package designs, and increased response times at a more affordable price point. Available to consumers, businesses, and system builders under the Crucial brand, and to OEM customers under the Micron brand, the new M500 SSD is built start-to-finish by Micron, providing the quality and reliability that only a NAND flash memory and SSD manufacturer can provide. Watch this behind-the-scenes video to see how Micron designs and builds SSDs.

Benefits of Advanced NAND Flash Technology

The M500 SSD utilizes Micron's award-winning, 20-nanometer (nm) multilevel cell (MLC) NAND flash to achieve terabyte-class capacity and enable a new level of SSD price competitiveness; the 960 GB Crucial M500 SSD will be initially priced under $600.

ASUS did the unthinkable yet simple, by innovating the first AMD platform motherboard that features PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots, the Sabertooth 990FX/GEN3.0 R2.0. Long naming aside, the board provides you a couple of gen 3.0 slots by using PLX-made 48-lane PCI-Express Gen 3.0 bridge chip.

While the board features four PCI-Express x16 slots, only two similarly-colored slots can be used at a time, of which two are PCI-Express 2.0 x16, wired to the 990FX northbridge, and two slots being x16/NC or x8/x8-capable, being wired to a PLX 48-lane PCI-Express Gen 3.0 switch, which in turn takes two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 links from the northbridge.

It looks like the void left by lack of socket LGA1150 motherboards is being filled by new LGA2011 HEDT ones, with ASUS joining in with the P9X79-E WS. The board is so big and feature-packed that its designers labeled it a workstation board that's built in the SSI-CEB form-factor (should fit in full-ATX cases that have room for EATX). The board features a 10-phase CPU VRM, seven PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots, which are wired to the CPU through a couple of 48-lane PCI-Express bridge chips, support for 128 GB quad-channel DDR3 memory, six SATA 6 Gb/s ports (two from the X79 PCH, four from third-party controllers), four SATA 3 Gb/s ports, a couple of eSATA 6 Gb/s ports, four USB 3.0 ports, FireWire, 8-channel HD audio, and two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, which are each backed by Intel-made PHYs.

MSI rolled out its second socket FM2 motherboard for the week, following the A85XMA-E33, unlike which, the new board is built into a full-size micro-ATX (240 x 240 mm) PCB. Yet, designers couldn't find room for eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports, which the A85X FCH is capable of handling, or four DDR3 DIMM slots. The FM2 socket is powered by a simple 5-phase VRM that's cooled by a chunky MOSFET heatsink, it's wired to two DDR3 DIMM slots, and a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slot. Other slots include two PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and a legacy PCI. Display outputs include DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI; 8-channel HD audio, four USB 3.0 ports, and gigabit Ethernet make for the rest of its notable rear-panel connectivity. Here's hoping that by simply opting for the A85X, without wiring out eight SATA ports, doesn't let MSI get away by making A85XMA-E35 any costlier than AMD A75-based boards with similar features.

Among an avalanche of other major products, memory maker Mushkin announced a new line of USB 3.0 flash drives that are SandForce-driven, and pack no less than 240 GB of space for your precious (n). The drives use a USB 3.0 to SATA 6 Gb/s host controller PCB, which is then wired to another one, which holds a SandForce SF-2281 processor, which marshals fewer NAND flash chips than it's capable of. Yet, the drive is capable of over 300 MB/s of transfer-rates (read/write specifics not mentioned).