Solid state drive (SSD) is gradually making its way to become the mainstream in 3C product market. Team Group Inc., one of the leading memory manufacturers in the world, is making improvement in SSD product development by launching the ultra-thin Team Ultra L1 SSD. As thin as 7mm, the Team Ultra L1 SSD is the most lightweight and compact model which can be installed directly onto new generation of Ultrabooks for faster booting and read/write speed. Combined with the inherent advantage of shock resistance and stability of SSD, it signifies significant improvement of computer performance and durability.

Team Ultra L1 SSD is provided with SATA III 6Gb/s high-speed interface. The compact profile and special titanium color finishing highlight the product's high quality and the sense of modern technology. The continuous read and write speeds go as high as 550MB/s and 520MB/s, respectively. The random write-in speed for small files of 4K reaches up to 80,000 IOPS, not only fast but stable. In addition, the integration of Dura Write and RAISE (Redundant Array of Independent Silicon Elements) provides support for S.M.A.R.T. and full compatibility with Win7 Trim commands. It gives the hard drive a boost of burst random writing and effective improvement of computer's ability to respond and multiplexing performance, making the hard drive a storage solution of extreme speed for consumers.

Austrian tweaking specialists o.v.e.r.clockers.at today set a new world record in the renowned performance test PCMark05. Throughout the entire project, Noctua fans, CPU coolers and thermal compound played a key role.

During last Friday's live event hosted by the Austrian SSD manufacturer Angelbird, o.v.e.r.clockers.at already managed to break the previous world record in Futuremark's popular benchmarking suite PCMark05, but since their best CPU and motherboard fell victim to the extreme tweaking, the Austrian overclocking specialists failed to pass the
60.000 point mark. Today, o.v.e.r.clockers.at set out to make another attempt, but US overclockers had topped their previous record overnight and pushed the bar to a breathtaking 62.759 points - more than the Austrian's had hoped to achieve. Taking up the challenge nonetheless, o.v.e.r.clockers.at squeezed the absolute maximum out of their system.

Plextor, leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media and storage equipment, has announced they will be entering the Enterprise SSD Market. The official product announcement and details will be made at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

This announcement comes on the heels of the introduction of the M5 Pro which gained accolades from the critical press as one of the fastest-if not the fastest-SATA 6Gbps SSD on the market. This entry into the SSD market also set a standard for data protection and data accuracy with 256-bit AES encryption and TrueProtect-a dual-stage data debugging feature exclusive to Plextor.

Just in time for Christmas and New Year's holiday shopping season, COUGAR, leading German PC case and power supply brand, has introduced two new white colored editions of their high-end mid-tower PC case, the COUGAR Volant and their affordable mid-tower case, the COUGAR Solution. The new white editions come with the honey-comb and mesh hybrid intake design creating a solid, rugged look with optimized ventilation characteristics. By offering enough room for eight installable fans, the cases are perfect for demanding gamers and enthusiasts and those on a budget.

To further improve ventilation and in-case airflow, the COUGAR cases also sport an advanced cable-management system keeping the inside organized. Two holes on the backside of the chassis provide access for water cooling solutions. The combination of rugged lines, metal mesh elements and glossy surface ornaments lend the new white editions a clean professional look. A total of 7 PCIe slots allow for multiple-graphics setups in SLI and CrossfireX modes with state-of-the-art graphics cards of up to 320 mm/12.5" length. Drive installation is child's play with the Volant due to COUGAR's screwless design technology. Easy and convenient on-the-fly data access of 3.5" and 2.5" HDDs/SSDs is provided for by an integrated docking-station on top of the case.

Mushkin, Inc., an industry-leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance and mission-critical computer products, today announces that the company will begin shipping the world's largest capacity mSATA Solid-State Drive in January 2013. As the latest addition to Mushkin's Atlas family of mSATA drives, the new solid-state drive delivers up a colossal 480 gigabytes (GB) of storage capacity on a single mSATA module.

"We're excited to present our latest Atlas 480 GB mSATA solid state drive, demonstrating once again Mushkin's consistent ability to combine top performance, functionality, capacity, and low-power innovation," said Brian Flood, Director of Product Development at Mushkin Inc. "Keeping z-height as low as possible and managing to fit eight NAND flash chips and a controller on a mSATA PCB was no easy feat, but now capacity-hungry Ultrabook and notebook users can go beyond the 256 GB mSATA barrier."

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced that SED International (Amex: SED), an established multinational distributor of leading computer technology products, is now authorized to distribute OCZ's complete line of consumer-based SSDs in Latin America and the Caribbean. This includes OCZ's popular SATA-based Vertex and Agility SSD Series, the PCIe-based RevoDrive SSD Series, and the recently announced Vector SSD Series featuring OCZ's new Barefoot 3 controller that delivers advanced I/O performance and enhanced endurance for personal computing environments.

The distribution agreement with OCZ represents SED International's first SSD brand for the Latin American region providing an alternative storage technology to hard disk drives (HDDs) given today's performance disparity between servers and HDDs. As data traffic continues to exponentially increase, the mechanical and physical limitations of HDDs result in system bottlenecks that compromise the end user experience necessitating the need for faster, more reliable storage solutions.

Plextor, a leading developer of high-performance digital storage equipment, announces the release of the 100K Xtreme firmware update for its multi-award winning M5 Pro SSD. This update transforms the current M5 Pro into the M5 Pro Xtreme - the first truly professional SSD capable of delivering random-read speeds up to 100,000 IOPS along with improved maximum random-write speeds of 88,000 IOPS, a 470 MB/S sequential write speed, and an impressive 540 MB/S sequential read.

The Plextor M5 Pro has already been a success across the globe not only generating significant sales, but picking up large numbers of awards in reviews and the top position in group tests. Engineered to use the latest Marvell 88SS9187 controller and Toshiba's new 19 nm Toggle NAND, Plextor expects further success with the drive's Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme version.

Japanese PC maker Mouse Computer announced the LuvMachines Mini (Lm) series VESA-mount compatible nettops. It includes three models, the Lm-mini40B (base), Lm-mini40S (SSD-equipped), and Lm-mini40X (hybrid HDD-equipped, top). The three are based on a common design, which measures 5.2 x 153.6 x 172.6 mm (HxWxD), which can either latch on to your monitor via VESA wall-mount, or sit around on your desk with its stand. The base configuration includes an Intel Celeron 847 processor clocked at 1.10 GHz, 4 GB RAM, 320 GB HDD, Intel NM70 chipset, USB 3.0, 802.11 b/g/n, gigabit Ethernet, and Windows 8. It is priced at 29,820¥. The Lm-mini40S tops that with a 120 GB SSD, and is priced at 34,650¥. The Lm-mini40X leads the pack with 750 GB hybrid HDD, and is priced at 39,900¥.

HighPoint Technologies, Inc., the industry's leading SATA 6Gb/s RAID HBA manufacturer, announces the availability of their second generation SATA 6Gb/s storage controllers - the RocketRAID 600L series. HighPoint's RocketRAID 600L series HBA's represent the industry's most comprehensive, and affordable selection of 6Gb/s SATA PCIe host controllers. Powered by industry-proven RAID technology, SATA port multiplier support, and an intuitive RAID Management Suite, HighPoint RocketRAID 600L HBA's are the ideal SATA 6Gb/s storage solution for any PC and Mac computing platform.

With the dawn of 2013, and no catastrophes in sight, Intel is going ahead with its usual business of phasing out old processor models, and making way for new ones. By the end of 2012, Intel will stop taking orders for several processor models mostly based on the older 32 nm "Sandy Bridge" silicon. These include chips such as the Core i7-2700K, Core i5-2310, Core i3-2105, Pentium G440, and surprisingly, an early demise of the 22 nm Core i5-3450, which is cannibalized by the Core i5-3470 at the same price point. Pentium G870, G645 and G645T as well as Celeron G555, G550 and G550T are the other chips on the chopping block.

Come 2013, Intel will release Pentium and Celeron series processors based on its 22 nm "Ivy Bridge" micro-architecture. These include the Pentium G2130, G2020 and G2020T and Celeron G1620, G1610 and G1610T. In the mobile (notebook) CPU sphere, Intel will launch dual-core "Ivy Bridge" chips to layer out its Ultrabook product segment. These include the Core i7-3687, Core i5-3437U, Celeron 1037U, 1007U, 1020M and 1000M. In March, the company is expected to launch its 4th generation Core "Haswell" line of processors.

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of NAND Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, and South Korean fabless semiconductor company Novachips Inc. announces a development project to make the dedicated Automotive Solid State Drive (SSD) based on Novachips SATA 6Gbps SSD controller, NVS3600.

Super Talent is a leading manufacturer and provider of Automotive SSD that currently delivers the SATA 3 6Gbps-based automotive SSD as the main storage device of the AVN system mounted on a luxury car. It is the world's first SSD mounted on the AVN system for regular cars.

All the spotlights are now focusing on the surge of Ultrabook, Team Group, the leading brand names in the world in memory storage, is rolling out the new Team Ultra L2 SSD. Only 7mm in thickness, it is the most compact model in the market. It can be installed on the new generation of Ultrabook with ease, improving significantly the booting speed and read-write performance. The model provides substantial battery life and shock resistance. It is like a size of featherweight boxer packed with heavyweight champion performance. It is the ultimate upgrade choice for your Ultrabook.

It takes MSI a while to determine to enter Workstation market. MSI felt compelled to expand product line, base on users' daily usage requirements. Thus after focus on developing quite a range of gaming notebooks for casual and hardcore gamiers for years, MSI GT60 Workstation will be arriving in December 2012. MSI created a professional tool for engineers, designers, scientists, and a lot more professional users ; helping them achieve their ideas, creations into tengible products or virtual artworks.

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced the availability of its new SATA III-based Vector SSD Series featuring the company's next-generation Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller. OCZ's worldwide technology hardware and firmware teams developed the new controller silicon and firmware completely in-house to enable full design control over the Vector SSD Series roadmap, while delivering exceptional I/O performance, enhanced reliability and endurance, and a host of differentiated features to empower high performance laptops, desktops, and workstations with superior storage capabilities.

OCZ Vector SSDs provide exceptional input/output operations per second (IOPS) performance and the cutting-edge Barefoot 3 controller consistently delivers superior sustained performance over time regardless of whether the data streams are in compressed or uncompressed formats. As a result, this groundbreaking SSD series provides faster file transfers and boot-ups, and a quicker, more responsive storage experience.

Transcend announced the ESD200 line of portable SSDs. Measuring 62 x 92 x 10.5 mm (WxDxH) and weighing just 56 g, the drives are available in 128 GB and 256 GB capacities, and take advantage of USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface, with a single cable handling both power and host connectivity. The drives provide sequential read speeds of up to 260 MB/s, and up to 225 MB/s sequential writes. In addition to data encryption software, the zippy road-warriors come with ECC support, and one-touch data backup. The included Transcend Elite software also syncs files and settings between computers although it's not [yet?] Windows to Go certified. The 256 GB and 128 GB variants are priced around $250 and $125, respectively.

Ahead of its December launch, Lenovo gave us a sneak peak of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch Ultrabook on its website. The 14-incher retains the essential design of its August 2012 launched predecessor, with the addition of Windows 8 Pro, a multi-touch screen, and a screen-resolution marked "HD+," which most probably is 1600 x 900 pixels. No other details were revealed. We don't expect the new X1 Carbon to deviate from its formidable system specs, which includes Core i5 "Ivy Bridge" with vPro processor, GeForce graphics, and SSD/HDD storage options.

Intel's SSD 525 line of performance mSATA SSDs may be slated for 2013, but made an early debut with the company's NUC (next unit of computing) desktop. A 180 GB variant of the drive was put to test by VR-Zone, which is driven by LSI-SandForce SF-2281 processor, and features three Intel-made 20 nm MLC NAND flash chips (6-channels). The drive cracked Anvil Storage Utilities benchmark with 504 MB/s (compressible) and 463 MB/s (incompressible) sequential read speeds, 468 MB/s (compressible) and 240 MB/s (incompressible) sequential writes, and about 55,841 IOPS 4K random write (QD16) performance. The performance numbers make the drive appear nearly as fast as larger 2.5-inch SATA SSDs, and could be a boon for Ultrabook makers.

Have you ever felt the need to have control (which can't be second-guessed by the OS) over which drives stay active in your multi-bay drive enclosure? If so, this enclosure (model: CRCH35U3IS) from Japanese peripherals vendor Century could be a Godsend. The enclosure allows you to manually toggle power to individual drives. It features four 3.5-inch SATA 6 Gb/s lockable caddies, and connects to its host over USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface. A single SSD has been tested to achieve transfer rates as high as an honest-sounding 400 MB/s. The enclosure is cooled by a temperature-activated fan, which can be overridden. Measuring 130 x 260 x 185 mm (WxDxH), the enclosure weighs about 3.2 kg (probably because it includes a power supply). Slated for early-December, it is priced at 17,800¥ (US $220)

Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, announced today that for a limited time over this Black Friday weekend, its new 250 gigabyte (GB) SSD 840 solid-state drives will be available at a special discounted price and will include a download of the new "Far Cry 3" video game from Ubisoft Entertainment at no additional cost.

From Black Friday through Cyber Monday (11/22 - 11/26), or while supplies last, consumers will be able to purchase the 250 GB version of Samsung's SSD 840 drive for just $169.99, $20 less than the usual minimum advertised price. They also will receive a code enabling them to download the full PC version of "Far Cry 3," normally priced at $59.99.

Transcend announced a 128 GB variant of its StoreJet Cloud wireless SSD (model: TS128GSJC10K), which the company launched in December 2011, with 32 GB and 64 GB variants. Measuring 99 x 54 x 16.5 mm, and weighing 90 g (roughly the size and weight of an entry-level smartphone), the drive is a self-powered wireless SSD, which uses a Li-polymer battery that can keep the drive connected for up to 6 hours; and 802.11 b/g/n (up to 150 Mbps) WLAN interface, with which the drive can either be part of a wireless network, or serve up to five clients in a small radius.

Since it's technically a NAS, the StoreJet Cloud features support for basic NAS features, and can be controlled using apps for mobile devices via Google Play and Apple App Store. The drive uses USB 2.0/1.1 for charging, and can connect to a host as USB mass-storage device. Thanks to drops in NAND flash prices, the 128 GB variant is priced around US $150. For reference, the 64 GB variant was launched at $300, just last year.

Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced it is shipping the next generation of its most cost-effective SSDNow V Series solid-state drive. The Kingston SSDNow V300 is a powerful upgrade solution for cost-conscious consumers looking to upgrade their existing desktop or notebook PC.

The new SSDNow V300 is 10x faster than a 7200 RPM hard-disk drive†. It is powered by an LSI SandForce Flash Storage Processor (FSP) solution customized for Kingston, and optimized for industry-leading 19 nm NAND Flash memory to deliver sequential read and write speeds of up to 450 MB/s. Using best-in-class components, SSDNow V300 combines quality, performance and affordability for first-time SSD users or anyone looking to upgrade an existing system.

I-O Data unveiled the HDPX-UTSS line of Portable solid state drives. Built with a 9 mm-thick chassis that encloses a 7 mm-thick SSD originally manufactured by Intel (most likely Intel SSD 330 series) , the series includes 60 GB (HDPX-UTSS60K), 120 GB (HDPX-UTSS120K) and 240 GB (HDPX-UTSS240K) models, priced at 10,920¥ ($137), 16,485¥ ($207) and 31,080¥ ($391), respectively. The drives feature USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface, to alleviate bandwidth bottlenecks. Real-world benchmarks show the drives to provide up to 250 MB/s of transfer rates. The drives are Windows to Go (WTG) compliant. Measuring 75 × 110 × 9 mm, the drives weigh about 110 g.

In October 2012, Renice released the world's first native USB 3.0 SSD controller, as well as portable USB 3.0 SSDs ranging from 32 GB to 512 GB, at prices no higher than any SSD products in the market.

These SSDs, using Renice's self-developed U3127-IT controller, have some unique features like AES-256 bit, power failure protection and write protection, etc, with a read/write speed up to 430 MB/320 MB/s.

Synology America Corp. today announced the launch of the RS10613xs+, following the recent release of the RS3413xs+. The new 10-bay 2U RackStation is Synology's most advanced hardware to date. The RS10613xs+ is built with SME in mind, providing fast and scalable storage at a price point that makes it peerless; the ideal storage solution between NAS and SAN. Taking advantage of up to 8 of the new RX1213sas expansion modules, it can quickly scale to up to 106 SAS drives (up to 424TB raw storage), allowing businesses to expand their capacity on the fly.

The new addition to the XS+ series is optimized for virtual network storage, supporting both iSCSI and NFS. It is certified for VMware vSphere 5, Microsoft Windows Server 2012 with Hyper-V, and Citrix XenServer. It offers VAAI integration, including Hardware Assisted Locking (ATS), Block Zero, Full Copying, and Thin Provisioning.

Creative technologies developer Modbook Inc. today announced it is doubling the pen pressure sensitivity levels on the Modbook Pro, the company's one-of-a-kind Mac-based pen tablet computer for the creative community. The solid-state drive (SSD) capacity and random-access memory (RAM) in the base configuration of the Modbook Pro are also being doubled. This substantial improvement in the Modbook Pro's specifications comes at no additional cost to customers - the manufacturer's suggested retail price of the Modbook Pro remains unchanged at $3,499.

Beginning immediately, the pen pressure sensitivity levels on the Modbook Pro, whose pen tablet functionality is powered by a state-of-the-art digitizer from industry leader Wacom, are being doubled from 512 to 1,024, four times the industry standard for tablet computers.