When we learned early details about the Qosmio X870 from Toshiba, we took it as a sufficiently impressive combination of "Ivy Bridge" and "GeForce Kepler", without a clue about which exact models they were. DonanimHaber went hands on with one of these beasts and discovered it instead packs top-rate versions of Ivy Bridge and GeForce Fermi...err, right.

The X870 is driven by Core i7-3610QM. This chip is perhaps the most popular Core i7 mobile chip notebook designers will have access to, from the 3rd generation Core processor family. Armed with 4 cores, 8 threads (enabled with HTT), the i7-3610QM has a nominal clock speed of 2.30 GHz, with a Turbo Boost frequency as high as 3.30 GHz. Unlike higher Core i7 Extreme mobile models, its L3 cache is limited to 6 MB. Handling graphics, on the other hand, is the NVIDIA GeForce GT 670M. The GT 670 is based on 40 nm GF114 GPU, and packs 336 CUDA cores, and 2 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface. Other notable features of the Qosmio X870 include 16 GB of dual-channel DDR3 memory, a 17.3-inch display with 1920x1080 pixels resolution, an SSD holding the OS and programs, and a 2 TB HDD holding data.

Data storage expert TDK corporation unveiled the eSSD, a single-package embedded SSD chip. The chip combines a SATA 3 Gb/s SSD controller, and NAND flash in capacities ranging between 1 GB to 4 GB. The SSD controller logic is based on TDK's new GBDriver R3 controller design, and the NAND flash is of single-layer cell (SLC) type. The eSSD provides sequential transfer rates of 55 MB/s read, and 30 MB/s write, it packs an automatic garbage disposal and wear-leveling logic, along with native 128-bit AES data encryption. The package measures 17 x 17 mm, with a ball-count of 208. The chip can be part of anything, from large logic boards of embedded computing appliances, to tiny half-height mSATA SSDs. TDK is giving the chip in its mSATA board forms as evaluation samples.

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of NAND flash storage solutions, today announces the new RAIDDrive upStream, a new type of SSD designed for the PCI backplane.

SSD solutions were first introduced as 2.5" SATA replacements for existing Hard Drives. These transitive solutions have clearly demonstrated the benefits of SSD technology we know today. SSDs are faster, use less power, are more rugged and are more reliable than HDDs but the 2.5" form-factor limited their capacity and the SATA interface has again limited the available throughput.

Commodore USA, LLC announced today the historic re-unification of the legendary Commodore and AMIGA brands with the launch of the new Commodore AMIGA mini, as well as other new models such as the new C64x Supreme, the new VIC mini and a more powerful VIC-Slim keyboard computer (now with HDMI output). These new products are now in production and available for purchase at www.commodoreusa.net.

The new Commodore AMIGA mini is a trail blazing power-house featuring Intel's i7-2700k 3.5 GHz Quad-Core (3.9 GHz Turboboost) processor, 16 Gb RAM DDR3 1333 MHz and an NVIDIA GeForce GT 430 GPU with 1 GB DDR3. This machine is fully loaded with a 1 TB SATA drive (optional 300 GB or 600 GB SSD), two WiFi antennae and bluetooth. The new Commodore AMIGA mini case is ultra small and features a solid, all aluminum seamless housing,micro-sandblasted with an anodic oxidation finish. It also includes a slot load Blu-Ray drive and internal space for two 2.5" hard drives. It measures 7.5 inches square with a height of only 3 inches. The AMIGA mini's appearance is enhanced with the inclusion of the classic embedded AMIGA logo engraved in the front.

The vast majority of laptop and desktop computers sold today are equipped with rotating hard disk drives (HDDs), making the storage system the biggest bottleneck in most client computing applications. Biwin, an industry leader in flash storage products, today announced Elite Series SATA III SSDs, based on the LSI SandForce SF-2281 Flash Storage Processor, that are designed to substantially improve storage performance in laptops and desktops.

With a standard 2.5" form factor (dimensions: 100 x 69.8 x 9.5 mm), Elite Series SSDs are compatible with virtually any desktop computer and millions of laptops. They support 6 Gbps SATA III, and are downward compatible with 3 Gbps SATA II systems.

RunCore, leading developer and brand manufacturer of high-end Solid State Drives (SSDs) and storage solutions, is once again taking part in and showcasing at the world's leading conference for the design and development of embedded systems, the ESC Silicon Valley (Electronics System Conference) in San Jose from Mar 26th to Mar 29th, 2012. RunCore will show SSD innovations ranging from consumer, enterprise to industrial solutions. The focus of RunCore's product line-up will be on most advanced SSD storage solutions that provide highest speeds and lowest power consumption with best data security/lifetime. These characteristics make them ideal components for highly advanced embedded system in almost any field of application.

As the miniaturization in computing is continuously progressing, this is also the case for storage demands. RunCore is addressing this demand with their Rugged SSD for Embedded Market - rSSD series - offering highly sophisticated small form factor SATAII SSD solutions for embedded systems. Dimensions of these rSSD are compressed dramatically by virtue of the 104-ball FBGA packaging when compared to conventional drives, while reducing power consumption to 670 mW and offering a wide range of operating temperatures from -40°C up to +85°C.

Biwin today announced the opening of Biwin America, Inc., in San Jose, California to develop and market new flash based SSD storage solutions for enterprise, embedded and client applications.

Biwin is already an established leader in OEM and ODM USB flash drives. The company boasts impressive manufacturing strength that includes die sorting and packaging, over 20 SMT lines, and sophisticated test and QC processes. The founding of Biwin America, Inc., in the heart of Silicon Valley, marks the company's expansion into the USA market with a focus on expanding their existing SSD product portfolio. The company will sell its products directly to OEMs as well as through distribution.

ORICO officially introduced the HS-01 series 2.5" SATA solid-state drives (SSDs). The drives come in four variants, based solely on the design of the drives' shells, while internally, the four are identical. Internally, the HS-01 is driven by LSI-SandForce SF-2281 controller, with 25 nm MLC NAND flash memory, offering 256 GB of storage. Apparently, these drives incorporate the latest firmware microcode released by LSI that helps the drive make better use of its available NAND flash capacity.

The drives take advantage of the SATA 6 Gb/s interface, offering sustained sequential speeds of 500 MB/s (read) and 350 MB/s (write). The four previously mentioned variants are HS-01A-256S3, HS-01C-256S3, HS-01D-256S3 and HS-01E-256S3 (first picture, CW). The bodies are made of CNC-milled aluminum, which are ridged to assist in heat dissipation. Backed by 5-year warranty, the HS-01 series 256 GB drives are priced at 2,898 RMB (US $458.3).

Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend), a worldwide leader in storage and multimedia products, is proud to showcase the extraordinary performance capabilities and new higher capacity of the next generation SATA III 6Gb/s SSD720 solid state drive (SSD). Built with industry-leading 24nm toggle-mode MLC NAND flash chips and now available in extra-large capacities up to 512GB, an SSD720-equipped computer boots-up faster, games run more smoothly, and overall system responsiveness is improved.

Taking full advantage of the latest SATA III 6Gb/s specification and driven by a powerful SandForce controller, the SSD720 boasts impressive sequential read/write transfer speeds of up to 560MB/540MB per second and lightning-fast 4k random file writes up to 86,000 IOPS. This exceptional performance translates into ultra low response times, launching heavy graphics applications, such as Adobe Photoshop and Premiere CS5, and AutoCAD 2011, in under three seconds. Completing file operations at least three times faster and providing ultra-low access latencies by avoiding platter seek time, the SSD720 is the ideal drop-in replacement for standard rotating hard drives (HDDs).

Introducing the Icy Dock MB994SP-4SB-1 Full Metal Quad Bay 2.5" SATA 6Gbps backplane for use in a single 5.25" device bay. This new model uses a SATA 6Gbps interface and adds a fan power switch to control when you need it. The dual 40mm cooling fans in addition to the power switch for the fans allow for the best flexibility - Turn off when using SSD's and on when using mechanical SATA hard drives. The single 4 pin power connector reduces the amount of cables required and making installation simpler.

The MB994SP-4SB-1 utilizes our EZ Slide Mini Trays that accommodate 9.5mm & 12.5mm drives which makes drive interchangeability and maintenance completely hassle free. The MB994SP-4SB-1 is made completely of metal to ensure protection of your drives as well as reliability. With it's small form factor, the MB994SP-4SB-1 is perfect for use in gaming PCs, RAID systems, and in small form factor cases where 5.25" bays are limited and large drive capacity or SSD's are needed.

Marvell today announced mass deployment of the Marvell 88SS9187 SATA controller fueled by high performance embedded processor technology. The 88SS9187 features a 6 gigabit-per-second (Gb/s) SATA Revision 3.1 compliant host interface optimized for the fast-growing solid state drive (SSD) sector, offering many game changing benefits to the consumer, mobile and enterprise markets. A significant number of high-profile SSD manufacturers are set to deploy Marvell's newest solution immediately, with additional partners expected to integrate 88SS9187 implementations later this year.

Marvell's newest SSD controller boasts an open, world-class architecture that supports industry-standard, high-speed NAND Flash interface up to 200 MB/s per channel. The 88SS9187 also offers a groundbreaking correction capability thanks to its high performance ECC engine with Adaptive Read and Write Scheme and on-chip RAID functionality to allow use of the latest generation of NAND Flash devices in the fast-growing SSD markets.

NVIDIA seems to have scored big design wins with Acer, for its next-generation GPUs. First, we had reports of Acer's VA40 combining Intel "Ivy Bridge" Core processors with NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M, and now Acer Timeline M3-581TG, following the same path. The M3-581TG is a 15.6-inch Ultrabook (one of the first of its kind). Pictures of this model reveal case-badges of its key components, including an NVIDIA GEFORCE GT case-badge, which gives out GPU model (GeForce GT 640M) and memory amount (1 GB). This could very well be the way NVIDIA's GeForce GT family of GPUs will be designated in case-badges.

Based on the 28 nm GK107 silicon, the GeForce GT 640M packs 384 CUDA cores running at speeds of up to 625 MHz, with 405 MHz base clock, and 910 MHz DDR3 memory, churning up 28.8 GB/s memory bandwidth. Other notable components of the Timeline M3-581TG include Intel Core i7-2637M (1.7 GHz dual-core, 4 MB of L3 cache) processor, 4 GB DDR3-1333 memory, and 256 GB SSD.

Fusion-io and Tokyo Electron Device today announced the availability of the Fusion ioDrive2 and Fusion ioDrive2 Duo in Japan. The Fusion ioDrive2 products deliver up to 2.4 TB of powerful enterprise flash performance into servers to accelerate applications with an efficient solution that reduces the need to spend valuable energy and resources on legacy storage appliances or ineffective SSDs.

"Given Japan's well-deserved reputation for being one of the most innovative nations in the world, we are very proud to introduce the ioDrive2 with Tokyo Electron Device to help Japanese companies leverage their most important asset - data," said David Flynn, Fusion-io CEO and Chairman. "Whether in online commerce, social media, financial systems, or ensuring safe, on-schedule transportation systems, data is what powers our world today. With the ioDrive2, companies can unlock latent performance in their data centers in order to accelerate their applications while saving on both capital and operational expenses."

Shuttle is working on its newest fanless all-in-one PC, the X50V3. Built with a 15.6-inch touchscreen that feature 1366x768 pixels resolution, the X50V3 measures 39.13 x 32.7 x 4.2 cm, weighing just under 3 kg. It is available in black and white body-color options. It is driven by Intel Atom D2700 dual-core processor (2.13 GHz, HTT), and features two DDR3 SOIMM slots, supporting up to 4 GB of single-channel DDR3-1066 MHz memory. There's provision for one 2.5" SATA SSD/HDD.

Display connectivity is expandable with D-Sub and an HDMI connector, which also gives out multi-channel digital audio. At the helm of graphics is the Intel GMA3650 integrated into the Atom D2700. The chassis embeds a 2 MP web-camera. Other connectivity includes four USB 2.0 ports, a 4-in-1 card reader, gigabit Ethernet, and Wireless b/g/n(150). The X50V3 can be configured to ship with memory, storage, and an OS (Windows or OpenSuSE Linux). There's no word of when the product will officially launch, and at what price.

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced that Colfax International will deploy OCZ Z-Drive R4 PCIe SSDs into Colfax's new lines of enterprise servers based on Intel's recently announced dual socket Sandy Bridge-EP platform.

Providing a compact, power-efficient solid-state solution that fits directly into a system's PCI Express (PCIe) slot, OCZ's Z-Drive R4 dramatically increases server application performance while delivering fast and reliable access to data without burdening host CPU and memory resources. OCZ's combination of high-performance, low latency, and high storage capacity make the Z-Drive R4 ideally suited for the new Colfax Sandy Bridge EP-based servers targeted towards demanding enterprise applications that include cloud computing, server virtualization and consolidation, high-performance computing (HPC), and Online Transaction Processing (OLTP).

HighPoint Technologies, Inc., an industry leading HBA and storage solutions manufacturer, launches the RocketStor SMART Backup; the Industry's first 10Gb/s Dual-Bay USB 3.0 External Backup Solution designed for PC and Mac platforms. The RocketStor SMART Backup is ideal for small businesses and media professionals looking for a flexible, high-performance, and easy to use backup solutions for personal and business data.

The RocketStor SMART Backup incorporates the convenience and versatility of USB connectivity with dedicated Dual 5Gb transfer bandwidth and an easy to use Software Suite, into an intuitive, high-performance backup solution for personal and business applications. The dual SATA 6Gb/s docking bays support all generations of SATA SSD's and HDD's, and well suited for a wide-range of backup applications including portable/removable storage, securing critical business data, media libraries, and digital archiving.

HighPoint Technologies, Inc., the industry's price-leader for SATA and SAS HBA and storage solutions, is now shipping the RocketCache 3240X8; the next-generation SSD caching solution for high-performance Mac and PC platforms.

Ordinary caching solutions limit performance gains to specific applications, restrict configurations to a single hard disk and SSD pair, or are exclusive to particular storage device. HighPoint's RocketCache allows you to create your own high-performance storage solution using off the shelf hard disks and SSDs. Capitalizing on HighPoint's industry-proven RAID technology, RocketCache HBA's can aggregate multiple SSDs and hard disks into single storage units, in order to maximize transfer speeds or data security.

RunCore, leading developer and brand manufacturer of high-end Solid State Drives (SSDs) and storage solutions, is showing a strong presence at CeBIT 2012. The world's largest IT trade show proves to be a major success for RunCore. An unprecedented amount of distributors and system integrators turn to innovative SSD solutions from RunCore for their future storage demands. As a result RunCore reached new distribution agreements to broaden market availability all over Europe such as in Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.

As the miniaturization in the computing will is continuously progressing, this is also the case for storage demands. RunCore is addressing this demand with their highly recognized rSSD series offering highly sophisticated small form factor SATAII SSD solutions for embedded systems. Dimensions of these rSSD are shrinked dramatically by virtue of the 104-ball FBGA packaging when compared to conventional drives, while reducing power consumption to 670 mW and offering a wide range of operating temperatures from -40°C up to +85°C.

Super Talent showed off a new, cost-effective PCI-Express SSD, the RAIDDrive upStream. The drive is essentially a complex-SSD of four SandForce-driven SSD sub-units, working in an abstract RAID configuration. The card features PCI-Express 1.1 x8 interface. Available in capacities of 220 GB, 460 GB, and 960 GB; the RAIDDrive upStream churns out sequential speeds as high as 1 GB/s (read), and 900 MB/s write. Aimed at the consumer rather than the enterprise, RAIDDrive upStream taps into the market products such as the RevoDrive X2 from OCZ, did. It will be cheaper than other PCI-Express SSDs from Super Talent. It should be available by the end of April.

Colorful is well-known for its highly innovative graphics card designs, it is one of China's leading graphics card brands. Some of its graphics card designs have captured our imagination. Its latest creation is a DIY mini-ITX barebones system for gaming, called Desert Eagle. The package consists of Colorful's own-design slim-form-factor (SFF) chassis, which bears a swanky combination of red and black, with ample perforations and and top handles; a custom-design, low-profile Colorfire AMD Radeon HD 6750 graphics card (Colorfire is Colorful's Radeon-selling brand); a mini-ITX socket LGA1155 motherboard based on the Intel H67 chipset (model: i-H67HD U3); and a 300W PSU.

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced that Drobo will utilize the OCZ Talos SAS SSD Series for integration into its B1200i iSCSI SAN solutions for business environments. Drobo, makers of award-winning data storage products for businesses and professionals, has chosen to provide customers with even faster and more robust storage systems by complementing the sophisticated feature set of the B1200i with the superior performance, energy efficiency, and maximum endurance of Talos SSDs.

Ideal for small-and-medium businesses (SMBs), the Drobo B1200i provides reliable, high-performance, and self-optimizing storage for server virtualization, email, and data protection and features seamless integration with existing infrastructures as an iSCSI SAN device. With innovative automated data-aware tiering, the B1200i delivers a level of automation and technical sophistication that is easier to use and less costly to deploy than typical enterprise solutions. The B1200i is the first Drobo product to leverage the benefits of SSDs for increased bandwidth, lower power consumption, and instantaneous access times.

The end is nigh, for the 311 Series and 510 Series solid state drives, as Intel decided they can retire and leave more breathing room for models using 25 nm NAND Flash, namely the (now confirmed) 313 Series and the (already released) 520 Series.

Both the 311 Series and 510 Series, which feature 34 nm NAND Flash, will be available for ordering until June 7th and will continue shipping up till September 7th (2012).

Japanese company Green House introduced the GH-SSDxS-1MA series (where "x" = capacity in GB). Built in the 1.8" SATA form-factor, the drives are available in capacities of 32 GB (GH-SSD32GS-1MA), 64 GB (SSD64GS-1MA), and 128 GB (GH-SSD128GS-1MA). The drives use MLC NAND flash, and an unknown controller with 64 MB DDR cache. Features such as TRIM, NCQ, and ECC (48bit/2KB) come standard.

Sequential speeds are up to 230 MB/s (read) and 190 MB/s (write) for the 64 GB and 128 GB models; and 220 MB/s (read) with 100 MB/s (write) for the 32 GB model. Backed by 1 million hours MTBF and 1,500G/0.5 ms shock-resistance, the 32, 64, and 128 GB models are priced at 10,500 JPY (US $129), 16,800 JPY (US $206), and 25,200 JPY (US $310), respectively. They are slated for mid-March.

According to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, the following report presents a forecast of six major DRAM and NAND Flash industry trends in 2012-2015.

Trend-1: Mainstream PC DRAM Specification DDR3 to Dominate Market Until 2014

DDR3 has been the mainstream PC DRAM specification since 2011, and DRAMeXchange expects it will remain so until 2014. Although JEDEC will officially announce standards for DDR4 in 2012, DRAMeXchange is conservative as to whether the new specification will follow the historical pattern set by DDR and DDR2 and hit the market in 2014-2015, as the marginal benefit to PC performance provided by DDR4 will be limited. However, Intel will still hold decisive influence over the matter.

Currently, Patriot Memory's SATA 6.0 Gbps SSD offering is all-SandForce but things will change in Q2 when the company will release a new drive family based on a controller designed by Taiwan-based Phison Electronics.

Found on display at Patriot's CeBIT booth, the Phison-powered solid state drive is called Magma and it features a 2.5-inch form factor, a SATA 6.0 Gbps interface, a MTBF of over 1.5 million hours, and a three-year warranty. Unfortunately Patriot didn't provide any performance numbers but it did say Magma will be a value-minded solution. Capacity wise, Magma will arrive in 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB versions.