Back in March 2022, Microsoft formally debuted the DirectStorage 1.0 API that enables direct interactions between a GPU and a storage device; thereby reducing the processing load of the storage stack on the CPU and main memory. This release, however, lacked a killer feature that's available to consoles—asset decompression. With the lukewarm response from game developers to DirectStorage 1.0 for PC, Microsoft has finally updated the API, introducing the feature with DirectStorage 1.1.

With this feature, your GPU can not only directly fetch game assets from the storage device (an SSD that uses either NVMe or AHCI protocols), but also pull them in their natively-stored compressed state. These assets are then decompressed by the GPU using compute shaders, and the decompressed assets remain in the video memory. This will directly impact game loading times, as asset decompression no longer involves the CPU. Its impact on the game's framerate will be minimal, as the API mainly accelerates game loading times, not gameplay itself. Game assets are organized pieces of data such as textures, 3D model files, music, sound effects—pretty much all of the individual pieces of content that make up a 3D scene.

Global technology leader PNY Technologies is delighted to announce the launch of the new innovative and high-performing CS1031 M.2 2280 NVMe Gen 3 x4 SSD. The product is the perfect choice for an NVMe upgrade from a SATA-based solid-state drive (SSD) for various NVMe-enabled devices.

The new product offers users numerous superior qualities to optimize their device's performance, enhance reliability, and lengthen the product's life. For a start, it fosters the advanced internal storage PCIe Gen 3x4 NVMe 1.3 interface to replace SATA, allowing more bandwidth thanks to its multiple lanes and more efficient signaling mechanisms. While SATA was initially made for HDD usage and was only customized for NVMe use, NVMe was designed precisely for SSD, leading to more satisfactory performance than SATA SSD counterparts. Additionally, with multiple form factors, the product is highly adaptable and can be utilized with various storage platforms.

Western Digital Corp today announced it has expanded its SanDisk Professional line of premium storage solutions with the new PRO-G40 SSD that supports dual-mode compatibility with both Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.2 Gen 2 interfaces. Inspired by the way people create and share data today, this new drive is the company's most rugged offering to date with a high-level IP68 rating, allowing professionals to immerse themselves in the action wherever their work or vision takes them.

"The nature of my work is unpredictable and as a result I must be incredibly flexible and versatile. I share the same expectations for every piece of equipment that I use from capture to archive which is why the SanDisk Professional PRO-G40 drive will immediately be a crucial part of my workflow," said Andy Handcock, action, portrait and reportage photographer, and PRO-TEAM ambassador. "I need storage solutions that are lightweight, compact, rugged, and insanely fast. This checks all the boxes for me. The PRO-G40 SSD can easily withstand the rigors of travel and location work while doing so with a minimal footprint. Thanks to SanDisk Professional products like these, workflow is one less thing I need to stress about which frees me to focus more on the creative. That is paramount."

ASUS today announced ExpertBook B5 (B5602C) and ExpertBook B5 Flip (B5602F), all-new laptop models engineered with an expansive 16-inch, 16:10 display and strong, lightweight build for extreme flexibility and business productivity on the go—plus the option of an OLED panel for stunning visuals.

The new models laptops are set for serious travel with amazing all-day battery life, and are engineered with many cutting-edge technologies to improve mobile work efficiency. These include an up to 12th Gen Intel Core processor with up to Intel Arc A350M discrete graphics, dual-fan cooling, AI-powered conferencing technology, and dual-SSD RAID support. B5 Flip additionally benefits from a 360°-flippable screen, plus the added versatility enabled by support for a fast-charging, garaged stylus. ExpertBook B5 and ExpertBook B5 Flip are also packed with features to protect personal privacy and business data, including vPro support, a built-in fingerprint sensor and TPM 2.0 chip.

NVMe SSDs in M.2 format have become standard PC equipment, as they allow high transfer rates and extremely low access times and thus enable faster and more effective work or gaming. Due to their design, however, M.2 NVMe SSDs are only capable of delivering their maximum performance for a short time. The controller chip heats up extremely quickly and begins to throttle the SSD's performance at an early stage. To ensure that the full performance of the memory can be used permanently, Alphacool now offers the Core M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 Liquid Cooler with digital aRGB illumination.

The Core M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 Liquid Cooler features 5 digitally addressable RGB LEDs that create a unique illumination. The LEDs can be connected to a digital RGB controller or a digital RGB capable mainboard and thus controlled as desired. The material mix of acrylic, nickel-plated copper and aluminium also gives the cooler a noble design.

Colorful Technology Company Limited, a professional manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards, all-in-one gaming and multimedia solutions, and high-performance storage, proudly presents its lineup of Intel Z790 Series motherboards for the Raptor Lake-based 13th generation Intel Core processors. COLORFUL presents a selection of ATX and micro-ATX motherboards under the enthusiast-class CVN Series and all-rounder micro-ATX BATTLE-AX Series motherboard. The COLORFUL Z790 Series motherboard lineup will feature DDR5 and DDR4 memory support in distinct motherboard models.

The CVN Z790D5 GAMING FROZEN and CVN Z790D5 GAMING PRO motherboards are designed for enthusiasts looking into maximizing the performance out of the 13th generation Intel Core processors with its 16+1+1 (55 A) power phase and 6-layered PCB design. Both motherboards comes with four PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 slots for NVMe SSDs.

KIOXIA America, Inc. is at Intel Innovation this week to demonstrate its CM7 Series NVMe SSDs that deliver next-generation levels of performance to enterprise and data center workloads. The KIOXIA CM7 family is designed with PCIe 5.0 technology in Enterprise and Datacenter Standard Form Factor (EDSFF) E3.S and 2.51-inch form factors. These drives double performance from the prior generation and offer an expanded set of form factor options, larger capacities, and advanced features.

Intel Innovation is a technology showcase event that spotlights the tools, training and community created to empower developers to create what's next. CM7 demos will be conducted in the KIOXIA kiosk located in Intel Innovation's PCIe 5.0 and CXL Ecosystems Zone on the show floor of San Jose's McEnery Convention Center. KIOXIA will present a video showing its PCIe 5.0 drives demonstrating high performance, low latency and high bandwidth, in a 12th Gen Intel Core processor-based workstation. CM7 performance of up to 14 gigabytes per second sequential read throughput, utilizing the full bandwidth of PCIe 5.0 x4 speed, will be shown.

Crystal Group, Inc., a leading designer and manufacturer of rugged computer and electronic hardware, announced today the release of a ruggedized and tamper-proof NVMe M.2 drive validated across their portfolio of rugged, high-performance compute solutions for tactical edge applications. Using new, proprietary Crystal Group ruggedization techniques on the tamper-evident Seagate BarraCuda 515 solid state drive (SSD) extends the drive's capabilities to military platforms by meeting strict U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) cybersecurity and environmental operating requirements.

"Marrying advanced data security features with comprehensive environmental standards streamlines two critical performance needs for tactical edge applications into one solution," said Todd Prouty, senior business development manager at Crystal Group. "Integrating these capabilities at both the drive level and hardware level provides maximum physical and data protections for long-life, seamless compute performance and accuracy in and across all domains."

MSI, the world's leading gaming PC hardware brand, is proud to announce the new SPATIUM M570 PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 HS, with blazing fast read speeds up to 10 GB/s that unites the latest in top-notch PCIe Gen 5 controller technology with high-quality 3D NAND flash, and advanced cooling. Sporting a bronze-coloredaluminiumm heatsink, the SPATIUM M570 PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 HS SSD takes a sensational leap in storage performance, bringing more than 1.5 times faster read/write speeds compared to current PCIe 4.0 SSDs. With compliance of NVMe 2.0 and M.2 2280 form factor, the SPATIUM M570 HS offers optimal performance and long-lasting durability in 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB capacity variants for professionals, content creators, and gamers in an easy installation and extreme transfer speeds for multitasking workloads. The strong collaboration between MSI and Phison was showcased to convey innovations in the storage space area during CES 2022 mutually.

"K.S.Pua, CEO of Phison Electronics, said that the cooperation between Phison and MSI started from the SSD product line. Since both companies have their own expertise in NAND controller and computer system integration respectively, and in addition to SSD, MSI has also actively expanded its strategy in the fields of gaming, content creators, commercial, industrial, robotics, and even automotive in recent years, where the application markets are in line with Phison's long-term strategy, so the two companies hit it off. The SPATIUM PCIe 5.0 SSD launched by MSI this time adopted Phison's E26 SSD controller. Since the performance of PCIe 5.0 is much faster than the previous generation of PCIe 4.0, the two companies have conducted a lot of tests and discussions on power consumption and heat dissipation, which is a valuable cooperation experience. In the future, Phison will continue to support MSI through controller technology."

QNAP Systems, Inc. (QNAP) today officially released the QTS 5.0.1 NAS operating system that strengthens overall security, with increased convenience and performance for data protection and day-to-day usage. New features include secure RAID disk replacement, Windows Search Protocol support for NAS shared folders, and support for Enterprise SED (Self-Encrypting Drives). ARM and x86-based QNAP NAS with QTS 5.0.1 now also support the exFAT file system at no extra cost, providing users with greater options and device compatibility for large file transfers.

"In the Information Age, efficient data transfer and file sharing must factor in security and reliability concerns. This is QNAP's goal when developing the QTS smart NAS operating system," said Sam Lin, Product Manager of QNAP, adding "QNAP has instilled stricter security standards and granular management features to help businesses and individuals confidently manage their data while also safeguarding their digital assets and mitigating growing security threats."

Cloud storage provider Backblaze is one of the industry players providing insightful reports into the health and reliability of the storage mediums they invest in to support their business. In its most recent report, the company shared data that may finally be pointing towards the general perception (and one of SSD's call to fame upon their introduction): that they boast of higher reliability and lower failure rates than HDDs.

The company's latest reports shows that SSDs have entered their fifth operating year without an escalation in failure rates: something that seems to plague HDDs pretty heavily starting from year 4. The idea is simple: SSDs should be more reliable because there are no moving part (no platters and no read/write heads that can fail). However, SSDs do have other points of failure, such as NAND itself (the reason there's TBW ratings) or its controller. Backblaze's data does however show that those concerns may be overrated. Of course, there's a chance that SSDs employed by Backblaze will hit a "reliability" wall of the sort that HDDs seem to enter in year four of their operation, where failure rates increase immensely. More data throughout a larger span of time will be welcome, but for now, it does seem that SSDs are the best way for users to keep their data available.

Just like in fashion, certain colors are more popular at times than others. At the moment, many users like the look as white build, some add RGB fans, others like it more understated. In order to offer a nice option for gamers and enthusiasts, Antec Inc. shows off the DP505 White. The case is now available on US Amazon.

The chassis features visual effects with a x-shaped front panel design ensures a massive air intake for ideal cooling performance of the components. Ventilation grids on the top, at bottom and at the PSU chamber of the case accelerate the airflow. Magnetic and pull-out dust filters at the top and the bottom allow for easy cleaning and maintenance. The 4 mm non-drilled tempered glass side panel lets the user show off the build, while the interior of the chassis allows plenty of space for watercooling and case fans.

QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading computing, networking, and storage solution innovator, today launched reliable QuTS hero NAS TS-hx87XU-RP series, available in 9, 18, 22, and 30-bay models. The series integrates the power of Intel Xeon E-2300 series processors with fast 10GbE and 2.5GbE Multi-Gig connectivity and an efficient HDD/SSD hybrid storage architecture that balances performance, capacity, and cost. Running the ZFS-based QuTS hero operating system, the TS-hx87XU-RP series prioritizes data integrity and provides powerful data reduction, near-limitless snapshots, up to 5 petabytes capacity per shared folder, and more, serving as ideal storage solution that meets today's business requirements for file servers, virtualization servers, VDI, and backup/restore.

Designed for heavy business workloads, the TS-hx87XU-RP has extreme computing power from the Intel Xeon E processor, along with up to 128 GB DDR4 ECC memory to fuel multitasking demands and redundant power supply protection. In-built 10GBASE-T and 2.5 GbE network ports fulfill bandwidth-demanding tasks such as virtualization, large file transfers, and real-time applications. High-speed PCIe Gen 4 slots are included for extending core NAS functionality, such as adding additional 10/25 GbE network interface cards, QM2 cards to add M.2 SSDs and 2.5 GbE/10GbE ports, Fibre Channel cards for SAN storage, and storage expansion cards to connect QNAP expansion enclosures. The TS-hx87XU-RP series can pair with QNAP's managed and unmanaged 10GbE/2.5 GbE switches, assisting organizations in implementing high-speed, secure and scalable network environments without going over budget.

KIOXIA America, Inc. has introduced new Industrial Grade flash memory devices. This new lineup utilizes the latest generation KIOXIA BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory with 3-bit-per-cell (triple-level cell, TLC) technology, and is available in a 132-BGA package. Densities range from 512 gigabits (64 gigabytes) to 4 terabits (512 gigabytes) to support the unique requirements of industrial applications - including telecommunication, networking, embedded computing and much more.

The storage requirements for many industrial applications stand in stark contrast to those of SSDs designed to be housed in climate-controlled data centers - including the need for extended temperature ranges and the ability to maintain high reliability and performance in rugged operating conditions. Designed with these needs in mind, the new KIOXIA devices support a wide temperature range (-40°C to +85°C) and offer suitable products for the industrial market.

The first batch of PCIe 5.0 SSDs are all likely to be based on Phison's PS5026-E26 controller, which offers eight NAND channels, capable of supporting NAND speeds of up to 2400 MT/s. Phison's own figures for the controller are 13 GB/s writes and 12 GB/s reads, with up to 1.5 million random read IOPS and 2 million random write IOPS. However, as we've already seen from various SSD brands, many PCIe 5.0 SSDs won't exceed 10 GB/s when it comes to the sequential read/write speeds. This is because the current NAND flash simply isn't fast enough to saturate the PCIe 5.0 bus, which is capable of 15.75 GB/s. That said, Micron's 232-layer 3D NAND should be able to boost the performance up to 12.4 GB/s based on the numbers Gigabyte announced for their Aorus Gen 10000 SSD.

Based on an article over at Tom's Hardware, we shouldn't expect too many drives that exceed 10 GB/s sequential writes at launch, due to most drives using 176-layer 3D NAND flash, that is limited to 1600 MT/s. As such, it might be wise to hold off on buying the first generation of PCIe 5.0 drives and wait for better availability of 232-layer 3D NAND, as beyond Micron, SK Hynix is expected to have a 238-layer 3D NAND flash in the market sometime in the first half of 2023. If you're not really eager to have the fastest SSD out there for pure bragging rights, it would seem that mid 2023 might be the right time to get a PCIe 5.0 SSD.

Kingston released the NV2 line of entry-level M.2 NVMe SSDs succeeding the NV1 series from early-2021, which was infamous for its hardware-specs lottery. The biggest change with the NV2 series is the move to PCI-Express Gen 4 (from Gen 3 for the NV1 series), even though it doesn't appear like they can take advantage of all that bandwidth.

The Kingston NV2 comes in capacities of 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB; and offer sequential transfer speeds of up to 3000 MB/s reads, with up to 1300 MB/s writes; with endurance ratings of up to 80 TBW for 250 GB, 160 TBW for 500 GB, 320 TBW for 1 TB, and 640 TBW for 2 TB. The company won't mention the controller + NAND flash combo in use (so it could use whatever combination it wants to in the future, as long as the advertised speeds and endurance are achieved); but in all likelihood, this is Phison E19T DRAMless controller that features PCI-Express 4.0 x4, paired with 3D QLC NAND flash. Kingston is backing these with 3-year warranties.

Seagate Technology Holdings plc, a world leader in mass-data storage infrastructure solutions, today announced its next-generation Exos X systems, the advanced storage arrays powered by Seagate's sixth generation controller architecture. The new Exos X systems feature up to twice the performance of the previous generation and enhanced enterprise-class durability. To help protect the stored data, Exos X systems incorporate ADAPT (Advanced Distributed Autonomic Protection Technology) erasure coding solution with Seagate's innovative self-healing storage technology ADR (Autonomous Drive Regeneration).

The Exos X series is a family of petabyte-scale, rack-mounted block storage enclosures that aggregate and virtualize dozens to hundreds of hard drives and SSDs for maximum data resiliency, availability and performance. Exos X systems are ideal as highly available enterprise storage infrastructure for conventional enterprise data centers as well as private clouds.

Here are some of the first pictures of the GoodRAM IRDM Ultimate PCIe Gen 5 M.2 NVMe SSD. Built in the M.2-2580 form-factor, the drive combines Phison's upcoming E26 controller, with what's likely KIOXIA 162-layer 3D TLC NAND flash memory. The controller takes advantage of the PCI-Express 5.0 x4 interface, and NVMe 2.0 protocol, offering sequential transfer speeds of around 10 GB/s reads, with around 9.5 GB/s writes. The drive comes in capacities of 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB. It comes with a fairly large heatsink included. AMD Socket AM5 will be the first platform to feature CPU-attached PCIe Gen 5 M.2 slots, which goes on sale by late-September. The first PCIe Gen 5 NVMe SSDs, according to AMD, should be here by November.

As reported by BusinessKorea, Apple, one of the largest companies in the world, will source its 3D NAND from Chinese memory maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC). Known for supplying 3D NAND to Chinese SSD makers, YTMC's reported contract with Apple will fuel the upcoming iPhone 14 SKU manufacturing. Whether or not this partnership will expand to other products, it is essential to have as many storage sources as possible, as Apple sells millions of devices per year. YTMC is on track to deliver 3D NAND flash with the latest Xstacking 3.0 six-plane architecture that provides triple-level cell storage with I/O speeds of 2400 MT/s.

YTMC has joined the list of 3D NAND flash vendors that Apple works with, including SK Hynix, Samsung, Kioxia, and possibly others. This partnership also highlights that the Chinese memory output is sufficient and significant enough to break into more markets worldwide, not remaining exclusive to domestic use.

Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory solutions, is proud to announce the Lexar Professional NM800PRO M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe SSD, with a heatsink model also available. It is engineered for hardcore gamers, professionals and creators who demand high-performance computing.

The Lexar Professional NM800 M.2 2280 NVMe SSD provides maximum SSD performance that puts you in the computing fast lane with speeds up to 7500 MB/s read and 6500 MB/s write. With blazing-fast performance, the Lexar NM800 PRO SSD leverages the 12 nm controller to produce lower power consumption and longer battery life for all your high-performance computing needs. Unlike traditional hard disk drives, the Lexar NM800PRO SSD has no moving parts, so it's built to last. On top of that, it's also shock and vibration resistant, making it one robust and reliable SSD.Update Sep 6th: Added pricing information.

Tech manufacturer JSAUX announces that its upcoming generation of Steam Deck Docking Stations is available and ready to order. The HB0604 Docking Station features an M.2 SSD slot that will allow players to upgrade the Deck's storage by attaching an external storage unit (not included with the dock). This way, players can expand their library when playing games on a big screen, especially AAA titles that tend to grab a significant chunk of the Deck's storage. This new Docking Station will be on sale on September 7 at 7am PST for a special $99 early bird price for the first 100 orders. After that, next orders will be priced at $129. JSAUX is also offering two bundled M.2 Docks with a 1 TB SSD and a 2 TB SSD storage card. The Dock + 1 TB SSD storage card will have an early bird price of $169 for the first 50 units (after that, it will be sold at $199), the Dock + 2 TB SSD storage card will have an early bird price of $239 for the first 50 units (after that, it will be priced at $269). All customers will get a complimentary portable stand for the Deck (while supplies last), a skin and a keycap with their orders.

Besides the M.2 SSD slot, that supports NVMe and SATA with a 900 MB/s data transfer, the docking Station features a 4K@60 Hz / 2K@120 Hz HDMI 2.0 port, 2 USB-A 3.1 ports, 1 Gigabit Ethernet port as well as a USB-C port for power input that allows charging at 100 W, letting the Steam Deck fully recharge while plugged in. The units bundled with SSD storage will feature M.2 2280 units, featuring PCIe Gen 3 8GT/s interface, up to 4 lanes. The SSDs are compliant with NVMe Express Revision 1.4 and support host memory buffer. Both the 1 TB and the 2 TB units offer up to 3300 MB/s read speeds and up to 2600 MB/s write speeds.

MaxLinear, Inc, a leading provider of radio frequency (RF), analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits, and Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (NasdaqGS: SIMO) ("Silicon Motion"), a global leader in NAND flash controllers for solid state storage devices, today announced that at Silicon Motion's extraordinary general meeting (the "EGM") of shareholders, held on August 31, 2022, shareholders of Silicon Motion approved the previously announced merger agreement under which MaxLinear will, subject to the terms and conditions thereof, acquire Silicon Motion, and approved other proposals related to the transaction.

More specifically, at the EGM, securityholders of Silicon Motion approved, by the requisite vote, the acquisition of Silicon Motion by MaxLinear, including the approval of: (a) the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated May 5, 2022 (as it may be amended from time to time, the "Merger Agreement"), by and among MaxLinear, Shark Merger Sub, an exempted company incorporated and existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands and a wholly-owned subsidiary of MaxLinear ("Merger Sub"), and Silicon Motion, pursuant to which Merger Sub will merge with and into Silicon Motion with Silicon Motion continuing as the surviving company and becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of MaxLinear (the "Merger"); (b) the plan of merger required to be filed with the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands; (c) the Merger itself, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement; and (d) all other transactions and arrangements contemplated by the Merger Agreement.

ASUS today announced Vivobook 14 OLED (X1405), Vivobook 15 OLED (X1505) and Vivobook 16 OLED (X1605), three feature-packed everyday laptops with OLED displays. These new Vivobook models deliver a stunning visual experience, featuring superb world-leading OLED NanoEdge PANTONE Validated displays with up to a 3.2K resolution and a 120 Hz refresh rate. Vivobook 14 OLED and 16 OLED have 16:10 aspect-ratio displays, while Vivobook 15 OLED has a traditional 16:9 aspect ratio. All displays have TÜV Rheinland low blue-light certification to ensure eye comfort during long viewing sessions.

Feature-packed specifications include a physical webcam shield on the HD 3DNR webcam for instant privacy; a full-size ASUS ErgoSense keyboard; a mega-sized touchpad that gives maximum room for fingers; an optional ASUS NumberPad 2.0 (Vivobook 14 OLED only) for easy data entry; and an optional fingerprint sensor on the touchpad. ASUS Antibacterial Guard protects against harmful bacteria.

AMD's upcoming launch of Ryzen 7000 series processors will bring an entirely new AM5 platform that will enable newer technologies and protocols. We have DDR5 memory and PCIe 5.0 connection with everything at level five. However, the upcoming chipsets AMD has designed to work alongside the new processors will be available in several variants. There will be regular X670 and B650 versions that support either a PCIe 5.0 GPU or a PCIe 5.0 M.2 NVIMe SSD. Today, we got a confirmation that not only the big X670 chipset has an "E" or "Extreme" version, but its smaller brother B650 as well. With X670E and B650E, users get both PCIe 5.0 connectivity for their GPU and M.2 NVIMe SSD. For more information, we have to wait for AMD's official launch information later today.

According to TrendForce research, material supply improvement and spiking demand for enterprise SSDs from North American hyperscale data center and enterprise clients in 2Q22 coupled with the Kioxia contamination incident in 1Q22 prompted customers to ramp up procurement to avoid future supply shortages. Manufacturers also give priority to meeting the needs of server customers due to the high pricing of enterprise SSD. In the second quarter, overall revenue of the enterprise SSD market increased by 31.3% to US$7.32 billion.

As the market leader, Samsung has grown its enterprise SSD revenue to US$3.26 billion with the recovery of enterprise SSD procurement. Especially in the second quarter, when orders for other consumer products continued to decline, enterprise SSD became the company's outlet for reducing production capacity. At present, Samsung has been continuously investing in the development of next-generation transmission specification products such as the CXL 2.0 product released at the Flash Summit in early August, in order to maintain a leading position in the market.