A number of manufacturers have been caught red-handed, so to speak, by changing components on their SSD products without as much as a product specifications change. This has happened in the past with ADATA, Patriot, and more recently with Western Digital and its WD Blue SN550; now, it's Samsung that's being on the receiving end of a more attentive look at their recent batches of the 970 EVO SSD - particularly its 1 TB configuration.

According to Computerbase, a YouTube channel in Asia seems to have first noticed the difference. They've tested the older version of Samsung's 970 Evo Plus 1 TB (product number MZVLB1T0HBLR, April 2021 production date, a Phoenix controller [S4LR020] and 96-layer 3D TLC NAND) against the newer (product number MZVL21T0HBLU and is equipped with an Elpis controller [S4LV003] and 3D-NAND with the identifier K9DUGY8J5B-CCK0), which likely features different packaging and density for the same 96-layer 3D TLC NAND.

NAND Flash suppliers' Clients in the data center segment were gradually stepping up enterprise SSD procurement after finishing inventory adjustments, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. Moreover, the adoption rate of 4/8 TB products in the enterprise SSD market increased substantially on account of the releases and adoption of the new server processor platforms from Intel and AMD. Although the recent wave of COVID-19 outbreaks that struck Southeast Asia weakened smartphone sales in 2Q21, the quarterly total NAND Flash bit shipments rose by nearly 9% QoQ, as PC OEMs still had plenty of component orders in 2Q21 due to the fairly robust notebook demand during the period. On the other hand, the shortage of controller ICs became more severe during the period, and the winter storm that battered Texas this February affected the operation of Samsung's foundry fab Line S2 in Austin. As demand for NAND Flash products rose, the overall ASP also rose by nearly 7% QoQ, and the quarterly total NAND Flash revenue rose by 10.8% QoQ to US$16.4 billion in 2Q21.

OWC, the premier zero-emissions Mac and PC technology company, and a respected provider of Memory, External Drives, SSDs, Mac & PC docking solutions, and performance upgrade kits, announces the availability of the OWC Mercury Pro LTO with complete macOS, Windows, and Linux compatibility plus bundled ArGest Backup software supporting LTFS bulk transfer and delivery, backup, archive, and unique storage options. The OWC Mercury Pro LTO provides an industry-leading data management/storage/transportation/archive strategy.

Monitoring and Evaluation professionals, corporations, government branches, and small businesses face the same challenge: managing an ever-increasing amount of more complex data. Higher resolution, complex audio, and diverse formats are the project norm. Organizational content is projected to grow 50-70% annually as more data is digitalized and licensing regulatory compliance requirements to become more stringent.

Come August 17, SK hynix's best-selling "Gold P31" line of Solid State Drives (SSDs) will be complemented with a 2 TB capacity version. Gold P31, SK hynix's PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD, has garnered consistent praise from professional tech reviewers for its unique performance and power efficiency benefits. The drive released last year in 1 TB and 500 GB capacities, and is now adding a 2 TB option for users of high-capacity storage including gamers and content creators. The 2 TB version will be marked with a sleek, black-color PCB (Printed Circuit Board) instead of the usual green.

The 2 TB Gold P31 will offer 3,500 MB/s in sequential reads and 3,200 MB/s in sequential writes, the highest from a PCIe Gen3 drive, as well as an industry-leading endurance rating of 1,200 TBW (for 2 TB capacity; Terabytes Written: total amount of data an SSD can write in its lifetime), thus providing performance, capacity, power efficiency, and reliability all around. With read speeds of 172.2 MB/s per watt of power, the Gold P31 is indeed 434% more efficient than comparable products (for 1 TB capacity; Tallis, Billy. "The Best NVMe SSD for Laptops and Notebooks: SK hynix Gold P31 1 TB SSD Reviewed." AnandTech. August 27, 2020).

Ever since the emergence of PCs, hard disks have become the most prevalent type of storage device. To accelerate the overall data flow of PCs, increase the storage throughput, and further enhance data security of the hard disks, disk arrays were invented. Information and data security is critical for both individuals and enterprises. The safety of DVRs, computer system disks, monitoring servers, banking systems, warehouses and other data and files can determine whether or not an institution survives. Therefore, the safety performance of SSD is a major focal point.

To meet the demand for SSD security and reliability, the FORESEE, an industry brand of Longsys, SSD R&D team launched the P709 PCIe SSD, which, empowered by the TCG-OPAL 2.0 and Pyrite 2.0 encryption functions, ensures data security and avoids data leakage. In addition to the encryption functions, the capacity combination, power consumption and read/write performance of this product can hold its own against the mainstream market standard. When it comes to compatibility, the FORESEE P709 PCIe SSD has been certified by Intel Modern Standby and UNH-IOL thanks to its excellent low-power performance. Not only does it significantly prolong the battery life of terminal devices, it also ensures product stability by balancing speed and temperatures during continuous operation through the use of temperature control algorithms.

At the end of July, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) announced the specifications and guidelines for expanding the console's built-in internal storage and confirmed that the PlayStation 5 (PS5) will now support M.2 SSDs for users to expand storage for game files and applications on the PS5. Today, TEAMGROUP's gaming brand, T-FORCE, is unveiling the T-FORCE CARDEA A440 Pro Special Series M.2 PCIe SSD with the industry's first-ever white graphene heat sink. The latest M.2 SSD, made specifically for expanding storage and will be available for gamers around the world on major e-commerce platforms in October, 2021.

The T-FORCE CARDEA A440 Pro Special Series M.2 SSD is being announced today by TEAMGROUP and is equipped with the industry's first-ever white graphene heat sink. The M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD, created specifically to expand PS5 storage, can reach read/write speeds of up to 7,400/7,000 MB/s and offers storage capacities of up to 8 TB. The T-FORCE CARDEA A440 Pro Special Series M.2 SSD meets the specifications for the PS5 in heat sink size, read/write speeds, and supported capacities, allowing PS5 gamers to install it easily and get the storage they need instantly.

While the server industry transitions to the latest generation of processors based on the x86 platform, the Intel Ice Lake and AMD Milan CPUs entered mass production earlier this year and were shipped to certain customers, such as North American CSPs and telecommunication companies, at a low volume in 1Q21, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. These processors are expected to begin seeing widespread adoption in the server market in 3Q21. TrendForce believes that Ice Lake represents a step-up in computing performance from the previous generation due to its higher scalability and support for more memory channels. On the other hand, the new normal that emerged in the post-pandemic era is expected to drive clients in the server sector to partially migrate to the Ice Lake platform, whose share in the server market is expected to surpass 30% in 4Q21.

ATP Electronics, a global leader in specialized storage and memory solutions, has announced that its A600Sc Series serial ATA solid state drives (SATA SSDs) have been successfully qualified for compatibility and interoperability with Adaptec Smart Storage PCIe Gen 4 Tri-Mode SmartRAID 3200, SmartHBA 2200, and HBA 1200 Smart Storage adapters.

Designed for storage platforms in next-generation data centers, the Adaptec PCIe Gen 4 SAS/SATA/NVMe HBA and RAID tri-mode adapters deliver significantly higher performance through PCIe Gen 4 x16 CPU interfaces as well as SAS and SATA storage. The new offerings simplify integration and provide flexibility to aggregate diverse storage devices with Microchip's proven security and manageability features for the most demanding server storage applications.

ADATA Technology, a manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, mobile accessories, gaming products, electric power trains, and industrial solutions, today unveiled a host of new products at its "Xtreme Innovation" online product launch event. The online event showcased the latest products and solutions from both ADATA and XPG, including solid state drives, DRAM modules, memory cards, and PC components, and systems. The event was hosted by XPG's own Mera and coincides with ADATA's twentieth anniversary celebrations taking place throughout 2021.

ADATA also unveiled its next-generation DDR5 memory module, which sports frequencies of 8400 MT/s, up to 163% faster than DDR4. This performance boost will allow files and tools to load faster for seamless multitasking and enhanced creative productivity. What's more, the module will operate at 1.1 V for improved power efficiency and comes with capacities of up to 64 GB.

Seagate has confirmed that it now has a PS5-compatible SSD that should be a worthwhile drop-in replacement for the PS5's user-replaceable storage. This isn't a new product, mind you: the company has announced the Firecuda 530 for some time now. However, the company did announce that this SSD can be used in the PS5 system - even if just barely. With space being so constrained in the PS5's NVMe SSD slot, not all SSDs can even physically fit the available space (110 x 25 x 11.25 mm) - and especially not all SSDs featuring a heatsink, even if PS5's compatibility requirements demand such an heatsink to be present so as to avoid thermal throttling.

The FIrecuda 530 1 TB can easily best Sony's 5500 MB/s sequential read requirements for SSD compatibility with the PS5 - the PCIe 4.0 Firecuda 530 offers 7,300 MB/s on that regard, so it more than fits the part. The user-replaceable SSD storage on the PS5 will only be available for Beta users at first, via an upcoming software update for the console, and there are some hoops to jump through in migrating data to it. Seagate is also releasing a 2 TB version ($569.99) and a 4 TB version ($1,049.99). Seagate's own user-replaceable SSD for the Xbox Series X|S, the Storage Expansion Card, is available in 1 TB capacity for $219.

Samsung Electronics today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021. Total consolidated revenue was KRW 63.67 trillion, a 20% increase from the previous year and a record for the second quarter. Operating profit increased 34% from the previous quarter to KRW 12.57 trillion as market conditions improved in the memory market, operations normalized at the Austin foundry fab, and as effective global supply chain management (SCM) helped maintain solid profitability for the finished product businesses.

The Semiconductor business saw a significant improvement in earnings as memory shipments exceeded previous guidance and price increases were higher than expected, while the Company strengthened its cost competitiveness. For the Display Panel Business, a one-off gain and an increase in overall prices boosted profits.

Intel today launched its newest generation Intel Xeon W-3300 processors, available today from its system integrator partners. Built for advanced workstation professionals, Intel Xeon W-3300 processors offer uncompromised performance, expanded platform capabilities, and enterprise-grade security and reliability in a single-socket solution.

Intel Xeon W-3300 processors are intelligently engineered to push the boundaries of performance, with a new processor core architecture that transforms for what expert workstation users can accomplish on a workstation.

The Intel Xeon W-3300 processors are designed for next-gen professional applications with heavily threaded, input/output-intensive workloads. Use cases stretch across artificial intelligence (AI), architecture, engineering, construction (AEC), and media and entertainment (M&E). With a new processor core architecture to transform efficiency and advanced technologies to support data integrity, Intel Xeon W-3300 processors are equipped to deliver uncompromising workstation performance.

The ramp-up of the Intel Ice Lake and AMD Milan processors is expected to not only propel growths in server shipment for two consecutive quarters from 2Q21 to 3Q21, but also drive up the share of high-density products in North American hyperscalers' enterprise SSD purchases, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. In China, procurement activities by domestic hyperscalers Alibaba and ByteDance are expected to increase on a quarterly basis as well. With the labor force gradually returning to physical offices, enterprises are now placing an increasing number of IT equipment orders, including servers, compared to 1H21. Hence, global enterprise SSD procurement capacity is expected to increase by 7% QoQ in 3Q21. Ongoing shortages in foundry capacities, however, have led to the supply of SSD components lagging behind demand. At the same time, enterprise SSD suppliers are aggressively raising the share of large-density products in their offerings in an attempt to optimize their product lines' profitability. Taking account of these factors, TrendForce expects contract prices of enterprise SSDs to undergo a staggering 15% QoQ increase for 3Q21.

Kioxia Corporation, a world leader in memory solutions, today announced two new solid state drive (SSD) series scheduled to be released in the fourth quarter of 2021. The EXCERIA PRO and EXCERIA G2 Series are the company's latest consumer-grade solutions for today's hardcore enthusiasts and mainstream DIY system builders. Kioxia's new SSDs, which are products under development, will be on reference exhibit at the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference (ChinaJoy) in Shanghai from July 30th to August 2nd.

Using the next generation PCIe Gen4 x4 interface, the EXCERIA PRO Series is built for demanding PC environments. This brand new series will offer more than 2x the max sequential read speeds of the PCIe Gen3 based EXCERIA PLUS Series, delivering a high performance storage experience for content creators, gamers and professionals.

Greenliant is now sampling SATA M.2 2242 ArmourDrive PX Series solid state drives (SSDs) that support 5K program-erase (P/E) cycles and advanced EX series SSDs with superior data retention and high endurance that support 60K, 120K and industry-leading 300K P/E cycles. SATA M.2 2242 ArmourDrive SSDs operate at industrial temperatures (-40 to +85 degrees Celsius) and are rigorously tested for shock and vibration to withstand the most extreme environments. See SATA M.2 ArmourDrive product information at http://bit.ly/SATA-M2-SSD.

Designed with Greenliant's EnduroSLC Technology, the new EX Series SSDs are available in 4 GB, 8 GB, 20 GB, 40 GB, 80 GB, 160 GB and 320 GB capacities, and are included in Greenliant's Long-Term Availability (LTA) program for 1-bit-per-cell (SLC) NAND based products (http://bit.ly/SSD-LTA-program). The new PX Series SSDs, available in 64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB capacities, use 3-bit-per-cell (TLC) 3D NAND flash memory to provide cost-effective industrial storage.

OWC, the premier zero-emissions Mac and PC technology company, and a respected provider of Memory, External Drives, SSDs, Mac & PC docking solutions, and performance upgrade kits announces the new OWC Envoy Pro SX, the Thunderbolt portable SSD that can withstand any condition. The mild-mannered exterior of the OWC Envoy Pro SX hides its true nature. It's super-fast. Super-versatile. Super-portable. And rugged enough to endure the most challenging work and play settings.

This little beast of an SSD handles all data storage and backup challenges like a real superhero when put to the test. The OWC Envoy Pro SX is versatile enough to be used as a bus-powered drive for daily storage and backup tasks. It can handle workflows easily handle the speed demands of production-level audio, design, and photography workflows. And it serves up real-world performance speeds up to 2847 MB/s with modern Thunderbolt and USB 4 equipped Macs and PCs. Built along the OWC Envoy Pro EX's award-winning lineage, this tiny but mighty ½ pound portable drive is 1/3 smaller. It features a removable Thunderbolt cable and is test certified to handle the nastiest environments. From managing obstacles in the field to crushing deadlines at home, the OWC Envoy Pro SX lets you unleash your productivity power without needing a cape or mask.

Innodisk, a leading global provider of industrial flash and memory solutions, announces its industrial-grade 112-Layer 3D TLC SSDs along with the world's highest capacity up to 8 TB. The 112-layer SSDs introduces a complete product line including the SATA 3TG6-P and 3TE7 series, as well as the PCIe Gen 3 x4 and Gen 4 x4 series.

The new TLC SSD Series marks Innodisk's continued development with 3D NAND design, bringing better efficiency, faster performance, and increased capacity. Compared to the previous 96-layer technology that offered a maximum of 2 TB storage, the new 112-layer PCIe Gen 4x4 series increase the capacity to 8 TB for U.2 SSD, which is the highest in the industry, while increased the capacity to 4 TB for M.2 (P80). Beyond capacity increases, 112-layer is also faster, with the PCIe Gen 4x4 series clocking in at speeds up to 7500/6700 MB/s (8CH) and 3800/3000 MB/s (4CH). The marked increase in performance meets the growing needs of AIoT applications and industries in 5G, edge computing, deep learning, smart surveillance and smart medical where speed and higher capacity support are critical.

Infortrend Technology, Inc., the industry-leading enterprise storage provider, has launched U.2 SSD solution for EonStor CS scale-out NAS. The new all-flash CS 4014U satisfies high performance-demanding requirements for high throughput and low latency workloads, such as media & entertainment (M&E), HPC, Big Data, etc.

EonStor CS is a scale-out NAS storage able to expand capacity and linearly increase performance by adding more nodes. CS provides complete data protection and high availability to avoid data loss and system downtime caused by disk damage or system failures. Each node of CS 4014U model can be installed with 14 U.2 SSDs, and a 5-node cluster can reach 20 GB/s throughput.

Microsoft DirectStorage API, a game-changing technology that seeks to lower game load times and improve performance, will not be a Windows 11 exclusive, but make it to Windows 10. Shortly following the Windows 11 announcement, it was learned that Microsoft might wall off DirectStorage to Windows 11, which no longer appears to be the case. The DirectStorage Developer Preview is now available, and it works on Windows 10 version 1909 (or later), letting game developers begin exploring the technology and consider integrating it with their current or ongoing game development.

DirectStorage lets a GPU directly stream compressed game assets from an NVMe SSD, where they are uncompressed using compute shaders; cutting out a significant amount of back-and-forth with the CPU, freeing up its hardware resources, resulting in a net gain from reduced game-loading times. This would give gamers on Windows 10 one more reason to remain on the OS until Windows 11 matures. The new OS, however, could have an advantage over Windows 10 on machines with hybrid CPU cores, such as the upcoming "Alder Lake" processors, as its scheduler purportedly has greater awareness of hybrid core topologies.

The upcoming Steam Deck device has recently been confirmed to feature a M.2 NVMe 2230 slot on all three models. This confirmation comes after Valve CEO Gabe Newell confirmed in various emails the presence of the slot and this information has since been updated on the Steam Deck website. The official device specifications now list all models as featuring socketed 2230 M.2 modules with a notice that they are not intended for end-user replacement. The base Steam Deck model features just 64 GB of eMMC flash so the availability of this upgrade option will be appealing to many users. The M.2 2230 form-factor is the smallest currently available measuring just 22 mm x 30 mm which does come with the disadvantage of less available products and higher prices compared to full size M.2 drives.

PNY announced today the launch of the LX2030 and LX3030 line of ultra high endurance SSDs to the company's assortment of solid-state drives. The new LX families of SSDs offer ever higher levels of endurance designed for "proof of space and time" applications like Chia (XCH) Plotting.

The PNY LX2030 and LX3030 M.2 NVMe SSDs are the ideal solution for "proof of space and time" applications like plotting Chia Coin. To secure the blockchain, the data needs to be first created in a process called "plotting", which is only required once per plot file. This process is write intensive, so a desirable SSD for plotting has high sustained write bandwidth and endurance (TBW, or terabytes written). Typically this level of write performance and endurance was only seen on enterprise class SSDs.

To meet the market demand for large-capacity data storage, TEAMGROUP today announced two high-performance, huge-capacity storage products: the TEAMGROUP MP34Q M.2 PCIe SSD, which utilizes QLC Flash and the PCIe Gen3x4 interface and comes with capacities up to 8 TB; and the HIGH ENDURANCE CARD designed for high-resolution surveillance systems. Whether it is for computer equipment or security systems used at home or a business, TEAMGROUP provides reliable upgrade solutions for those who seek the best performance and stability.

Today the company announced the TEAMGROUP MP34Q M.2 PCIe SSD, which utilizes QLC Flash and the PCIe Gen3x4 interface. It also supports NVMe 1.3 and the Dual Cache technologies: SLC Caching and DRAM Cache Buffer. The MP34Q M.2 PCIe SSD offers a massive capacity of up to 8 TB, excellent read/write speeds of up to 3,400/3,000 MB/s, and an official five-year warranty with purchase, so consumers can buy and upgrade with confidence.

The recent wave of COVID-19 outbreaks in India has weakened sales of retail storage products such as memory cards and USB drives, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. However, demand remains fairly strong in the main application segments due to the arrival of the traditional peak season and the growth in the procurement related to data centers. Hence, the sufficiency ratio of the entire market has declined further. NAND Flash suppliers have kept their inventories at a healthy level thanks to clients' stock-up activities during the past several quarters. Moreover, the ongoing shortage of NAND Flash controller ICs continues to affect the production of finished storage products. Taking account of these demand-side and supply-side factors, TrendForce forecasts that contract prices of NAND Flash products will rise marginally for 3Q21, with QoQ increases in the range of 5-10%.

SilverStone today introduced the Raven RVS03, a unique M.2 SSD enclosure that supports both NVMe and SATA drives. Typically M.2 enclosures only support either of the two. The drive is based on the Realtek RTL9210B-CG controller that takes advantage of 10 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 and UASP protocols, and offers sequential transfer rates of up to 1000 MB/s. The Raven's body is made entirely of aluminium, with a high-conductivity thermal pad being included, letting you transfer heat from the drive inside to the enclosure body. The enclosure uses a single USB 3.2 cable for both power and host connectivity. Cables are included for both type-A and type-C. It measures 105.7 mm x 35 mm x 13.5 mm (LxHxW), dry-weighing 52.2 g. The company didn't reveal pricing.

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices today, showcases their flagship Z590 VALKYRIE motherboard paired with the P500 1 TB SSD. Based on the Intel Z590 chipset, the Z590 VALKYRIE is one of BIOSTAR's premium flagship motherboards and offers full support for the latest Intel 11th gen processors with PCIe 4.0 support. Incredible build quality and durability coupled with a feature-rich layout make the Z590 VALKYRIE motherboard the best choice in the market for tech enthusiasts and gamers alike. When paired with BIOSTAR's P500 high-speed premium SSDs, it makes a whole different beast when it comes to gaming and content creation.

The P500 SSD is built with a lightweight metal body with stylish gaming-theme RGB lighting effects allowing users to match it with any theme of their choosing. The faster read and write times of the P500 SSD helps to load large files quicker and cut down on the boot times into both the operating system and the programs and applications on a computer enabling better, faster gaming performance and content creation.