Game Science, the developer behind the highly anticipated action RPG "Black Myth: Wukong," has released a free benchmark tool on Steam for its upcoming game. This standalone application, separate from the main game, allows PC users to evaluate their hardware performance and system compatibility in preparation for the game's launch. The "Black Myth: Wukong Benchmark Tool" offers a unique glimpse into the game's visuals by rendering a real-time in-game sequence. While not playable, it provides valuable insights into how well a user's system will handle the game's demanding graphics and performance requirements. One of the tool's standout features is its customization options. Users can tweak various graphics settings to preview the game's visuals and performance under different configurations. This flexibility allows gamers to find the optimal balance between visual fidelity and smooth gameplay for their specific hardware setup.

However, Game Science has cautioned that due to the complexity and variability of gaming scenarios, the benchmark results may not fully represent the final gaming experience. This caveat shows the tool's role as a guide rather than a definitive measure of performance. The benchmark tool's system requirements offer a clear picture of the hardware needed to run "Black Myth: Wukong." At a minimum, users will need a Windows 10 system with an Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 processor, 16 GB of RAM, and either an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB or AMD Radeon RX 580 8 GB graphics card. For an optimal experience, the recommended specifications include an Intel Core i7-9700 or AMD Ryzen 5 5500 processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, or Intel Arc A750 graphics card. Interestingly, the benchmark tool supports DLSS, FSR, and XeSS technologies, indicating that the final game will likely include these performance-enhancing features. The developers also strongly recommend using an SSD for storage.

TrendForce's latest report on enterprise SSDs reveals that a surge in demand for AI has led AI server customers to significantly increase their orders for enterprise SSDs over the past two quarters. Upstream suppliers have been accelerating process upgrades and planning for 2YY products—slated to enter mass production in 2025—in order to meet the growing demand for SSDs in AI applications.

TrendForce observes that increased orders for enterprise SSDs from AI server customers have resulted in contract prices for this category rising by over 80% from 4Q23 to 3Q24. SSDs play a crucial role in AI development. In AI model training, SSDs primarily store model parameters, including evolving weights and deviations.

SK hynix has returned to Santa Clara, California to present its full array of groundbreaking AI memory technologies at FMS: the Future of Memory and Storage (FMS) 2024 from August 6-8. Previously known as Flash Memory Summit, the conference changed its name to reflect its broader focus on all types of memory and storage products amid growing interest in AI. Bringing together industry leaders, customers, and IT professionals, FMS 2024 covers the latest trends and innovations shaping the memory industry.

Participating in the event under the slogan "Memory, The Power of AI," SK hynix is showcasing its outstanding memory capabilities through a keynote presentation, multiple technology sessions, and product exhibits.

Western Digital, a leader in Flash and HDD data storage, is unveiling groundbreaking solutions and technology demonstrations at FMS 2024 that raise the bar for performance, capacity and efficiency for transformative AI Data Cycle workloads. These innovations cater to diverse market segments from hyperscale cloud to automotive and consumer storage. Attendees will also gain insights from a keynote address by Rob Soderbery, executive vice president and general manager of Western Digital's Flash Business Unit, on Tuesday at 3 PM. During the keynote, Soderbery will delve into the strategic advancements propelling the future of NAND, AI and data storage from the data center to the edge.

"As AI technologies advance and become increasingly embedded in the world around us, the demand for storage will only continue to grow," said Soderbery. "Western Digital's product and technology roadmaps are strategically aligned to ensure our customers have the most advanced, reliable solutions to stay ahead in the rapidly changing AI landscape. This holistic approach ensures that our customers receive the most power-efficient, high-performing and high-capacity solutions tailored to their specific needs. We are excited to showcase our full range of products and new technologies and demonstrate how they can transform AI now and into the future."

Today, Solidigm, a leading provider of innovative NAND flash memory solutions, announced the launch of the Solidigm D7-PS1010 and D7-PS1030 data center solid-state drives (SSDs). As the fastest PCIe 5.0 SSDs shipping in volume today, these drives are well suited for the IO intensity found in modern mainstream, mixed, and write-centric workloads.

"The Solidigm D7-PS1010 and D7-PS1030 SSDs were meticulously engineered to meet the increasingly demanding IO requirements across a range of workloads such as general-purpose servers, OLTP, server-based storage, decision support systems and AI/ML," said Greg Matson, Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning and Marketing at Solidigm. "In a world where every watt counts, these drives are PCIe 5.0 done right, not only delivering industry-leading four-corner performance, but also up to 70% better energy efficiency compared to similar drives by other manufacturers."

NVM Express, Inc. today announced the release of three new specifications and eight updated specifications. This update to NVMe technology builds on the strengths of previous NVMe specifications, introducing significant new features for modern computing environments while also streamlining development and time to market.

"Beginning as a single PCIe SSD specification, NVMe technology has grown into nearly a dozen specifications, including multiple command sets, that provide pivotal support for NVMe technology across all major transports and standardize many aspects of storage," said Peter Onufryk, NVM Express Technical Workgroup Chair. "NVMe technology adoption continues to grow and has succeeded in unifying client, cloud, AI and enterprise storage around a common architecture. The future of NVMe technology is bright and we have 75 new authorized technical proposals underway."

KIOXIA America, Inc. will showcase a prototype broadband SSD with an optical interface for next-generation data centers at the FMS: the Future of Memory and Storage conference, being held in Santa Clara, California from August 6 to August 8. By replacing the electrical wiring interface with an optical interface, this SSD technology allows for greater physical distance between the compute and storage devices, slims down wiring and delivers high flexibility to data center system designs and applications—all while maintaining energy efficiency and high signal quality.

By adopting an optical interface, it becomes possible to aggregate individual components that make up systems, such as SSDs and CPUs, and seamlessly interconnect them. This furthers the evolution of a disaggregated computing system that can efficiently utilize resources according to a specific workload. Additionally, with its high signal integrity, the optical interface may enhance high-performance compute (HPC) environments, such as in supercomputers, cloud based-HPC and even applications in outer space.

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced it is the first to develop PCIe Gen 6 data center SSD technology for ecosystem enablement as part of a portfolio of memory and storage products to support the broad demand for AI. Addressing these demands, Raj Narasimhan, senior vice president and general manager of Micron's Compute and Networking Business Unit, will present a keynote at FMS titled, "Data is at the heart of AI: Micron memory and storage are fueling the AI revolution," on Wednesday, Aug. 7, at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time. The session will focus on how Micron's industry-leading products are impacting AI system architectures while enabling faster and more power-efficient solutions to manage vast data sets.

At FMS, Micron will demonstrate that it is the first to develop a PCIe Gen 6 SSD for ecosystem enablement, once again showcasing its storage technology leadership. By making this technology — which delivers sequential read bandwidths of over 26 GB/s — available to partners, Micron is kickstarting the PCIe Gen 6 ecosystem. This achievement builds on Micron's recent announcement of the world's fastest data center SSD, the Micron 9550, and further bolsters Micron's leadership position in AI storage.

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation, a global leader in designing and marketing NAND flash controllers for solid-state storage devices, today announced SM2508, the best power efficiency PCIe Gen 5 NVMe 2.0 client SSD controller for AI PCs and gaming consoles. It's the world's first PCIe Gen 5 client SSD controller using TSMC's 6 nm EUV process, offering a 50% reduction in power consumption compared to competitive offerings in the 12 nm process. With less than 7 W power consumption for the entire SSD, it delivers 1.7x better power efficiency than PCIe Gen 4 SSDs and up to 70% better than current competitive PCIe Gen 5 offerings on the market. Silicon Motion will be showcasing its SM2508 based SSD design and other innovations during the Future of Memory and Storage event from Aug. 6 to 8 at booth #315:

Silicon Motion's SM2508 is a superior-performance, low-power PCIe Gen 5 x4 NVMe 2.0 SSD controller designed for AI-capable PC notebooks. It supports eight NAND channels with up to 3,600 MT/s per channel, delivering sequential performance speeds of up to 14.5 GB/s and 13.6 GB/s and random performance speeds of up to 2.5M IOPS, providing up to 2x higher performance than PCIe Gen 4 products. The SM2508 maximizes PCIe Gen 5 performance with an impressive power consumption of approximately 3 W. It features Silicon Motion's proprietary 8th-generation NANDXtend technology, which includes an on-disk training algorithm designed to reduce ECC timing. This enhancement boosts performance and maximizes power efficiency while ensuring compatibility with the latest 3D TLC/QLC NAND technologies, enabling higher data density and meeting the evolving demands of next-generation AI PCs.

Kingston's NV2 NVMe SSD has been a popular budget choice that has offered some of the best price/performance ratio in its segment of the market. Now, Kingston has quietly added its replacement, the NV3 to its website and that entails a wide range of upgrades over the NV2. The Kingston NV2 came in a range of different variations with multiple different controllers and NAND types and so far the company hasn't revealed which controller or what NAND the NV3 will feature. However, the company lists 3D NAND with a sequential read speeds of 6,000 MB/s for the 1 TB and up SKUs which is a huge improvement over the NV2 which topped out at 3,500 MB/s. Write speeds top out at 5,000 MB/s, but this is limited to the 2 and 4 TB SKUs, but it's nearly twice that of the 2 TB NV2 SKU. The 1 TB SKU is also seeing almost a doubling in terms of write speeds over the NV2. The 500 GB SKU is seeing more modest performance improvements, but it's still getting a decent performance uplift.

Initially, Kingston will launch 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB SKUs, with the 4 TB SKU following in Q4 this year. Endurance remains the same as for the NV2, with the NV3 starting out at 160 TBW for the 500 GB SKU, which then doubles for each increase in size and tops out at 1280 TBW for the 4 TB SKU. Kingston has as yet to officially announce the drive, but some online retailers claim to be able to ship the NV3 in four to five days time, suggesting that the launch is imminent. Pricing appears to start at US$50 for the 500 GB SKU, which increases to US$70 for the 1 TB SKU, with the 2 TB SKU jumping to US$139 from the same retailer. This places the NV3 slightly higher than the current retail price of the NV2, which is hardly a surprise, considering it delivers better performance. All SKUs come with a three year warranty.

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (NasdaqGS: SIMO) ("Silicon Motion," the "Company" or "we") today announced its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. For the second quarter of 2024, net sales (GAAP) increased sequentially to $210.7 million from $189.3 million in the first quarter of 2024. Net income (GAAP) increased to $30.8 million, or $0.91 per diluted American Depositary Share of the Company ("ADS") (GAAP), from net income (GAAP) of $16.0 million, or $0.48 per diluted ADS (GAAP), in the first quarter of 2024.

For the second quarter of 2024, net income (non-GAAP) increased to $32.5 million, or $0.96 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), from net income (non-GAAP) of $21.6 million, or $0.64 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), in the first quarter of 2024.

All financial numbers are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

Sabrent teased its upcoming Rocket XTRM5 portable SSD. The company's flagship portable storage product, the drive implements Thunderbolt 5 (works on Thunderbolt 4 and Thunderbolt 3 at reduced speeds). It is able to take advantage of Thunderbolt 5 with 80 Gbps per-direction bandwidth, although we haven't seen anything in the product's teaser to suggest that it implements the Intel Bandwidth Boost technology, which would have given it 120 Gbps on one of the directions (either reading or writing), while the other direction is reduced to 40 Gbps.

The Rocket XTRM5, like most portable SSDs these days, is an enclosure with an M.2-2280 slot inside. This one encloses an M.2 Gen 5 NVMe SSD, and while Sabrent hasn't put out any performance numbers, we expect them to be above 64 Gbps (Gen 4 x4 maximum theoretical bandwidth per direction), to take advantage of the 80 Gbps per direction Thunderbolt 5 bandwidth. It is slated to come in 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB capacity variants. Its enclosure is well-ventilated, and is made of aluminium all around. The company didn't put out a release date.

addlink Technology Co., Ltd., a global leader in high-performance storage solutions, proudly announces the launch of its groundbreaking new SSDs designed specifically for NAS storage systems: the NAS D60 and D20 SSDs. These cutting-edge SSDs are poised to set new standards in speed, reliability, and capacity, transforming the NAS storage landscape.

addlink's NAS D60 and D20 SSDs exemplify the company's dedication to innovation and quality. These products are meticulously designed to meet the rigorous demands of modern NAS users, providing reliable, high-performance storage solutions that enhance productivity and data management. Whether for home use or enterprise-level applications, the NAS D60 and D20 offer unmatched performance, endurance, and value.

Western Digital Corp. (Nasdaq: WDC) today reported fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year 2024 financial results. "Our fourth quarter and fiscal year 2024 results are reflective of the diverse and innovative portfolio we have developed in alignment with our strategic roadmap. Together, with the structural changes we have made to strengthen our operations, we are benefitting from the broad recovery we are seeing across our end markets and structurally improving through-cycle profitability for both Flash and HDD," said David Goeckeler, Western Digital CEO.

"The emergence of the AI Data Cycle marks a transformational period within our industry that will drive fundamental shifts across our end markets, increasing the need for storage and creating new demand drivers. As we look ahead, we are confident in our ability to leverage our technology leadership position to capitalize on these exciting growth opportunities and deliver value for our customers," continued David Goeckeler.

ScaleFlux, a leader in developing storage and memory technologies, marks its 10th anniversary by sampling its latest NVMe SSDs, the CSD5000 series. Purpose-built for the AI Era, CSD5000 is designed to alleviate bottlenecks in the AI/ML, Cloud, and Data Center computing infrastructure. Getting jobs on and off the GPUs and CPUs rapidly is crucial to reaching optimal utilization of the infrastructure for AI/ML, HPC, AI analytics, and cloud-native computing. "To enable high xPU utilization levels, the storage devices must be up to the tasks of reliably delivering massive amounts of data at blinding speeds and of rapidly and securely storing the checkpoints and outputs, all in a power-efficient manner - exactly what the CSD5000 was designed to do," said ScaleFlux CEO, Hao Zhong. Coinciding with the company's 10th anniversary, this release highlights a decade of remarkable achievements and sets the stage for an exciting future of continued growth and technological advancements.

Introducing the CSD5000: A New Chapter in SSD Storage
Built on the ScaleFlux FX5016 PCIe 5 SSD controller, the CSD5000 series sets a new bar for SSD performance, capacity density, efficiency, and feature set. Expanding upon the innovative write reduction technology and capacity expansion features from the previous generations of ScaleFlux drives, CSD5000 brings unrivaled capabilities to data storage.

Samsung Electronics today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024. The Company posted KRW 74.07 trillion in consolidated revenue and operating profit of KRW 10.44 trillion as favorable memory market conditions drove higher average sales price (ASP), while robust sales of OLED panels also contributed to the results.

Memory Market Continues To Recover; Solid Second Half Outlook Centered on Server Demand
The DS Division posted KRW 28.56 trillion in consolidated revenue and KRW 6.45 trillion in operating profit for the second quarter. Driven by strong demand for HBM as well as conventional DRAM and server SSDs, the memory market as a whole continued its recovery. This increased demand is a result of the continued AI investments by cloud service providers and growing demand for AI from businesses for their on-premise servers.

Cooler Master, a leading provider of PC components, gaming peripherals, and tech lifestyle solutions, today announced the launch of two groundbreaking PC systems: The HAF 5 Pro, and NR2 Pro. These new systems exemplify Cooler Master's dedication to delivering high-performance computing solutions with innovative design and advanced cooling technology.

"At Cooler Master, we strive to blend cutting-edge technology with innovative design. The HAF 5 Pro, and NR2 Pro exemplify our commitment to excellence," said Jimmy Sha, CEO of Cooler Master. "We are excited to bring these revolutionary systems to our users."

Micron Technology, Inc., announced today that it is shipping ninth-generation (G9) TLC NAND in SSDs, making it the first in the industry to achieve this milestone. Micron G9 NAND features the industry's highest transfer speed of 3.6 GB/s, delivering unsurpassed bandwidth for reading and writing data. The new NAND enables best-in-class performance for artificial intelligence (AI) and other data-intensive use cases from personal devices and edge servers to enterprise and cloud data centers.

"The shipment of Micron G9 NAND is a testament to Micron's prowess in process technology and design innovations," said Scott DeBoer, executive vice president of Technology and Products at Micron. "Micron G9 NAND is up to 73% denser than competitive technologies in the market today, allowing for more compact and efficient storage solutions that benefit both consumers and businesses."

DapuStor Corporation, a pioneer in high-performance data storage solutions, announced today that it is expanding its collaboration with Marvell to deliver breakthrough Flexible Data Placement (FDP) technology optimized for Quad-Level Cell (QLC) and Triple-Level Cell (TLC) Solid-State Drives (SSDs). This collaboration aims to revolutionize the storage industry by addressing the inherent challenges of QLC SSDs, enhancing their performance, endurance, and capacity, thereby providing a robust and cost-effective solution for data centers, cloud computing, and high-performance computing environments.

Unlocking the Potential of QLC SSDs with FDP Technology
QLC SSDs are renowned for their ability to store four bits of data per memory cell, offering significant capacity advantages and a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) compared to other SSD types. Despite these benefits, QLC SSDs face challenges such as lower endurance and slower write speeds. The innovative FDP technology supported in the Marvell Bravera SC5 SSD controller with firmware level solution developed by DapuStor directly addresses these issues.

Team Group today introduced the T-Force GC PRO, its new performance-segment M.2 NVMe Gen 5 SSD. The new T-Force GC PRO is not to be confused with the T-Force GE PRO that Team Group launched in January 2024, although the two appear almost identical. The newer GC PRO is powered by the same InnoGrit "Tacoma" IG5666 controller as the GE PRO, but with slightly toned down speeds.

The GC PRO comes in 2 TB and 4 TB capacity variants, with maximum sequential speeds of 12,500 MB/s reads, with 11,000 MB/s writes. For comparison, the flagship GE PRO does 14,000 MB/s max sequential reads, albeit with the same 11,000 MB/s max sequential writes. The GC PRO is hence designed to stike a slightly lower price point which could see it square off against pre-Max14um Phison-powered SSD models. Both the 2 TB and 4 TB models offer identical sequential transfer speeds, but differ with endurance—1,200 TBW and 2,400 TBW, respectively. Although a heatsink is recommended by the manufacturer, the drive comes with a graphene-coated metal-foil heatspreader. The company didn't reveal pricing, the drives are backed by 5-year warranties.

ADATA Technology Co., Ltd., the world's leading memory brand, launches its latest SC750 external solid-state drive (SSD) which supports the USB 3.2 Gen 2 transmission interface with read/write speeds up to 1,050/1,000 MB/s. Adopting the mainstream Type-C connector, the SC750 requires no data cable and can be directly connected to a mobile phone or tablet for plug-and-play access. It supports the latest iPhone 15 series and Android Type-C smartphones. The SC750 combines performance and portable design to meet the ever-increasing demand for transfer speed and storage produced by today's hectic lifestyles, making it a convenient companion for video creators who often venture outdoors to collect resources. The SC750 cuts down on wait time when transferring large files and improves efficiency when multitasking with several project files simultaneously.

The SC750 external SSD inherits the exterior design of the popular SE880, which sports a greatly reduced form factor and eliminates the need for an additional data cable. Users no longer need to worry about finding a matching data cable when busy working on a project. About the size of a flash drive, the SC750 is easy to carry, lightweight, and does not take up much space. It is perfect for work or travel. Slide out its Type-C connector to get started transferring large files instantly or edit and access these files directly on the SC750 to greatly improve work efficiency.

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced availability of the Micron 9550 NVMe SSD - the world's fastest data center SSD and industry leader in AI workload performance and power efficiency. The Micron 9550 SSD showcases Micron's deep expertise and innovation by integrating its own controller, NAND, DRAM and firmware into one world-class product. This integrated solution enables class-leading performance, power efficiency and security features for data center operators.

The Micron 9550 SSD delivers best-in-class performance with 14.0 GB/s sequential reads and 10.0 GB/s sequential writes to provide up to 67% better performance over similar competitive SSDs and enables industry-leading performance for demanding workloads such as AI. In addition, its random reads of 3,300 KIOPS are up to 35% better and random writes of 400 KIOPS are up to 33% better than competitive offerings.

TrendForce's latest report on the memory industry reveals that DRAM and NAND Flash revenues are expected to see significant increases of 75% and 77%, respectively, in 2024, driven by increased bit demand, an improved supply-demand structure, and the rise of high-value products like HBM.

Furthermore, industry revenues are projected to continue growing in 2025, with DRAM expected to increase by 51% and NAND Flash by 29%, reaching record highs. This growth is anticipated to revive capital expenditures and boost demand for upstream raw materials, although it will also increase cost pressure for memory buyers.

Team Group Inc., the world's leading provider of premium storage solutions, today introduced the Team Group PD20 Mini External SSD, featuring ultra-fast transfer speeds and a full range of storage capacity options. Its exquisite and compact design features a convenient hanging hole for maximum portability. The PD20 Mini External SSD's small size can easily fit into a briefcase or hung on a bag, combining high-speed read/write performance with portability and fashion. This mini yet powerful solution meets all your storage needs.

The Team Group PD20 Mini External SSD is specifically designed for business travelers and professionals on the go. This palm-sized, lightweight SSD weighs 22 grams and offers storage capacities from 1 TB to 4 TB. With transfer speeds of up to 2,000 MB/s, it provides a portable, high-speed data storage solution that enables users to back up files anytime, anywhere. The USB 3.2 Gen 2 x2 Type-C interface ensures broad compatibility with computers, tablets, and smartphones, making it ideal for storing large videos, photos, and documents. The PD20 Mini's sleek and stylish design features a convenient hanging hole for easy attachment to bags, offering a minimalist, lightweight, high-speed, and large-capacity portable storage solution tailored to the needs of business professionals.

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced the availability of the Crucial P310 2230 Gen 4 NVMe solid-state drive (SSD), which empowers enthusiasts of handheld gaming and users of mini PCs and ultrathin laptops to store more games and data-intensive content at their fingertips without sacrificing speed or performance. With read and write speeds of 7,100 and 6,000 megabytes per second (MB/s), respectively, and capacities up to 2 terabytes (TB), the P310 2230 SSD packs a unique punch, offering high performance and capacity in a compact, power-efficient form factor.

"Today's contemporary games are storage- and performance-hungry, and this is especially true for handheld gamers who want to be able to quickly access all their favorite games at their fingertips," said Jonathan Weech, senior director of product marketing for Micron's Commercial Products Group. "We've built our Crucial P310 2230 Gen 4 SSD to satisfy this need for speed and more capacity, providing a dynamic, power-efficient SSD that allows gamers to build their dream gaming libraries, load multiworld games faster and extend battery life for a richer gaming experience on the go."