OWC today announced the all-new Accelsior 4M2 ultra high-performance PCIe M.2 NVMe internal SSD that delivers over 6,000 MB/s real-world speeds in capacities up to 8 TB. The Accelsior 4M2 is the fastest SSD ever built by OWC and is the perfect storage solution for large format video editing, VR/AR/MR environments, extreme gaming, compute-intensive applications and other high bandwidth needs.

Whether you have the Mac Pro 2019, a Mac Pro 2012 or 2010, or PC tower, the Accelsior 4M2 delivers the blazing performance, unstoppable reliability and stunning versatility that are the hallmarks of OWC's brand reputation. As a half-length x8/x16 compatible card, this game-changer offers true versatility, so users can install it in full-length PCIe 3.0 or 2.0 slots as well. Even Thunderbolt 3-equipped laptops can experience the performance boosting benefits of Accelsior 4M2 with Plug-and-Play ease using the OWC Mercury Helios 3S PCIe expansion chassis (sold separately). In other words, it's incredibly versatile.

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices, announces a new addition to its M700 series of NVMe M.2 SSDs with the high capacity 1 TB. Complying with the NVMe 1.3 standard and using PCIe Gen3 x4, gamers and content creators get up to 3 times performance increase from traditional SATA III drives, a clear advantage for improved productivity and uninterrupted gameplay. With its lightweight, small form factor, and high storage capacity, the M700 1 TB might just be the only drive you will need to build the ultimate budget-friendly system.Update Jan 14th: Our review of the SSD can be found here.

Thermal Solutions specialist GELID Solutions unveils the latest cooling kit for the M.2 Type 22110 Solid State Drives. The SubZero M.2 XL is a product of GELID Solution Gamer product line. The SubZero M.2 XL is designed to cool down the M.2 Type 22110 SSD efficiently and prevents thermal throttling. It helps to improve performance, increase durability and enhance data integrity of the M.2 solid-state drives.

The SubZero M.2 XL uses the ultra-slim aluminium heatsink and the specially crafted thermal pads to deliver the best heat transfer and maintain significantly lowered operating temperatures for memory ICs and other electronic components of the M.2 Type SSD. Additionally, the set of 3 ultra-durable silicone ring fixtures is supplied with the SubZero M.2 XL to ensure safe mounting of the heatsink. The SubZero M.2 XL features quick installation and fits all standard M.2 Type 22110 SSD designed for laptops or desktops.

The leading global motherboard & graphics card manufacturer, ASRock, a pleasure to launch brand new compact Mini PC - Mars Series. Supports up to Intel Core i5 Quad-Core processor, 32 GB DDR4-2666 MHz, PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD, 2.5-inch hard drive, and wireless connectivity; all implies into 0.7-liter chassis with 26 mm height.

ASRock Mars offers abundant USB devices connectivity, features a total of 7 USB ports, including one Type-C port; In addition, the native SD card reader and dual display outputs to provide more productive and convenience.

TechPowerUp and Seagate partner to bring you the IronWolf Black Friday Giveaway. The IronWolf line of storage solutions from Seagate are targeted at NAS, DAS, and other high-uptime, quasi-enterprise environments, spanning both HDDs and SSDs. Two lucky winners stand to bring home IronWolf gear. The first lucky winner receives a 14 TB IronWolf internal SATA HDD and an IronWolf 110 SSD 480 GB (one of each). The second lucky winner gets an IronWolf 110 SSD 480 GB. The Giveaway is open worldwide (wherever legal), till December 4th. Do check out great Black Friday deals on Seagate IronWolf storage products at your favorite retailer.

For more details, and to participate, visit this page.

HP issued a warning to its customers that some of its SAS SSDs come with a bug that causes them to fail at exactly 32,768 hours of use. For an always-on or high-uptime server, this translates to 3 years, 270 days and 8 hours of usage. The affected models of SSDs are shipped in many of HP's flagship server and storage products, spanning its HPE ProLiant, Synergy, Apollo, JBOD D3xxx, D6xxx, D8xxx, MSA, StoreVirtual 4335 and StoreVirtual 3200 product-lines.

HP has released an SSD firmware update that fixes this bug and cannot stress the importance of deploying the update enough. This is because once a drive hits the 32,768-hour literal deadline and breaks down, both the drive and the data on it become unrecoverable. There is no other mitigation to this bug than the firmware update. HP released easy to use online firmware update tools that let admins update firmware of their drivers from within their OS. The online firmware update tools support Linux, Windows, and VMWare. Below is a list of affected drives. Get the appropriate firmware update from this page.

Intel late Monday released its SSD 665p "Neptune Harbor Refresh" line of client-segment M.2 NVMe SSDs. The series was announced in September at the company's Storage Day event in South Korea. Built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, the drives feature PCI-Express 3.0 x4 host interface. They combine a Silicon Motion SMI2263 series controller with Intel's new 96-layer 3D QLC NAND flash memory. The previous-generation SSD 660p series use 64-layer chips. The SMI2263 controller is cushioned by an LPDDR3 DRAM cache.

Intel is debuting the SSD 665p series with just two models, 1 TB and 2 TB, skipping sub-terabyte capacities such as 500 GB. The 2 TB variant offers sequential transfer speeds of up to 2000 MB/s reads and up to 2000 MB/s writes; and random access speeds of up to 250,000 IOPS on both reads and writes. The 1 TB variant offers up to 2000 MB/s sequential reads, up to 1925 MB/s sequential writes, up to 160,000 IOPS random reads, and up to 200,000 IOPS random writes. The company didn't reveal endurance ratings for the drives. The 1 TB variant is priced at USD $125, while the 2 TB variant hasn't yet been priced. Both drives are backed by 5-year warranties.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories is pleased to announce the launch of the ADATA SC685 external solid state drive (SSD). Featuring a compact and slim form factor, the ADATA SC685 external solid state drive is as small as they come. Despite its portable size, it's big on capacity and will transfer and backup data in no time.

The SC685 weighs only 35 g and is as thin as a smartphone at 9.5 mm thin. Its slim card-like form factor slips easily into back pockets or bags for hassle-free mobility. Despite its portable form factor the SC685 is up to 6.6 times faster than your typical external hard drive, giving users exceptionally speedy data transfers and backups. With this performance, users can transfer a 10 GB 4K movie in just 20 seconds. The SC685 comes with 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB, or 2 TB capacities to meet the needs of different users. What's more, users can use their SC685 with peace of mind knowing that it comes backed by a 3-year warranty.

KIOXIA America, Inc. (formerly Toshiba Memory America, Inc.), the U.S.-based subsidiary of KIOXIA Corporation, today announced that its lineup of PCIe 4.0 NVMeTM enterprise solid state drives (SSDs) has achieved PCI-SIG compliance for PCIe 4.0 and University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) certification. KIOXIA's CM6 Series successfully passed interoperability tests at the August 2019 PCI-SIG Compliance Workshop - the first workshop to include official PCIe 4.0 specification tests. KIOXIA America will be on hand at Supercomputing 2019 later this month to showcase new levels of flash performance enabled by its CM6 Series SSDs.

The first company to publicly demonstrate PCIe 4.0 SSDs, KIOXIA has established itself as a leader in developing PCIe 4.0 NVM Express SSDs and continues to push the limits of flash storage performance. The CM6 Series brings planned performance improvements of 3x over its PCIe 3.0 predecessors and is 12x faster than SATA drives. KIOXIA's lineup of Gen4 PCIe SSDs also includes the CD6 Series, which is targeted to cloud and scale-out environments.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories is pleased to announce the launch of the ADATA IM2P33E8 PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 2280 SSD. Designed with 5G networking, cloud computing, AI, and IoT in mind, the SSD sports excellent performance, large storage capacities, wide-temperature resistance (-40°C-85°C), and security features. These capabilities combine to offer an ideal solution for applications such as data centers, surveillance, and transportation.

The IM2P33E8 PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 2280 SSD is NVMe 1.3-compliant and delivers read/write speeds of up to 3500/3200 GB per second, making it up to six times faster than standard SATA III SSDs. It is equipped with 3D NAND Flash memory and comes with storage capacities ranging from 256 GB to 2 TB. It is available in normal-temperature (0°C to 70°C) and wide-temperature (-40°C to 85°C) variants. For enhanced security, integrity, and durability the IM2P33E8 features E2E (End-to-End) Data Protection and RAID Engine. What's more, the IM2P33E8 utilizes AES and TCG Opal encryption to keep confidential data away from prying eyes.

Western Digital Monday unveiled the Ultrastar DC SS540, an enterprise SSD with the SAS 12 Gbps interface and the endurance of a tank. Built in the 2.5-inch form-factor with 15 mm thickness, the drive comes in capacities ranging from 800 GB all the way up to 15.36 TB. The 800 GB, 1.6 TB, 3.2 TB, and 6.4 TB variants offer endurance of 3 drive-writes per day (DWPD), while the 960 GB, 1.92 TB, 3.84 TB, 7.68 TB, and 15.36 TB models offer 1 DWPD endurance.

Under the hood, the drive uses 3D TLC NAND flash, and depending on the model, sequential read speeds range between 1,985 MB/s to 2,130 MB/s, sequential writes between 1,024 MB/s to 2,109 MB/s. Random access performance, which is more relevant to enterprise environments, ranges between 237,000 to 470,000 IOPS reads, and 88,133 to 240,000 IOPS writes, depending on the model. MTBF on all models is rated at 2.5 million hours.

Early October, we asked our readers what's the fastest persistent storage device on their computer. Over 11,000 entries and close to 4 weeks into the poll we are calling a winner - NVMe SSD. Over 55 percent or 6,229 of the respondents at the time of this writing chose NVMe SSD. Conventional SATA SSDs, which we felt would to win this poll, comes in second, at 39.1 percent, or 4,423 respondents. Hard drives - either standalone or in RAID setups, added up to a negligible 5.8 percent. This doesn't mean that only 5.8 percent of the respondents have an HDD or HDD RAID, it only means that HDD/HDD RAID is the fastest storage device of only 5.8 percent of the respondents.

The poll results establish that the vast majority of our target audience (the PC gaming and overclocking crowd) is aware of the benefits of flash-based storage, with 94.2 percent responding that they use some kind of SSD. NVMe coming up on top is a surprise. NVMe drives typically offer at least 1 GB/s of transfer-rates (typical of PCIe x2 drives), and their rated transfer-rates can exceed 3 GB/s in short bursts. Besides bring faster, NVMe SSDs in the M.2 form-factor contribute greatly to aesthetics as they lack cables. It's only in the past 18 months that prices of NVMe SSDs are dropping to under $0.25/GB, or what performance-segment SATA SSDs commanded in the years prior.

Crucial has started shipping a 2 TB version of its famous, budget/minded BX500 Series of SATA SSDs. As pricing on NAND density has come down, it makes sense that budget solutions start to increase their capacities as well, since there is no longer a premium on new, advanced technologies. The Crucial BX500 2 TB model features the same 3D TLC NAND as the other capacities in Crucial's portfolio: 96-layer 3D TLC NAND flash memory mated to an SMI SM2258XT DRAM-less controller.

Since it maintains the communication protocol (SATA), and the hardware is virtually unchanged except for higher densities, don't expect improved performance: the 2 TB drive is still rated for up to 540 MB/s reads and up to 500 MB/s writes. Pricing is set at $214 (or €241) for the 2 TB model, which means price per GB stands at roughly $0.10.

TEAMGROUP releases large-capacity memory Elite / Elite PLUS DDR4 32 GB for audio and video creator upgrade selections. ELITE DDR4 and Elite PLUS DDR4 are both 1.2 V memory module and massive 32 GB Kit capacity. In response to the trend of live streaming and the increasing number of digital contents, there are many other high-quality products available for creators with a full range of upgrade options.

The improvement of the specifications of built-in memory and hard drive is very important for meeting creators' needs for computer upgrades. TEAMGROUP releases the large capacity memory Elite/Elite PLUS DDR4 32 GB; it also works with MP34 M.2 PCIe Solid State Drive that has the new generation PCIe Gen3 x4 high speed interface and the latest NVMe1.3 protocol. Even under multitask processing, 1 TB of high capacity and up to 3000/2600 MB/s of excellent read/write speed can still provide stable and smooth use experience.

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced a breakthrough in nonvolatile memory technology with the introduction of the world's fastest SSD, the Micron X100 SSD. The Micron X100 SSD is the first solution in a family of products from Micron targeting storage- and memory-intensive applications for the data center. These solutions will leverage the strengths of 3D XPoint technology and usher in a new tier in the memory-to-storage hierarchy with higher capacity and persistence than DRAM, along with higher endurance and performance than NAND.

"Micron's innovative X100 product brings the disruptive potential of 3D XPoint technology to the data center, driving breakthrough performance improvements for applications and enabling entirely new use cases," said Micron Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer Sumit Sadana. "Micron is the only vertically-integrated provider of DRAM, NAND and 3D XPoint solutions in the world, and this product continues the evolution of our portfolio towards higher value solutions that accelerate artificial intelligence capabilities, drive faster data analytics and create new insights for our customers."

SK hynix Inc. today announced financial results for its third quarter 2019 ended on September 30, 2019. The consolidated third quarter revenue was 6.84 trillion won while the operating profit amounted to 473 billion won and the net income 495 billion won. Operating margin and net margin for the quarter was 7%.

The revenue in the third quarter increased by 6% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) as demand began to pick up. However, the operating profit fell by 26% QoQ as DRAM unit cost reduction was not enough to offset the price drop. DRAM bit shipments increased by 23% QoQ as the Company actively responded to the new products in the mobile market and purchases from some data center customers also increased. DRAM prices remained weak during the quarter, leading to a 16% drop in the average selling price, with the decline smaller than the previous quarter.

Just in time for AMD's 3rd generation Ryzen Threadripper processors and the AMD TRX40 chipset, GIGABYTE launched the AORUS Gen4 AIC Adapter, an add-on card that converts a PCI-Express 4.0 x16 upstream link to four M.2-22110 slots with PCI-Express 4.0 x4 wiring, each. This isn't the first card of this kind, but is certified to work with PCIe gen 4.0 SSDs. The TRX40 platform provides at least two PCI-Express 4.0 x16 slots, from which one can be allocated to your graphics cards, and the other to a fast storage solution like this, so you can use your motherboard's NVMe RAID features. The card is backwards compatible with older generations of PCIe.

The card features a large copper heatsink that cools the drives under the airflow of a fan. The PCB of this card features a PCI-Express 4.0 x16 interface, four M.2-22110 slots with PCI-Express 4.0 x4 wiring, each, and a controller that uses eight thermal diodes to sense drive temperatures and accordingly adjust the speed of the 50 mm lateral-flow fan that pushes air through the heatsink and out of the rear panel. The card also has four LEDs that provide link+activity indication. It meets the electrical specification of PCI-Express gen 4.0, and features gen 4.0 re-drivers. An aluminium alloy shroud and back-plate with brushed-metal finish and diamond-cut edges make for the rest of it. We expect this card to be priced around USD $130. A credible source tells us that the card will also be included with some of GIGABYTE's premium TRX40 motherboards.

Kingston Digital Europe Co LLP, the flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today announced it is shipping the Data Center 450R (DC450R) Enterprise SSD, a high performance 6 Gbps SATA SSD with 3D TLC NAND, designed for read-centric application workloads. This streamlined server SSD delivers on performance while providing exceptional I/O and latency predictability, a requirement now amongst Data Center Class SSDs. Built to Kingston's strict QoS requirements, the DC450R is designed to ensure performance consistency over a wide range of read intensive and read caching workloads.

Kingston's DC450R is designed for workloads that require 24/7 uptime and reliability, such as Content Delivery Networks (CDN), edge computing applications and a wide array of software-defined storage architectures. DC450R presents a specifically focused feature set that enables data centers to select the most cost effective SSD for their workloads. Businesses require results as they deliver on products, solutions and service level agreements (SLAs) and DC450R provides system builders and Cloud providers with a high performance, economical SSD standard they can count on.

Kingston Digital Europe Co LLP, the flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today announced it is shipping the KC600 SATA SSD. Designed for use in desktop and notebook workloads, KC600 is a full-capacity SSD that provides remarkable performance. It comes in a 2.5" form factor using the SATA Rev 3.0 interface with backwards compatibility.

KC600 is optimized for functional system responsiveness with incredible boot, loading and transfer times. It supports a full-security suite that includes AES-XTS 256-bit hardware-based encryption, TCG Opal 2.0 and eDrive, allowing users to protect and secure their data. KC600 will be available in capacities up to 2 TB utilizing the latest 3D TLC NAND technology and has read/write speeds up to 550/520 MB/s, respectively. It is offered as both a stand-alone SSD or as a bundle kit which provides everything needed for an easy desktop or notebook upgrade installation.

TechPowerUp in partnership with Colorful bring you a sweet chance to win a Colorful SL500 960 GB SATA SSD. One lucky winner from anywhere in the world (where legal) stands a chance to win one of these drives in the icy cool "Glacier Blue" trim. The drive combines a Maxiotech MAS0902 controller with 3D QLC NAND flash memory, and could be a perfect game directory drive, especially with some of the season's AAA titles needing well over 100 GB of disk space. The SL500 offers decent performance measured at 560 MB/s reads with 470 MB/s writes. Open from today, the Giveaway accepts entries till October 25, 2019. To participate, simply fill a short form that lets us contact you if you've won, and Like TPU & Colorful on Facebook. All the best!

For more information and to participate, visit this page.

The new P34A60 is an affordable storage solution that doesn't skimp on performance. It's designed for novice users, DIY system builders, purpose-built system manufacturers, and simply those who are looking to upgrade their PC. But with a PCIe Gen 3.0 x4 interface, read speeds up to 2,200 MB/s, and write speeds up to 1,600 MB/s, this SSD is anything but basic.

The P34A60 supports NVMe 1.3, which demands better performance vectors than AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface), including scalable bandwidth, increased IOPS, and low latency. In addition, HMB (Host Memory Buffer) architecture, which allows the host driver to allocate system memory (RAM) for exclusive use by the SSD, results in higher efficiency. It's this teamwork that provides optimum performance.

Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today announced it shipped over 13.3 million SSDs in the first half of 2019, according to data compiled by market research firm TrendFocus. The astounding amount places Kingston as the third-largest supplier of SSDs in the world behind semiconductor manufacturers Samsung and Western Digital, showing its strength and position in the market place as the world's leading third-party SSD maker. Kingston's total accounted for a whopping 11.3 percent of the total number of SSDs shipped globally during the first half of the year among all manufacturers.

"TrendFocus' research shows continued growth in total SSD shipments for all categories this year," said Don Jeanette, Vice President, TrendFocus. "Our research finds that client SSDs make up the majority portion of units shipped while NVMe PCIe also saw gains due to demand in hyperscale environments. The storyline for the first half of 2019 is NAND shipments are increasing and pricing has bottomed out, thus driving SSD demand."

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced Strix Arion, an external solid-state drive (SSD) enclosure that lets gamers create their own high-speed mobile storage solution. Compatible with M.2 NVM Express (NVMe) SSDs with 2230, 2242, 2260 and 2280 form factors and featuring USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 connectivity, ROG Strix Arion enables transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps for ultrafast performance when working with media and other large files. To ensure sustained performance with no throttling, the enclosure is made from aluminium alloy and features integrated thermal pads for effective heat dissipation.

ROG Strix Arion features an innovative design that lets gamers quickly and easily install an SSD without a screwdriver. Sporting futuristic looks with ASUS Aura Sync lighting effects, the enclosure blends perfectly with any gaming setup. ROG Strix Arion comes with a protective holder with a detachable hook for hanging as well as both USB-C and USB-C to USB-A cables to ensure out-of-the-box connectivity with a wide range of PCs and devices.

TEAMGROUP releases a solid state drive and a memory card designed for expanding storage space. These two products are: MP33 M.2 PCIe Solid State Drive that supports the latest NVMe 1.3 standard and adopts PCIe Gen3 x4 interface, and Classic SD Memory card that is suitable for Full-HD video recording with many capacities available to choose from.

TEAMGROUP releases MP33 M.2 PCIe Solid State Drive, which has the latest NVMe 1.3 standard, and adopts high speed PCIe Gen3 x4 interface and the newest generation of 3D flash memory technology, allowing capacity, performance, durability to be greatly improved in every way. MP33 has a mainstream 2280 (22 mm x 80 mm) size with maximum storage capacity up to 1 TB. The highest read/write speed can reach up to 1800/1500 MB/s, which is three times faster than the read/write speed of conventional SATA III interface. MP33 has built-in smart management mechanism and supports S.M.A.R.T function. It not only improves the accuracy and reliability of data transfer, but also allows consumers to experience a fast and stable performance. It is the wisest choice for your laptop, mini PC or gaming PC.

Intel today at a press event in South Korea announced their plans for future product launches in the memory spaces. Optane is the name of the carriage Intel is pulling here - there's no novelty about that - and the company will be pushing a second generation release of Optane enterprise SSDs and Optane DC Persistent Memory modules. Most interesting for us down-to-earth PC enthusiasts, though - the market launch of 144 Layer QLC NAND in 2020, which should bring even lower pricing to NAND-based devices. Later, the company also plans to launch 144 layer TLC NAND solutions.

The new Optane modules apparently make use of first-generation 3D XPoint memory still - the love child of the now defunct Intel-Micron partnership. Intel's new Optane DC Persistent Memory products will materialize in codename Barlow Pass modules, with a release window around the likes of Cooper Lake (14nm) and Ice Lake (10nm) server processors scheduled for 2020. It seems that Intel's only consumer solution based in Optane - the Optane Memory H10 two-in-one SSD - is a lonely child effort which won't be joined by the previously-planned Optane Memory M15 (a dedicated cache drive for systems with mechanical-based storage, which are already on their way out) and Optane SSD 815P (which would only offer 118 GB of storage, clearly too little for current data storing trends in the overall market.