Mushkin updated its Triactor line of mainstream SATA SSDs with the new Triactor 3DX and 3DL. The "3D" symbolizes 3D NAND flash, in this case, 3D TLC NAND flash, mated to a Silicon Motion SM2258 controller. The drive comes in sizes of 120 GB, 250 GB, 500 GB, and 1 TB. It offers sequential transfer rates of up to 565 MB/s reads, with up to 530 MB/s writes, and 4K random access performance of up to 100,000/91,000 IOPS (read/write). The Triactor 3DX is built in the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch form-factor, while the Triactor 3DL is built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, with SATA 6 Gbps interface.

Mushkin showed off its Helix-L cost-effective M.2 NVMe SSD. The company also showed off the slightly faster Pilot M.2 NVMe drive. Built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, the Helix-L combines a Silicon Motion SM2263XT controller with 3D TLC NAND flash memory, and comes in capacities ranging between 120 GB and 1 TB. The drive's rated performance matches the controller's maximum rated performance numbers, which stand at up to 2400 MB/s sequential reads, up to 1700 MB/s sequential writes, up to 280,000 IOPS 4K random reads, and up to 250,000 IOPS maximum writes.

The Pilot, on the other hand, combines the faster Silicon Motion SM2262 controller, with 3D TLC NAND flash over 8 channels, and is cushioned by a DRAM cache, which together push its performance to up to 3200 MB/s sequential reads, with up to 1900 MB/s sequential writes; and 4K random access performance figures of 370,000/300,000 IOPS (reads/writes). It comes in capacities ranging between 240 GB and 2 TB. Both drives support the latest NVMe 1.3 specification, and are backed by 3-year warranties.

ADATA showed off its latest M.2 NVMe SSDs that support the latest NVMe 1.3 specification, and are based on some of the newer generation controllers, beginning with the XPG SX8200. This drive combines Silicon Motion SM2262 controller with 3D TLC NAND flash memory, and comes in capacities of 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB. The drive offers sequential transfer rates of up to 3200 MB/s reads, with up to 1700 MB/s writes; and features SLC caching, an LPDC ECC engine, and an internal RAID engine.

The ADATA XPG SX8200 is designed to succeed the XPG SX8000, which is second-fiddle to the company's fastest XPG SX9000-series, and competes with the likes of Samsung 960 EVO series. The ADATA IM2P33F8 implements Silicon Motion SM2263XT controller, which is DRAM-less and has just four flash channels. The drive offers sequential speeds of up to 2400 MB/s reads, with up to 1700 MB/s writes; and comes in capacities of 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB.

Thermal throttling is a big problem for M.2 NVMe SSDs, with drives losing up to 30 percent in sequential transfer rates when overheated. ADATA, with an M.2 SSD product spanning nearly all price-points, is taking the issue of throttling heat-on with its XPG Storm RGB M.2 SSD heatsink. The cooler consists of a chunky aluminium heatsink with coverage area for M.2-2280 drives, a tiny lateral-blower fan, and a cooler shroud with RGB LED lighting. ADATA claims the heatsink reduces temperatures by up to 25 percent.

Its RGB LED lighting supports standard headers, and can be controlled using standardized software such as ASUS Aura Sync RGB, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light RGB, etc. Unfortunately, the heatsink appears to add Z-height that makes it unfit for M.2 slots located between PCI-Express add-on card slots. At best they're suited for boards with M.2 slots above the topmost heatsink, or just south of the PCH heatsink. The heatsink relies on adhesive thermal-pads and its installation is tool-free

Crucial, a leading global brand of memory and storage upgrades, today announced the availability of the Crucial MX500 SSD. The new drive features second generation Micron 3D NAND technology and is 45 times more energy efficient than a typical hard drive. Available in capacities up to 2TB in the 2.5-inch form factor and up to 1TB in the M.2 form factor, the MX500 has sequential reads/writes up to 560/510 MB/s and random reads/writes up to 95K/90K IOPS.

"This next generation MX500 SSD features a stackable 64-layer, 256-gigabit component. Micron's floating gate NAND is designed with CMOS Under the Array (CUA), which allows us to minimize the footprint of the die. At 59 square millimeters, it's among the world's smallest 256-gigabit die," said Jon Tanguy, Crucial Senior SSD Product Engineer. "Our engineering team has incorporated this leading-edge NAND technology in an SSD that includes all the advanced features Crucial customers have come to expect to keep their data safe."

Seagate Technology plc, a world leader in data storage solutions, today announced a range of new products at the CES 2018 conference designed to equip the world's increasingly mobile population with solutions that solve key challenges they face when creating, processing and accessing their data on-the-go.

"Our world is becoming more data-centric, connected and mobile. This means creating, transferring, storing and accessing data quickly and reliably is critical to unlocking the potential of everything - from data created in the field, to data powering self-driving cars, AI personal assistants or virtual and mixed reality experiences," said Tim Bucher, senior vice president of Seagate consumer solutions. "At Seagate, we're constantly pursuing innovative ways to address our customer needs so they can gain a competitive edge in whichever field they play."

At today's Consumer Electronics Show 2018 (CES 2018), Western Digital unveiled new and breakthrough consumer solutions that address today's personal content explosion, including voice-activated media streaming via popular Smart Home devices, the world's smallest 1TB USB flash drive and a portfolio of ultra-mobile, high-performance, wireless and high-capacity flash storage products. Sold under the SanDisk and WD brands, these offerings ensure that personal experiences and memories can thrive for years to come.

Smartphones, drones, action cameras and virtual reality (VR) goggles are capturing and creating rich content that users want to access and share with friends and followers alike. Innovations in multi-lens cameras, 8K video, 5G wireless, VR, augmented reality (AR) and video streaming are enabling more immersive experiences. As a result, consumers are looking for easier ways to capture, preserve, access and share their personal content as it becomes richer and more robust.

Following its early-CES launch, we have more details of Toshiba's "entry-level" M.2 NVMe SSD, the RC100. This drive is designed to offer significantly higher performance than SATA SSDs, at a tiny (10-15 percent) price premium over the fastest SATA SSDs. This market has been made inroads to by companies like ADATA, with their XPG SX6000-series. The RC100, offers not only NVMe performance, but also a more compact size. The drive is built in the M.2-2242 form-factor (42 mm long). It will fit on any motherboard that supports M.2-2280 drives, you just have to move the fastening nut to an inner hole marked "42."

Toshiba RC100 drives combine an in-house developed controller with Toshiba 64-layer BiCS Flash TLC memory. The drive features PCI-Express 3.0 x2 host interface, and takes advantage of the NVMe 1.2 protocol. It offers sequential transfer rates of up to 1,620 MB/s reads, with up to 1,130 MB/s writes; and 4K random access performance of up to 160,000 IOPS reads, and 120,000 IOPS writes. The drive comes in capacities of 120 GB, 240 GB, and 480 GB, and is backed by a 3-year warranty.

Kingston showed off its HyperX Savage EXO external SSD, targeted at notebook gamers, and game console users, so you could easily swap out game install folders of multiple games on the fly. Built in a compact, yet rugged polycarbonate chassis, the drive comes in capacities of 480 GB and 960 GB, implementing 3D TLC NAND flash memory. The drive takes advantage of USB 3.1 gen 2 (10 Gbps) interface, offering sequential transfer rates of up to 490 MB/s reads, and up to 480 MB/s writes (something not possible with USB 3.1 gen 1, due to interface overhead). Both type-A and type-C cables come included with the drive, a single cable handles both power and host-connectivity.

Kingston did what was inevitable - RGB LED lighting on SSDs, the least showy components of any PC build. The new HyperX Fury RGB series SSDs feature RGB LED lighting elements in the form of two diffusers and the HyperX logo. The drive is build in the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch form-factor, with SATA 6 Gbps interface. In addition to the SATA interface, the drive has a micro-USB 2.0 port, and in included cable that connects it to a USB 2.0 header of your motherboard. This USB connection is needed to let you control its LED lighting. In addition to Kingston's own HyperX app, in addition to industry standards such as ASUS Aura Sync RGB, and GIGABYTE RGB Fusion. As a drive, the HyperX Fury RGB retains the feature-set of the HyperX Fury. It comes in capacities of 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB; and implements 3D MLC NAND flash memory. It offers sequential transfer rates of up to 550 MB/s reads, with up to 520 MB/s writes.

Plugable's new 480GB external NVME SSD drive hits performance levels not possible before Thunderbolt 3. Connect the drive to a Thunderbolt 3 port to gain 480GB of extra storage with amazing speeds of up to 2400+ MB/sec read and 1200+ MB/sec write, all without the need for an external power connection. These speeds make this external drive a no-compromise performance solution for video editing, backup, and any tasks which demand maximum disk performance. "Thunderbolt 3 is a revolutionary technology," said Bernie Thompson, CEO of Plugable Technologies. "We've created our line of high-end docks, adapters, and drives to show it off."

Samsung Electronics America, Inc. today announced the Samsung Notebook 7 Spin (2018), a versatile notebook that provides consumers with the accessibility needed to remain productive in today's digital world. Designed for working professionals, students and those looking for entertainment, the Notebook 7 Spin (2018) offers modern features including a 360-degree touchscreen for added convenience; an Active Pen (sold separately) for quick and easy note-taking; as well as the power and performance for more efficient multi-tasking.

"Our customers wanted a functional, intuitive device that includes a wide range of their favorite features, and that's what we've delivered with the Notebook 7 Spin (2018)," said YoungGyoo Choi, Senior Vice President of the PC Business Team, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. "This device meets the needs of today's digital lifestyle, combining work and play with a smart, seamless and personalized experience that connects users with their other devices."

Toshiba Memory America, Inc. (TMA), the U.S.-based subsidiary of Toshiba Memory Corporation, will be highlighting the use of its industry-leading BiCS FLASH 3D memory in several applications - including its new lineup of NVMe SSDs, the RC100 Series.

At CES, TMA is collaborating with its customers and technology partners to take on the future - together. Toshiba was the first company in the world[1] to announce 3D flash memory technology, which effectively addresses the processing, storage and management of the growing volume of data generated worldwide. Recent announcements see the company continuing to lead the industry forward, including the introduction of a 96-layer 512Gb die; the debut of the industry's first[2] flash memory device with quadruple-level cell (QLC) technology; and the addition of Through Silicon Via (TSV) technology. Already enabling the enterprise, data center, PC and mobile applications of today, TMA's BiCS FLASH has paved the way for the applications of tomorrow. In everything from artificial intelligence and virtual reality to a growing number of automotive applications (such as infotainment), high performance computing and the ever-expanding "internet of things," storage density needs will climb higher and higher - and BiCS FLASH was designed with this in mind.

Cost effectiveness is a key factor that drove many successes in a well established company. With ICY DOCK's ToughArmor series removable 2.5" SSD / HDD enclosures, we are introducing a different kind of cost effectiveness or we called it "space efficiency" by creating flexible configurations for data drives in a standard drive bay as seen in many HP and DELL workstations or servers. Whether you need to add 8 x 4TB 2.5" SATA SSD in a single 5.25" bay of your HP workstation, or replace the slim optical disk drive with hot-swappable 2.5" HDD/SSD bay, the ToughArmor got you covered!

• Key features of ICY DOCK ToughArmor series:
• Ruggedized Full Metal Construction
• Heavy Duty Removable Drive Caddy
• High Storage Density Design for Space Saving
• Approved and Used by First Tier Company such as HP and GE
• Complimentary Technical Support with 3-Year Warranty

Transcend Information Inc., a leading manufacturer of storage and multimedia products, is proud to announce the release of JetDrive 825 Thunderbolt PCIe portable solid-state drive (SSD) for Mac computers. The drive utilizes the powerful JetDrive 820 PCIe SSD as its storage media featuring 3D NAND flash and a PCIe Gen3 x2 interface. The JetDrive 825 offers lightning-fast transfer speeds and large capacities, making it the perfect storage upgrade for MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini, and Mac Pro.

Thunderbolt technology in a sleek case
Transcend's JetDrive 825 features a 10Gb/s Thunderbolt interface, capable of blazing-fast file transfers. The drive is housed in sleek, aluminum alloy enclosure which was designed to tastefully complement your Mac's simple, clean design. In addition, the inner SSD is removable for greater ease of use based on users' preferences.

PLEXTOR, a leading manufacturer of award-winning solid-state drives (SSDs) and other high-performance digital storage devices for consumers, today announced the launch of its newest NVMe PCIe SSD the M9Pe Series. The new M9Pe SSD Series has adopted advanced 64-layer 3D NAND and flagship controller along with exclusive PlexNitro, smart cache technology, delivering unprecedented sequential read/write up to 3,200/2,100 MB/s and random read/write up to 400,000/300,000 IOPS. The M9Pe puts improved performance and durability in its crosshairs.

Aimed at high-level PC gaming such as eSports, the M9Pe boasts of its superior components to deliver less lags and 20% faster boot up times compared to a typical SATA drive. The new M9Pe (HHHL/AIC version only) also sports a new eye-catching design with its programmable 3-mode RGB LED lights for the perfect visual appeal on any desktop gaming setup. Similar to its predecessors, the new M9Pe features a high-performing thermal heatsink (M9PeY and M9PeG only) to help regulate SSD temperatures during prolonged gaming sessions resulting to stabilized performance.

Silicon Motion announced their ultra-high speed SM226x PCIe NVMe SSD controllers back in August. The family consists of four controllers (SM2262EN, SM2262, SM2263, and SM2263XT) that are aimed at different segments. Taipower's new Mirage NP900 NVMe SSD is the first consumer product to utilize one of Silicon Motion's latest controllers. We don't expect the SSD to be available in large numbers outside the Asian continent. Nevertheless, the Mirage NP900 grants us a glimpse of the SM2262 controller's performance. The drive registers sequential read speeds of 2685 MB/s and write speeds of 1695 MB/s in the AS SSD benchmark. With CES 2018 almost upon us, we are positive that Silicon Motion partners like Adata, Intel, Micron/Crucial, and SanDisk/Western Digital are surely going to present their new Silicon Motion powered NVMe SSDs soon.

SilverStone rolled out the TP02-M2, a heatsink for 80 mm-long M.2 SSDs (M.2-2280). This chunky aluminium heatsink is 1 cm tall, and weighs a little over 16 g. In addition to a 3 g-ish adhesive thermal pad, it would have added close to 20 g of weight onto the various soldered components of your drive; but SilverStone is clever enough to include two silicone bands that strap the heatsink onto the drive, offloading some of that weight. The heatsink was tested by its designers to significantly lower temperatures of NAND flash chips and controllers, which pose performance penalties on faster NVMe SSDs. The company didn't reveal pricing.

Corsair rolled out the range-topping 1,600 GB variant of the Neutron NX500 PCI-Express SSD series, which made its debut in August 2017 (variant SKU: CSSD-N1600GBNX500). The drive is priced at 1,770€ (including taxes). The half-height, single-slot add-on card features PCI-Express 3.0 x4 bus interface, and takes advantage of the NVMe 1.2 protocol. The drives combine Phison PS5007-E7 controllers with Toshiba-made 15 nm MLC NAND flash memory.

It has a rated sequential performance of up to 3,000 MB/s reads, with up to 2,300 MB/s writes when tested with ATTO; up to 2,800 MB/s reads with up to 1,600 MB/s writes when tested with CrystalDiskMark; and random-access performance of up to 300,000 IOPS 4K reads, with up to 270,000 IOPS 4K writes, when tested with IOMeter. Its endurance is rated at 2,793 TBW, and is backed by a 5-year warranty.

Intel seems to be looking to further expand its lineup of the 900P SSD, according to an official Intel document the folks at myce.com got access to. The file, a Product Change Notification (PCN), is usually used by Intel to denote revisions or new products for their manufacturing facilities. And the PCN 115990 - 00 lists increased capacities of 960 GB and 1,5 TB for their 900P SSD.

The newly listed products aren't the only things of note here, though. There have also been some label changes, and reduced voltages across the board. The retail box label will now also include the firmware version the unit ships with, which will definitely come in handy in case there is a known bad batch in these SSDs (as unlikely as that is to be).

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that it has begun mass production of the industry's first 512-gigabyte (GB) embedded Universal Flash Storage (eUFS) solution for use in next-generation mobile devices. Utilizing Samsung's latest 64-layer 512-gigabit (Gb) V-NAND chips, the new 512GB eUFS package provides unparalleled storage capacity and outstanding performance for upcoming flagship smartphones and tablets.

"The new Samsung 512GB eUFS provides the best embedded storage solution for next-generation premium smartphones by overcoming potential limitations in system performance that can occur with the use of micro SD cards," said Jaesoo Han, executive vice president of Memory Sales & Marketing at Samsung Electronics. "By assuring an early, stable supply of this advanced embedded storage, Samsung is taking a big step forward in contributing to timely launches of next-generation mobile devices by mobile manufacturers around the world."

Apacer knows it best when it comes to speed and uncompromised gaming performance. Z280, the latest answer to advanced SSDs, supports PCIe Gen 3 x4 and is compliant with NVMe 1.2 in a M.2 form factor. The blazing speed will boost the game status without getting too costly. With sustained read/write performance at 2750MB/s and 1500MB/s, the compact M.2-2280 keeps everything efficient at a massive capacity of 480GB. Want to be one step ahead of others? Look no further than Z280, the high-performing SSD that is compatible with mini PCs and laptops.

Rapidity & Jumbo Storage
Built with upscale SSD technologies that Apacer is synonymous for and excellent quality MLC, the cutting-edge Z280 is compliant with NVMe 1.2 standard and features the latest PCIe Gen 3 x4 interface to provide up to 4 times of bandwidth. The expert team at Apacer raised the bar of the industry by creating a blistering transmission at 2750/MB & 1500MB per second. Offering a massive memory capacity of 480GB, Z280 has a random write of 175,000 IOPs to ensure all actions in each gaming scene is smoothly processed, fluid and sharp, efficiently boosting a gamer's status.

Toshiba Memory Corporation, the world leader in memory solutions, has enhanced its line-up of client SSDs with the launch of premium models in its XG5-P series. The new NVM Express (NVMe) client SSDs improve on the performance of the current XG5 series models and double the maximum capacity to 2 TB. Sample shipments to OEM customers start today in limited quantities, and Toshiba Memory Corporation will gradually increase shipments from the first calendar quarter of 2018.

The XG5-P series also utilizes a PCI Express (PCIe) Gen3 x4 lane and NVM Express Revision 1.2.1 interface, and delivers performance of up to 3000 MB/s sequential read and 2200 MB/s sequential write, and up to 320,000 IOPS random read and 265,000 IOPS random write. Its random read/write performance in full access range is approximately 55% better than that of standard XG5 series products. At the same time, low power consumption is maintained at less than 60 mW during operation.

EK Water Blocks, the Slovenia-based premium computer liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is releasing new passive heatsinks for M.2 NVMe Next Generation Form Factor SSDs in multiple color options! The popularity of the existing Black and Nickel plated M.2 NVMe heatsinks clearly indicated the need for more color options, so here they are! It is not a secret that M.2 NVMe SSDs can overheat very easily and be affected by thermal throttling, thus losing performance. The EK-M.2 NVMe Heatsink can lower the SSDs operating temperature by 7 to 30°C.

The design of the heatsink ensures that it is easy to install, it is low profile, easily reusable and aesthetically non-intrusive. Simple clips ensure that the heatsink is very easy to install and to re-use if the SSD is upgraded. The ribbed surface of the heatsink acts as a very effective passive cooler, as well as aesthetic cover. Its simple design ensures a sleek, non-intrusive look that can be easily combined with any aesthetical requirement of the user. The compact design makes it highly compatible so that it does not interfere with other components. EK Water Blocks are offering the new EK-M.2 NVMe Heatsink in red, blue, green and purple variants. The gold variant will be available within two weeks of time.

Users of Samsung's 960 Pro SSD's that have updated to the latest firmware version (3B6QCXP7) have been reporting far, wide, and through a variety of outlets, the existence of problems that lead to application instability and OS freezes lasting for several seconds before the system resumes normal functions. Apparently, there's no hard-crashing involved as of yet, though the issue seems to be widespread enough that it's generating discussion in Samsung's forums, our own, and some other tech publication's. It seems the 960 Pro is getting stuck with 100% activity reports in the task manager with read and write speeds of 0. At the same time, some users are reporting performance degradation by sometimes up to 1,400 MB/s in read speeds when benchmarking the drives, which also doesn't bode well for the firmware's pedigree.

The issue has been replicated by users running Perfect Disk while running SSD Optimization modes. A Samsung representative in the Forums seems to be on top of the issue, asking users for information on their systems and configuration before escalating the situation and reporting, though so far, it seems that the problem is being dismissed as being not widespread enough to be considered a cause for alarm. Samsung''s 960 Pro firmware can't be rolled back by users to a previous version, though, so take this post as a heads-up and maybe wait for a newer firmware revision, just to play it safe. A statement from Samsung follows after the break.