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

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

The USB Promoter Group today announced the pending release of the USB4 Version 2.0 specification, a major update to enable up to 80 Gbps of data performance over the USB Type-C cable and connector. The USB Type-C and USB Power Delivery (USB PD) specifications will also be updated to enable this higher level of data performance. All of these specification updates are expected to be published in advance of this year's series of USB DevDays developer events planned for November.

Protocol updates are also being made to enable higher performance USB 3.2, DisplayPort and PCI Express (PCIe) data tunneling to best use the higher available bandwidth. "Once again following USB tradition, this updated USB4 specification doubles data performance to deliver higher levels of functionality to the USB Type-C ecosystem," said Brad Saunders, USB Promoter Group Chairman. "Solutions seeing the most benefit from this speed enhancement include higher-performance displays, storage, and USB-based hubs and docks."

TerraMaster, a professional brand that specializes in providing innovative storage products for home, businesses and enterprises, introduces the D8-332 8-bay professional-grade RAID storage offering up to 160 TB of storage and impressive speeds of up to 1600 MB/s. With Thunderbolt 3, the D8-332 can be connected with other Thunderbolt 3 devices or up to five other D8-332s making storage expansion easy. The D8-332 also supports a wide selection of RAID modes offering flexible storage configurations depending on your needs.

The TerraMaster D8-332 is ideal for creative professionals with demanding storage and file transfer speed needs. Its compact chassis with sturdy handle makes it easy to transport. With its impressive file transfer speeds, transfer hours of footages from a Blackmagic device to Adobe Premiere Pro in seconds. In turn, with uncompressed HD 10-bit and 12-bit video, users can edit the ProRes 422 (HQ), ProRes 4444 XQ, and other data streams.

Targus, a leader in laptop cases and mobile computing accessories, today announced the availability of two new Thunderbolt 3 docks, equipped with Thunderbolt speed for high-resolution graphics to meet the powerful demands of creative professionals and studios. "We've designed our DOCK215 and DOCK222 to meet the demanding needs of professional content creators," says David Dorantes, director of product marketing, Targus. "With features like Thunderbolt 3 speed, up to 8K resolution, dual-monitor support, and a compact design, both docks enable creatives to stay connected, powered, and productive."

The Thunderbolt 3 DV4K Docking Station with 85 W Power Delivery (DOCK215USZ) connects a laptop to dual 4K UHD monitors at 60hz or a single 8K HDR monitor at 30hz. Packed with ports, it comes with two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, as well as two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, and one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port to accommodate workspace peripherals like a mouse and keyboard, hard drive, and more. Its compact design also ensures it won't take up precious desk space for working essentials. It even comes equipped with a VESA bracket mounting provision, which allows for use of the Targus VESA Mount Bracket (ACX003GLZ - sold separately) to hold the dock behind the display for even greater space savings. DOCK215 retails for $287.99.

OWC, a leading customer-focused creator of innovative solutions for over 30 years that have enabled individuals, businesses, content professionals, and educators to get maximum usefulness from their technology investment, today introduced its itinerary for NAB 2022, which will be in Las Vegas on April 23-27, 2022, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

OWC is thrilled to showcase several innovative new storage system upgrades that deliver blazing transfer speeds and unparalleled reliability for media professionals with storage-intensive workflows. For those attending NAB, visit booth C3836 in the Central Hall to see all these new solutions and existing award-winning dock, hub, and software staples. OWC's focus is to get a lot of the infrastructure technology out of the way so you can focus on what drives you.

TechPowerUp and ORICO brought our readers from across the globe, a unique chance to win an ORICO TB3-S2 NVMe SSD Docking Station; and an ORICO PSSD 1 TB biometric-encrypted portable SSD. The TB3-S2 is a 9-in-1 connectivity expander that takes advantage of Thunderbolt 3 to put out a plethora of USB, wired LAN, memory card, connectivity, while also serving as a handy dual M.2 NVMe enclosure. The PSSD is a rugged portable SSD for road-warriors, with a fingerprint reader, and an in-built drive encryption mechanism. The results are in! Without further ado, the winners:

• "vzangel" from Mexico (Twitch and Twitter handle), wins an ORICO TB3-S2 9-in-1 docking station
• "simiaelevatum" from the United States (Twitch handle), wins an ORICO PSSD 1 TB portable SSD

A huge congratulations to you two! ORICO and TechPowerUp will return with more such interesting giveaways.

TechPowerUp and mobility computing hardware major ORICO announce a chance for you to bag one of two pieces of handy ORICO hardware in our latest Giveaway. We are giving away an ORICO PSSD fingerprint-encryption 1 TB portable SSD, and a TB3-S2 9-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 Dual M.2 bay docking station. Announced recently by the company, the TB3-S2 and PSSD boost your mobile productivity, especially if you're carrying around a thin-and-light commercial notebook that has minimal wired connectivity.

The PSSD takes advantage of USB 3.2 Gen 2, offering transfer speeds of 520 MB/s, along with native drive encryption with a biometric fingerprint sensor on drive. The drive comes partitioned with a primary partition that has the biometric security software that can be made to auto-run; which then decrypts the user-area upon successful authentication, either by password or fingerprint. The TB3-S2 is a force-multiplier for thin-and-light notebooks. It packs two M.2 PCIe/NVMe slots, letting you increase storage; along with a plethora of downstream display, USB, wired Ethernet, and audio connectivity. The Giveaway is open Worldwide (wherever legal), with entries open till March 21, 2022. To participate, head down to our Givelab page, where you can not only participate, but also increase your chances of winning, by sharing the giveaway across your social media.

For more information and to participate, visit this page.

ORICO unveiled a pair of innovating new storage and connectivity products over the last week. These include the TB3-S2 portable Thunderbolt docking station, and the PSSD portable SSD featuring fingerprint-based biometric security. The TB3-S2 is a compact multi-function docking station that measures 188 mm x 95 mm x 24 mm (WxDxH). It takes in a Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gbps) connection, and can daisy-chain it onward to another Thunderbolt 3 port with full 8K @ 60 Hz capability (depending on the input).

The box draws power from a 120 W power brick. Inside, you'll find two M.2-2280 NVMe slots that can hold up to 4 TB of storage. The display input from the Thunderbolt 3 port is put out as a standard DisplayPort 1.3. There are a boat-load of downstream connectivity options, which include two 10 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (from which one is type-C), two 5 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 1 type-A ports, a 60-Watt/15-Watt USB-PD port (purely for power delivery), a 1 GbE wired Ethernet interface, and a 2-channel audio with mic-input (USB DAC). Available now, the TB3-S2 is priced at USD $399.99.

The Club 3D CSV-1568 USB Gen2 Type-C Triple Display DP Alt mode + Smart PD Charging Dock with 120 Watt PSU, is an integrated solution combining Video, Data, Power, Ethernet and Audio. It has 4 videos (output 3 videos simultaneously under MST mode) for video transmission, 4 USB data ports (2 USB-A 10G, 1 Type-C 10G, 1 USB-A 5G) for data transmission, 1 USB-A smart charging port for quick charging, 1 Gigabit Ethernet for super fast Ethernet, 2 audio ports (3.5 mm audio, Toslink) for enjoying music. Besides, this dock is equipped with dual power jack (Type-C PD Charging or 120 W DC power supply).

It supports all DP Alt mode 1.4/1.2 supported Type-C and Thunderbolt 3 host (PC, laptop, mobile phone, etc.) under Windows and under MacOS X based on Intel you will only get limited SST Function or Single display Only. This new dock will be available from first week of January 2022.

MinisForum is a small mini PC manufacturer, known for their Ryzen series of mini PCs. Earlier this month they released information about their upcoming Ryzen 5000X series mini PC which will come with a dedicated graphics card. Finally today they have unveiled this Intel chip mini PC: TH50. MinisForum's previous Intel chip mini PC was the TL50, which came with an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor and was launched in May this year. The new model, called the TH50, is more powerful than the TL50, comes with Windows 10 Pro and is compatible with Windows 11.

The EliteMini TH50 is powered by the 11th generation Intel Core i5 processor "Intel Core i5-11320H" and is compliant with Intel Iris Xe Graphics with built-in graphics for high performance to handle everyday slightly higher load task use; the Intel Core i5-11320H processor with built-in Intel Torch Xe graphics allows you to toy with light games with lots of high quality images, and by lowering the image quality setting, even slightly heavier games can be played comfortably. It performs well in content editing software such as Photoshop and Premiere as well as popular games such as APEX and GTA5.

TerraMaster, a professional brand that specializes in providing innovative storage products for home, businesses and enterprises, presents the D5 Thunderbolt 3 professional-grade RAID storage with perfect compatibility with the latest Apple M1 chip-powered MacBook Pro. TerraMaster certified compatibility of the D5 Thunderbolt 3 with MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max and the latest macOS Monterey - the 18th and current major release of the macOS operating system.

The TerraMaster D5 Thunderbolt 3 is designed to meet the needs of professional content creators that need high-speed, large-capacity storage for storing raw media files and work files. The D5 Thunderbolt 3 provides excellent speeds to allow seamless 4K streaming and video editing. With macOS Monterey support, users of the latest M1-powered MacBooks can have the perfect storage for all their professional needs. Furthermore, the D5 Thunderbolt 3 is fully compatible with the latest Thunderbolt 4 protocol to achieve a smart working space together with other Thunderbolt 3- and Thunderbolt 4-enabled devices.

SAPPHIRE Technology announces the new SAPPHIRE GearBox 500 Thunderbolt 3 eGFX Enclosure now available as a solution with the PULSE AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT 8 GB AMD RDNA 2 Graphics Card. The Gearbox 500 eGFX Enclosure features an updated chassis design that with improved airflow that when connected to the latest graphics cards drastically improves the performance of Thunderbolt 3 / 4 Mac or Windows 10 enabled devices.

Designed for users that need the performance boost to run bandwidth intensive applications such as professional software and the latest 1080P games, the GearBox 500 eGFX Enclosure's light weight and slim small form factor design is highly portable and as well as the PULSE RX 6600 XT, can host up to a 350 W PCI-Express x16 Graphics Cards from both AMD and Nvidia's consumer and professional GPU families.

OWC, the premier zero-emissions Mac and PC technology company, and a respected provider of Memory, External Drives, SSDs, Mac & PC Docking Solutions, Network Attached Storage, and Performance Upgrade Kits, announces the OWC miniStack STX, the world's first Thunderbolt 4 Certified storage and hub expansion solution that seamlessly stacks with the Mac mini. It is also a Plug and Play expansion companion for Thunderbolt or USB-equipped Macs, PCs, iPads, Chromebooks, and Android tablets.

Three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C compatible) ports connect to millions of Thunderbolt, USB-C and future USB4 devices and accessories. A universal HDD/SSD bay and an NVMe M.2 SSD slot provide massive storage capacity expansion and can be combined in a RAID 1 configuration. With up to 770 MB/s of storage performance, the OWC miniStack STX is great for bandwidth-intensive video editing, photography, audio, virtual machines, and everyday data backup and access tasks. Its heat-dissipating aircraft-grade aluminium with an internal heat sink and high-efficiency fan provides cool, nearly silent operation.

The Kubuntu Focus Team announces the availability of the third-generation M2 Linux mobile workstation with multiple performance enhancements. RTX 3080 and RTX 3070 models are in stock now. RTX 3060 models can be reserved now and ship in the first week of November. The thin-and-light M2 laptop is a superb choice for anyone looking for the best out-of-the-box Linux experience with the most powerful mobile hardware. Customers include ML scientists, developers, and creators. Improvements to the third generation include:

• Cooler and faster Intel 11th generation Core i7-11800H. Geekbench scores improve 19 and 29%.
• Double the iGPU performance with Intel Iris Xe 32EU Graphics.
• Increased RAM speed from 2933 to 3200 MHz, up to 64 GB dual-channel.
• BIOS switchable USB-C GPU output.
• Upgrade from Thunderbolt 3 to version 4.

Last week, the EU Commission announced that it's working towards making USB-C the universal standard for charging portable electronics and this week, the USB-IF is bringing new Certified USB Type-C cable and Certified USB4 logos to help consumers figure out what is what. However, the USB-IF is also pointing out that consumers should only buy Certified USB products from trusted sources, suggesting that there are a lot of products in the market that don't meet the various USB specifications.

The new logos can be seen below and the first one is for devices that support 40 Gbps speeds over USB. Keep in mind that although USB4 is broadly based on Thunderbolt 3, the cables aren't going to be exactly the same, but that some USB4 implementations can also support Thunderbolt 4, just to complicate things a little bit extra. This logo can also be used with 40 Gbps capable ports on devices.

TerraMaster, a professional brand that specializes in providing innovative storage products for home, businesses and enterprises,presents the high-end and compact D16 Thunderbolt 3 tower storage solution for smooth DIT workflow. The standard for quality content rises each year as technology pushing innovation for high-definition audio and visual experiences. Today, 4K and 8K videos are in demand with more and more users capable of enjoying such high-definition content with modern displays. However, producing 4K and 8K content can be very taxing to content creators.

Ultra-high-definition such as 4K and 8K videos accumulate vast amounts of data storage. The speed requirement of uncompressed 4K video images can exceed 300 MB/s. Certain scenes a require higher frame rate, and the data volume may reach 1.5 GB/s. While for 8K video, the speed requirement and data volume are exponentially increased.

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.

TerraMaster, a professional brand that specializes in providing innovative storage products for home, businesses and enterprises, proudly presents the D16 Thunderbolt 3 16-bay professional storage solution. The TerraMaster D16 Thunderbolt 3 is the world's most compact 16-bay tower storage. It uses the high-speed Thunderbolt 3 interface with up to 40 Gbps data transfer speed for fast and efficient 4K/8K video editing. It comes fitted with smart quiet fans for efficient and silent cooling that won't disrupt working professionals.

Designed for demanding professionals such as video editors, animators, CAD users, and other content creators, the D16 Thunderbolt 3 delivers more than just high-speed, high-capacity storage. It features support for different professional-grade RAID modes to suit your needs.It also comes in a black and silver aluminium chassis that will fit any modern workspace with efficient silent thermal design.

The 2021 GIGABYTE AORUS Gaming Box external GPU was debuted late last week. It introduces many firsts for a market less addressed this generation, particularly due to the GPU shortage. The lineup debuts with a model based on NVIDIA's flagship GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, and introduces a liquid-cooling. The box uses an all-in-one, closed-loop liquid cooler to tame the RTX 3080 Ti, using a 240 mm x 120 mm radiator and a pair of 120 mm fans located inside the box, while additional fans ventilate the rest of its innards.

For all its might, the card is bound to be bottlenecked by its interface—a single 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 3 connection that gives the GPU the equivalent of a PCI-Express 3.0 x4 interface. Our RTX 3080 non-Ti PCI Express Scaling article shows that the GPU loses 12% performance on PCI-Express 1.1 x16 (comparable bandwidth to PCIe 3.0 x4). Other features of the AORUS Gaming Box include a USB 3.0 hub, and addressable RGB lighting that you can control using the RGB Fusion software. The company didn't reveal pricing or availability, but one can expect a roughly $300-400 markup over whatever the running rate of an RTX 3080 Ti these days, is. GIGABYTE is expected to carve out more Gaming Box products based on the same chassis, but using different GPUs.

Sabrent on Monday launched a massive 16 TB variant of its XTRM-Q external SSD that debuted last year in capacities of up to 8 TB. The 16 TB XTRM-Q encloses two 8 TB SSD subunits. Out of the box, these are striped to create the 16 TB volume, but you can re-configure these to run in RAID 1, for data redundancy, or even JBOD/sequential.

What makes the Sabrent XTRM-Q stand out is its Thunderbolt 3 + USB 3.2 dual-mode operation. Unlike the single-drive based XTRM-Q 8 TB, the 16 TB version features a larger body, and requires external power through an included power brick, in addition to the Thunderbolt/USB connection. In striped mode, the driver offers sequential transfer rates of up to 2500 MB/s in Thunderbolt mode. The enclosure is made of aluminium, and doubles up as a heatspreader for the drives underneath. The enclosure is covered by a removable silicone outer sheath. Without this, the drive measures 114.3 mm x 65 mm x 17.2 mm (LxWxH). Available now, it is priced at USD $2,899.

Sonnet Technologies today announced the DuoModo line of professional, modular Thunderbolt expansion systems for the desktop and for rack installation, the latest entries in its award-winning lineup of Thunderbolt products. The DuoModo line is comprised of three interchangeable expansion modules—a three-slot PCIe card system, an eGPU card system, and a Mac mini mounting system with integrated 40 Gbps Thunderbolt storage dock—and three enclosures consisting of two dual-module housings (one desktop and one rackmount) and a single-module desktop housing. Sonnet will also offer four preconfigured systems to simplify the order process for the most popular combinations of modules and enclosures. All modules are Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 compatible.

DuoModo Echo III Module: This module (the same one used in Sonnet's Echo III Desktop and Echo III Rackmount systems announced at the end of 2020) features one x16 and two x8 PCIe 3.0 slots; accommodates full-height, full-length (up to 12.28 inches long) PCIe cards; and connects them to a computer's Thunderbolt port via the included 0.7-meter Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gbps) cable. The module integrates a universal 400 W power supply and includes a 75 W auxiliary power connector for non-GPU cards that require extra power. The module includes a mode switch that enables the use of three Avid Pro Tools|HDX PCIe cards, and features Noctua cooling fans for ultra-quiet operation.

At its Flash Perspective event today, Western Digital unveiled the new SanDisk Professional brand of premium storage solutions for content creators and professionals. From producing the latest blockbuster film to capturing the moment at a destination wedding to managing business-critical content, the powerful SanDisk Professional portfolio is designed to deliver scalable, high-performance, reliable solutions across industries globally.

Professional content is in constant motion. Content that's captured or created needs to be saved, transferred, off-loaded, shared and archived. SanDisk Professional offers a range of purpose-built tools to harmonize every step of that process. "As a professional photographer and filmmaker, my livelihood depends on how I get the job done. There is no room for error. I need the most advanced, reliable and trusted equipment out in the field," said Lucas Gilman, adventure photographer and filmmaker. "For years I've relied on SanDisk and G-Technology solutions because they enable me to focus on the moment with confidence that my creativity won't be interrupted, and without concern about whether or not they can keep up with my technical needs."

XMG introduces an additional configuration variant to the high-end NEO range of gaming laptops with Intel's new Tiger Lake H45 processors. The eight-core CPUs from the 11th Core generation not only offer higher performance compared to their predecessors, but also boast the advantages of a completely updated platform. These includes support for PCI Express 4.0 and Thunderbolt 4 - features that the AMD version of the XMG NEO cannot offer. In addition, the models utilising the new Intel processor also benefit from a slight performance increase on the graphics card side. The GPU in the XMG NEO 15 and NEO 17 (M21) now operates with a TGP of up to 165 instead of 150 watts.

The new Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model lineup continues to present the best gaming laptops on the market. Armed with the new 11th Gen Intel Core H-Series Processor up to an Intel Core i9, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30-Series Laptop GPU, and the fastest available displays with up to 360Hz, the new Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model delivers ultimate power in a premium compact form factor. The RTX 3060 version stands at an impressive height of only 15.8 mm, making it the thinnest gaming laptop in the world with a GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU.

To ensure a smooth experience, the new Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model utilizes the latest PCIe Gen 4 configuration and is powered by DDR4 3200 MHz memory. The innovative M.2 design returns, with dual slots available on RTX 3070 versions and above, allowing users to easily expand the SSD according to their storage needs. Be it hardcore gaming or content creation, the Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model laptops are built to handle intensive usage and multitasking.

Apple has quietly added a new M1 Mac Mini configuration option to their website with an optional upgrade from the internal 1 Gbps Ethernet to 10 Gbps Ethernet at the time of purchase for 100 USD. The upgrade is only available as a factory option and cannot be added after purchase so those who require 10 GbE will want to purchase the upgrade at the time of purchase. For existing M1 Mac Mini owners it is possible to get 10 GbE with a USB 4 / Thunderbolt 3 dongle such as the OWC Thunderbolt 3 10G which retails for 149 USD. Why Apple has only just now decided to include this 10 GbE upgrade as an option and not with the original launch is unknown.