Blackmagic Design today announced the Blackmagic eGPU Pro, an external graphics processor featuring the blazingly fast AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 graphics processor. Designed to accelerate pro creative software such as DaVinci Resolve, 3D games and VR, the Blackmagic eGPU Pro delivers nearly twice the performance of the original Blackmagic eGPU model and up to 22x faster performance than the built-in graphics on a 13-inch MacBook Pro.

The Blackmagic eGPU Pro features a built-in AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a new DisplayPort for connecting 5K displays, HDMI 2.0, 85W of charging power and four USB 3.1 connections. Designed in collaboration with Apple, the integrated design brings cutting-edge workstation-class graphics processing and computational acceleration to customers working in professional video, playing 3D games or using the latest virtual reality software.

MSI drew more than a few eyeballs at Computex 2018 when it showcased the X399 MEG Creation motherboard for AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors. With the advent of "new" Skylake-X Refresh processors by Intel, the company has a new high-end motherboard with the X299 MEG Creation. MSI appears to have toned down on the design from its X399-based product, although you still see the metal waveform design along the chipset heatsink that's contiguous with M.2 SSD heatsinks, the VRM heatsink, and the rear I/O shroud. The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, and two 8-pin EPS power connectors, conditioning it for the LGA2066 processor with a 14-phase VRM.

Expansion slots on the MSI X299 MEG Creation include four PCI-Express 3.0 x16, from which three are wired to the CPU, and the fourth one to the PCH. Between them are three M.2-2280 slots with PCI-Express 3.0 x4 wiring, each. You can add up to four more M.2-2280 SSDs with the included M.2-Xpander Aero accessory, which is a 4-slot M.2 riser with air-cooling, which made its debut with the X399 MEG Creation. Another star attraction with this board is Realtek 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, alongside an Intel i219-V powered 1 GbE interface, and an 802.11 ac + BT 5.0 WLAN. Another interesting accessory is the ThunderboltM3, a Thunderbolt 3.0 card with two type-C ports, and two DisplayPort connectors, for daisy chaining your displays. Storage connectivity, besides the seven M.2 slots, includes eight SATA 6 Gbps ports, and a U.2 port. This board could be priced around the $500-mark.

Kingston today introduced the HyperX Savage EXO line of portable SSDs. Sized not much bigger than the likes of the Patriot Evolvr, and weighing just 56 g, the Savage EXO is priced in a lower bracket, and takes advantage of USB 3.1 gen 2 (10 Gbps), rather than Thunderbolt 3. The drive comes in capacities of 480 GB and 960 GB. Both variants offer sequential transfer rates of up to 550 MB/s reads, with up to 400 MB/s writes. It supports USB 3.1 type-C to type-C and type-C to type-A cabling. We are awaiting pricing information.

AKITIO, in a partnership with Intel will be releasing a special edition of the popular Node Lite PCIe box, bundled with the recently announced Intel Optane 905P, 960GB SSD as well as other higher capacity drives as they become available.

The Intel Optane 905P SSD is a new technology that is different from NAND flash memory. The Optane is a hybrid between DRAM and typical storage memory. By connecting the Intel Optane drive inside the Akitio Node Lite via Thunderbolt 3, we are able to fully utilize the Thunderbolt 3 bandwidth to achieve incredibly fast performance of up to 2200MB/s in both read and write. Unlike NAND flash based SSD's that provide fast performance in only large sized random read/write operations, the Optane drive provides the same phenomenal speeds in both large and small file transfers.

Elgato, a leading provider of hardware and software for content creators and a division of Corsair, today announced the release of the Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock, combining the industry-leading reliability and performance of Thunderbolt 3 with unmatched portability and accessibility for the most common ports and connections. The Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock features HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2, USB 3.1 Gen 1, and Gigabit Ethernet ports to eliminate the need for multiple adapters-minimizing clutter and maximizing functionality. Whether you use a MacBook Pro or Windows notebook, the Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock puts a wide array of the most commonly used display and data ports just a built-in Thunderbolt 3 cable away.

PATRIOT, a global leader in performance memory, SSDs, gaming peripherals, and flash storage solutions today has announced the availability of the EVLVR Thunderbolt 3 external SSD, offering a breakthrough evolution in SSD technology. The amount of data that users transfer and store has been getting larger over the years due to major evolutions in technology and the ability to quickly process large amounts of data. Ideal for HD content, portable boot drives, video game libraries, high capacity jobs and more, Patriot's EVLVR Thunderbolt 3 external SSD brings fast speeds and convenience for consumers everywhere.

"EVLVR" is an abbreviation for "Evolver", and the technology itself presents a breakthrough evolution in SSD technology. "We dedicate to offer power users an evolutive idea about an SSD product, evolving appearance with an evolutionary technology, that's how EVLVR has been created. It's perfect for video editing, photography, multi-app usage, and more content creation. "said Les Henry, Vice President of Engineering at Patriot, "Our R&D team especially proud of implementing Thunderbolt 3 which allows Patriot to build such portable storage solutions with blasting-speed and ultra-quality," he added.

MSI, a world leader in high performance computing hardware, today announces its new notebook designed specifically for content creators and professionals, the P65. The P65 is a powerful system with a stylish design featuring high-end specs, beautiful thin-bezel display and long-lasting battery life. MSI will have the P65 on display at IFA 2018 at Booth number 107.

The P65 provides everything a content creator or business professional needs to work quickly and efficiently. Creators are constantly on the move and need to have desktop-grade power in a form factor they can easily carry around. With a potent processor and dedicated graphics, the P65 gives users more than enough power to edit raw HD or 4K video, create motion graphics and fly through complicated spreadsheets on the go. The P65 also features a full suite of ports including an SD card reader, USB Type-C, USB Type-A, HDMI, micro-DisplayPort and an ethernet jack. The P65 will be available this September.

Samsung Electronics today unveiled its first NVMe-based portable solid state drive (SSD) - the Samsung Portable SSD X5 - achieving new levels of performance and reliability for external storage solutions. Based on the cutting-edge Thunderbolt 3 technology, the new X5 features exceptional speeds in a compact and durable form factor, making it an ideal portable storage for content creators and IT professionals on the go.

"As a leader in high-performance and reliable storage solutions, we are thrilled to continue to advance the external SSD market with the introduction of our first Thunderbolt 3 portable SSD," said Dr. Mike Mang, vice president of Brand Product Marketing, Memory Business at Samsung Electronics. "The X5 is yet another testament to Samsung's commitment to providing innovative portable storage solutions that enable faster transfer of large data files, saving users' valuable time."

Samsung Electronics has expanded its ground-breaking curved display line-up upon the global launch of the new CJ79 (Model name: C34J791) monitor. The CJ79 34-inch curved monitor is the first of its kind to feature Intel's Thunderbolt 3 connectivity.

Compatible with Macs and PCs, the CJ79 features two Thunderbolt 3 ports that transmit display, data and power at a superhero processing speed of up to 40 Gigabits per second (Gpbs), eight times faster than USB 3.0, and simultaneously charges devices up to 85 watts(W), all through a single cable.

In the unlikely event that you need to lug two graphics cards for an on-site job (think having to carry an ultraportable with two professional graphics cards for touch-ups and rendering on the fly), AKiTiO has a solution, with the Node Duo. This box measures about 29.3 cm x 15.5 cm x 23.2 cm (DxWxH), and encloses two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (electrical gen 3.0 x2), which it wires out upstream with a Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gbps) connection. Each slot has room for 2-slot thick graphics cards that are up to 22 cm in length. The enclosure ventilates them with a 120 mm intake fan.

The Node Duo uses USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 3 wiring. The upstream port has standard 15W delivery, and plugs into your PC; whereas the downstream port supports USB PD, with up to 60W downstream power delivery. This port has no USB link-layer, only Thunderbolt. There's also a standard-size DisplayPort 1.2 output, if your Thunderbolt input is meant to daisy-chain with a DP monitor at one end (not with display from the installed graphics cards, though). Out of the box, you get a 150W power-brick that supplies up to 25W each to the graphics cards through the slot; although you can expand that to a 230W PSU that supplies up to 75W. Available from a little later this month, the Node Duo by AKiTiO is priced at USD $394.95.

Intel is giving final touches to a new generation of pre-built NUC (next unit of computing) kits codenamed "Bean Canyon." These tiny desktops are based on the company's new wave of "Coffee Lake-U" SoCs. The family includes five models, two each based on the Core i3-8109U and Core i5-8259U, and one based on the Core i7-8559U. The NUC8i3BEH, NUC8i5BEH, and NUC8i7BEH are more compact, with just an M.2-2280 (with both PCIe x4 and SATA wiring) slot in charge of storage, while the NUC8i3BEK and NUC8i5BEK are slightly taller, with room for a 2.5-inch SATA drive in addition to the M.2-2280 slot.

What's common between all five models is the display connectivity, which not just includes an HDMI 2.0b, but also a USB 3.1 type-C port with Thunderbolt 3.0 (40 Gbps) and DisplayPort 1.2 wiring. Networking, which includes a 1 GbE interface driven by the trusty i219-V, and a new-generation Intel 9260 WLAN card with 802.11ac and Bluetooth 5.0 wireless networking. Prices for the Core i3 model could start at $299, the Core i5-based ones could be $399, and the Core i7 based one at $599.

Blackmagic Design today announced the Blackmagic eGPU, a high performance graphics processor for pro creative software such as DaVinci Resolve, 3D games and VR. Designed in collaboration with Apple, the Blackmagic eGPU features a built-in Radeon Pro 580, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, HDMI 2.0, 85W of charging power and four USB 3.1 connections. It comes in an integrated design that brings high-end desktop class graphics processing to MacBook Pro for professional video workflows, 3D games and immersive VR. And, the Blackmagic eGPU is the first to support Thunderbolt 3 displays. The Blackmagic eGPU is available now for only US $699 exclusively on Apple.com and in select Apple Retail stores worldwide.

Designed to address the needs of professional video editors, Hollywood colorists and visual effects artists who need to remain mobile, but want the power of a desktop class GPU added to their MacBook Pro, the Blackmagic eGPU is incredibly flexible and simply plugs in via Thunderbolt 3, so users can benefit from improved graphics performance and acceleration of computational tasks. It's perfect for speeding up professional creative application workflows including editing, color correction and visual effects with DaVinci Resolve. The Blackmagic eGPU adds the performance customers need to make the latest 3D games and VR look more realistic than ever. That means customers will get higher resolution images, higher frame rate gameplay, better lighting and more detailed textures for truly immersive experiences, even on a laptop computer.

Apple today updated MacBook Pro with faster performance and new pro features, making it the most advanced Mac notebook ever. The new MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar feature 8th-generation Intel Core processors, with 6-core on the 15-inch model for up to 70 percent faster performance and quad-core on the 13-inch model for up to two times faster performance - ideal for manipulating large data sets, performing complex simulations, creating multi-track audio projects or doing advanced image processing or film editing.

Already the most popular notebook for developers around the world, the new MacBook Pro can compile code faster and run multiple virtual machines and test environments easier than before. Additional updates include support for up to 32 GB of memory, a True Tone display and an improved third-generation keyboard for quieter typing. And with its powerful Radeon Pro graphics, large Force Touch trackpad, revolutionary Touch Bar and Touch ID, dynamic stereo speakers, quiet Apple-designed cooling system and Thunderbolt 3 for data transfer, charging and connecting up to two 5K displays or four external GPUs, it's the ultimate pro notebook.

Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, today announced the Razer Core X, a Thunderbolt 3 external graphics enclosure for gaming-grade performance at a new value price. The Razer Core series of external graphics enclosures including the Core V2 and Core X are now compatible with Mac laptops with Thunderbolt 3.

Razer Core X
The new Core X transforms integrated graphics laptops like the Razer Blade Stealth into desktop-class gaming machines by adding an external graphics card. Gamers can also future-proof their gaming laptops or unlock VR-Ready experiences by boosting the performance beyond the current laptop's limits.

Razer , the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, today announced its all-new Razer Blade 15.6-inch gaming laptop featuring Intel's latest processor. The new Razer Blade is the world's smallest gaming laptop in its class, boasting more display area and performance features. The available 144 Hz refresh rate 15.6" Full HD (1920 x 1080) display of the new Razer Blade enhances gaming and entertainment viewing with full-frame fluid motion graphics and 100% sRGB color. Users can also step up to 4K (3840 x 2160) resolution with touch functionality and 100% Adobe RGB color support. Each laptop display is individually custom calibrated in production for amazing color accuracy out-of-the-box. Best-in-class 4.9 mm thin bezels flank the display, while retaining the ideal web camera placement at the top of the screen.

The world's smallest 15.6-inch gaming laptop measures as little as 0.66-inches thin and with a minimal footprint for ultimate mobility. The refined chassis is individually CNC milled from a single aluminum block to provide a sturdy yet compact design, and features a scratch resistant anodized black finish. Managing heat without sacrificing performance in such a small form factor is no easy task, but Razer innovated by utilizing vapor chamber technology for the cooling solution instead of the traditional heat pipes found in most gaming laptops. Beyond cooling the CPU and GPU, the vacuum-sealed vaporized liquid helps dissipate the heat generated from other components within the laptop.

ATTO Technology, Inc., a global leader of storage, network connectivity and infrastructure solutions for data-intensive computing environments for 30 years, announced today they are now shipping the new ATTO ThunderLink 3128 Thunderbolt 3 to 12Gb SAS/SATA adapter. The latest addition to the ATTO Thunderbolt adapter family, ThunderLink 3128 provides users with fast and reliable storage connectivity while enabling scalability for next generation platforms and infrastructures. Optimized for extremely low latency and high-bandwidth data transfers, ThunderLink 3128 offers flexibility and reliability for the most demanding applications.

"The anticipated Thunderbolt 3 to 12Gb SAS/SATA adapter enhances the industry's broadest portfolio of Thunderbolt adapters for storage and network connectivity," said Tom Kolniak, senior director of marketing at ATTO Technology, Inc. "What sets ATTO apart is our extensive history of SAS/SATA development, creating Thunderbolt solutions and working to create products which are optimized to meet modern workflow demands."

OWC , a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company, has announced that effective immediately, it is lowering the price of the bus-powered 1.0TB Envoy Pro EX Thunderbolt 3. OWC will be the first technology manufacturer to offer a 1.0TB Thunderbolt 3 SSD for under $500.

The Envoy Pro EX is the Mac and Windows PC solution that is built with a take anywhere design - be it importing images on a location shoot, performing live on-stage, editing in-studio, transferring data between workflows, or transporting music files or family photos for sharing. The powerful and portable drive pushes the envelope on performance, pairing Thunderbolt 3 with an M.2 (NVMe) SSD to provide transfer speeds up to 1,800MB/s, up to 3x faster than USB 3.0 SSDs.

AKITIO, in a partnership with Intel will be releasing a special edition of the popular Node Lite PCIe box, bundled with the recently announced Intel Optane 905P, 960GB SSD as well as other higher capacity drives as they become available.

The Intel Optane 905P SSD is a new technology that is different from NAND flash memory. The Optane is a hybrid between DRAM and typical storage memory. By connecting the Intel Optane drive inside the Akitio Node Lite via Thunderbolt 3, we are able to fully utilize the Thunderbolt 3 bandwidth to achieve incredibly fast performance of up to 2200MB/s in both read and write. Unlike NAND flash based SSD's that provide fast performance in only large sized random read/write operations, the Optane drive provides the same phenomenal speeds in both large and small file transfers.

QNAP Systems, Inc. today unveiled new TVS-882BR RDX models (including the TVS-882BR-RDX and TVS-882BRT3-RDX) that integrates the Tandberg RDX QuikStor internal SATA 5.25-inch docking station (8813-RDX) for installing removable and portable RDX hard disk cartridges. Compared to standard external hard drives, the Tandberg RDX cartridge features a rugged dust-proof design that protects data for a longer period of time and allows users to easily transfer data with the cartridges.

"QNAP constantly integrates partner backup solutions to our existing NAS solutions. By supporting RDX hard disk backup, the new TVS-882BR RDX models allows users to enjoy longer data protection and the portable cartridges can easily be shared for data exchanging. Coupled with Media Asset Management (MAM) software and a wide range of backup solutions, the TVS-882BR helps improve work efficiency while also providing highly-scalable storage space and powerful hardware that meets the requirements from modern businesses and organizations" said Dan Lin, Product Manager of QNAP.

exklim today introduced the eX Core , the world's first, portable eGPU that turbocharges your computer, turning any laptop or desktop into a powerful gaming rig. eX Core sets out to provide gamers, Bitcoin miners, students and on-the-go professionals with a lightweight, high-performance solution to run any application, at any time. The eX Core is now live on Kickstarter.

As games and applications are becoming graphically demanding, central processing units (CPUs) are being rendered useless. While CPUs may be fast enough to run a game, the graphics power is limited. The eX Core solves this problem by opening up the door for any computer to have the same high-end graphics or design capabilities as even the most advanced computers - at a fraction of the cost. It leverages NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1050 Factory OC at 1680 MHz and high bandwidth GDDR5 vRam to run the most graphically demanding PC games and video applications on the market.

StarTech.com has announced the release of two new Thunderbolt 3 adapters that enable access to many different external peripherals and devices using various interfaces. The two new Thunderbolt 3 accessories allow users to extend the life of their external hard drives, USB devices and other specialized laptop peripherals.

The first new Thunderbolt 3 accessory, the Thunderbolt 3 to USB 3.1 Controller Adapter (SKU: TB33A1C), provides dedicated USB 3.0 bandwidth to three USB-A ports and one USB-C port (total of 20 Gbps). The adapter gives the user access to high performance USB peripherals such as storage controllers and 3D scanners from Thunderbolt 3 based laptops. The second new product, the Thunderbolt 3 eSATA Adapter with USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) Port (SKU: TB3ESATU31), offers connections to an external eSATA hard drive or SSD, and to a USB device simultaneously. Both products are beneficial for Windows and MacBook Pro users, where no USB-A ports are available.

At the NAB 2018 conference Seagate Technology, a world leader in data storage solutions, today announced the launch of a new product, LaCie Rugged RAID Pro, and creative professional community, Collective. These announcements mark Seagate's ongoing commitment to provide innovative solutions and platforms to support the workflows of creative professionals that allow digital content to be created, stored, utilized and shared in the most creative and effective ways.

"Digital content creation is key in the media and entertainment (M&E) industry, comprising of unique moments that are the product of time and money - and often irreplaceable," said Tim Bucher, senior vice president of Seagate consumer solutions. "We have seen an exponential rise in the amount of data created and as such, it has become central to industries such as M&E. From shooting on set through to post-production, the transferring, storing and accessing of data is a pivotal part of the creative workflow. At Seagate, we're constantly looking to deliver storage solutions that allow people to unlock their full creative potential, and create truly memorable content."

Western Digital Corporation is meeting the escalating fast-transfer and high-capacity demands of professional content creators by enabling real-time 4K and 8K workflows with three new professional-grade ultra-fast solutions in its powerful G-Technology G-DRIVE and G-SPEED Shuttle product families.

Working with large 4K and 8K RAW video means massive file sizes and is undoubtedly one of the largest pain points for content editors. With new cameras capable of capturing over 400 MB/s of RAW data, there is an opportunity for content professionals to create incredibly high-resolution footage and ever-more immersive viewer experiences. It is not uncommon for a production crew to be on-location for two or three months recording three to four terabytes per day of footage from multiple cameras. With this expansion of data capture, comes a potential bottleneck in maintaining a real-time workflow on location - until now.

AKITIO announced today at the NAB show several new products to their already impressive Thunderbolt 3 line-up. New products include a Thunderbolt 3 10GbE docking station, an 8-bay hardware RAID enclosure, a dual-slot PCIe box, and a RED camera Mini-Mag reader. These new products are ideal for the content creator audience at NAB who have an insatiable appetite for fast, scalable storage and connectivity options to optimize workflow.

The new Thunder3 Dock Pro features a 10GbE port, a DisplayPort port, three USB 3.1 ports, an eSATA port, an SD Card reader, a C-Fast card reader, and two Thunderbolt 3 Ports for daisy chaining. The Thunderbolt 3 ports provide 60 Watts of Power Delivery (PD).

OWC , a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company, has announced that the pioneering ThunderBlade external drive is now shipping in four capacities, from 1TB to 8TB. The first-to-market ThunderBlade is the fastest external drive available, with almost unheard of transfer speeds up to 2800 MB/s Read and 2450 MB/s Write, making it the preeminent production solution for professionals.

Celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2018, OWC continues to build on their legacy of first-to-market innovation, proudly designing products that push the edges of possibility in order to support the M&E space. Larry O'Connor, Founder & CEO, said "We at OWC can't thank our customers enough for allowing us to do what we love so much every day. We strive to build products that will go further and deliver a better return on our customers' technology investments. The ThunderBlade is one more example of a solution that will allow our customers to work more effectively, a product that can literally change the way they create. Everyone at OWC is excited by the boundless opportunities the next 30 years will bring for our customers."