SSDs
Western Digital expanded its WD Blue NVMe family of budget SSDs this week with the introduction of the the WD Blue SN5000 series, an updated lineup of SSDs that, among other things, adds a 4 TB model. Being budget drives, the SN5000 series is not going to be a performance monster, but their combination of capacity, reliability, and relatively low price could make them popular both among casual buyers and among enthusiasts looking for relatively cheap bulk solid-state storage. Western Digital's WD Blue SN500 NVMe drives come in an M.2-2280 form-factor and are based around an in-house WD controller (the company rarely discloses their codenames these days). WD's controller is a 4 channel, DRAMless design, which is what we typically see for budget and mainstream...
SK hynix Announces 238 Layer NAND - Mass Production To Start In H1'2023
As the 2022 Flash Memory Summit continues, SK hynix is the latest vendor to announce their next generation of NAND flash memory at the show. Showcasing for the first...
9 by Ryan Smith on 8/4/2022Solidigm Announces P41 Plus SSD: Taking Another Shot at QLC With Cache Tiering
Although Intel is no longer directly in the SSD market these days, their SSD team and related technologies continue to live on under the SK hynix umbrella as Solidigm...
44 by Ryan Smith on 8/2/2022Phison and Seagate Announce X1 SSD Platform: U.3 PCIe 4.0 x4 with 128L eTLC
Phison and Seagate have been collaborating on SSDs since 2017 in the client as well as SMB/SME space. In April 2022, they had announced a partnership to develop and...
15 by Ganesh T S on 8/2/2022Akasa AK-ENU3M2-07 USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 SSD Enclosure Review: 20Gbps with Excellent Thermals
Storage bridges have become an ubiquitous part of today's computing ecosystems. The bridges may be external or internal, with the former ones enabling a range of direct-attached storage (DAS...
15 by Ganesh T S on 8/1/2022Silicon Motion Announces SM8366 PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe Controller and MonTitan SSD Solutions Platform for Enterprise Storage
In the lead up to the Flash Memory Summit next week, many vendors have started announcing their new products. Today, Silicon Motion is unveiling their first enterprise-focused PCIe 5.0...
3 by Ganesh T S on 7/28/2022Micron’s 232 Layer NAND Now Shipping: 1Tbit, 6-Plane Dies With 50% More I/O Bandwidth
Ahead of next week’s Flash Memory Summit, Micron this morning is announcing that their next-generation 232 layer NAND has begun shipping. The sixth generation of Micron’s 3D NAND technology...
18 by Ryan Smith on 7/26/2022Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield Review: Flagship PSSD Gets IP65 Avatar
Samsung's lineup of portable SSDs has enjoyed tremendous success, starting with the T1 back in 2015. The company has been regularly updating their PSSD lineup with the evolution of...
11 by Ganesh T S on 7/20/2022Kingston DataTraveler Max UFD Series Review: New Type-A Thumb Drive Retains NVMe Performance
Kingston's new products in the portable flash-based external storage space have met with good market reception over the last year or so. Two products in particular - the Kingston...
17 by Ganesh T S on 7/11/2022SK hynix Releases Platinum P41 SSD: Going Even Faster With PCIe 4 and 176L NAND
First introduced back at CES 2022, this morning SK hynix is finally kicking off sales of their new retail consumer SSD, the Platinum P41. The successor to the popular...
8 by Ryan Smith on 5/19/2022SanDisk Professional PRO-BLADE Modular SSD Ecosystem Unveiled
Western Digital is announcing a host of products under the SanDisk and SanDisk Professional brands today at its What's Next Western Digital Event. The company also provided a second...
6 by Ganesh T S on 5/9/2022Western Digital Announces WD_BLACK SN850X NVMe and P40 Game Drive SSDs
Western Digital is announcing a host of consumer-focused SSD solutions today at its What's Next Western Digital Event. The gaming-focused WD_BLACK is getting the SN850X NVMe SSD and the...
10 by Ganesh T S on 5/9/2022Solidigm Launches First Post-Intel Enterprise SSDs: D7-P5620 and D7-P5520
Back in late 2021, Intel and SK hynix completed the first stage of their long-awaited transfer of Intel’s NAND (and NAND-based SSD) business to SK hynix. That company, in...
10 by Ryan Smith on 4/26/2022Kioxia Announces XG8 Client SSDs: PCIe 4.0 and BiCS5 For OEMs
Kioxia this morning is rolling out its next-generation of full-size client SSDs, the XG8 family. Like its predecessors, the XG8 is aimed at the OEM market, for customers who...
3 by Ryan Smith on 4/26/2022Mushkin Redline VORTEX PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Launched: Affordable Flagship
Mushkin's lineup of PCIe 4.0 SSDs has largely remained a Phison affair. The Delta series was based on the Phison E16 and the Gamma on the Phison E18. Recently...
29 by Ganesh T S on 3/18/2022Western Digital Introduces WD_BLACK SN770: A DRAM-less PCIe 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD
The initial wave of PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs put emphasis on raw benchmark numbers, with power consumption remaining an afterthought. The targeting of high-end desktop platforms ensured that it...
31 by Ganesh T S on 2/2/2022Intel Sells SSD Business to SK hynix as new Subsidiary Solidigm
In a brief news release from Intel this afternoon, the chip firm has announced that it has closed on the first stage of its deal to sell its SSD...
21 by Ryan Smith on 12/29/2021Samsung Announces First PCIe 5.0 Enterprise SSD: PM1743, Coming In 2022
Even though CES 2022 is technically still a couple of weeks away, CES-related announcements are already starting to roll in. Among these are Samsung, who is announcing their first...
12 by Ryan Smith on 12/23/2021Kioxia Updates M.2 2230 SSD Lineup With BG5 Series: Adding PCIe 4.0 and BiCS5 NAND
Kioxia this morning is updating their BG series of M.2 2230 SSDs for OEMs with the addition of the new BG5 family of drives. The latest in the company’s...
8 by Ryan Smith on 11/15/2021Kingston XS2000 Portable SSDs Review: USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Goes Mainstream
Flash-based portable drives have become popular fast storage options for both content creators and backups-seeking consumers. The advent of high-speed interfaces such as USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps...
19 by Ganesh T S on 11/10/2021OWC Envoy Pro Elektron Rugged IP67 Portable SSD Review
The market for portable SSDs has expanded significantly over the past few years. With USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) becoming the de-facto standard for USB ports even in...
2 by Ganesh T S on 10/29/2021