T-FORCE, the gaming brand of Team Group Inc., the world's leading memory and storage provider, today announced the release of the new generation of Gen 5 SSDs, the T-FORCE GE PRO PCIe 5.0 SSDs. This much-anticipated SSD is powered by InnoGrit's newest 12 nm, multi-core, and low-wattage IG5666 controller, equipped with a patented ultra-thin graphene heatsink and has read speeds of up to 14,000 MB/s. Supported by smart cooling and state-of-the-art error correction technologies, the T-FORCE GE PRO PCIe 5.0 SSD provides gamers with the next level of peak performance.

The T-FORCE GE PRO PCIe 5.0 SSD features InnoGrit's latest 12 nm, IG5666 controller, which has multiple cores and low power consumption. The SSD's read speed maxes out at 14,000 MB/s, and equipped with an enhanced controller feature called Security Isolation that utilizes isolation technology to protect data from external attacks, providing a reliable, multi-faceted defense. The GE PRO SSD also supports smart power management and thermal regulation technology, which detects different workload conditions through internal temperature sensing and automatically adjusts the power management mode to prevent overheating. The T-FORCE GE PRO PCIe 5.0 SSD enhances data transfer accuracy by correcting data errors with the brand new 4K LDPC (Low-Density Parity-Check Code) technology. It also supports Team Group's patented S.M.A.R.T. monitoring software, allowing gamers to monitor the health and performance of the SSD at any time.

The PC master race has yielded many interesting activities for enthusiasts alike, with perhaps the pinnacle of activities being overclocking. Usually, subjects for overclocking include CPUs, GPUs, and RAM, with other components not actually being capable of overclocking. However, the enthusiast force never seems to settle, and today, we have proof of overclocking an off-the-shelf 2.5-inch SATA III NAND Flash SSD thanks to Gabriel Ferraz, a Computer Engineering graduate, and TechPowerUp's SSD database maintainer. He uses the RZX Pro 256 GB SSD in the video, a generic NAND Flash drive. The RZX Pro uses the Silicon Motion SM2259XT2 single-core, 32-bit ARC CPU running up to 550 MHz. It has two channels at 400 MHz, each with eight chip enable interconnects, allowing up to 16 NAND Flash dies to operate. The SSD doesn't feature a DRAM cache or support a host memory buffer. It has only one NAND Flash memory chip from Kioxia, uses BiCS FLASH 4 architecture, has 96 layers, and has 256 GB capacity.

While this NAND Flash die is rated for up to 400 MHz or 800 MT/s, it only ran at less than half the speed at 193.75 MHz or 387.5 MT/s at default settings. Gabriel acquired a SATA III to USB 3.0 adapter with a JMS578 bridge chip to perform the overclock. This adapter allows hot swapping of SSDs without the need to turn off the PC. He shorted two terminals in the drive's PCB to get the SSD to operate without its default safe mode. Mass Production Tools (MPTools), which OEMs use to flash SSDs, were used to change the firmware settings. Each NAND Flash architecture has its own special version of MPTools. The software directly shows control of the Flash clock, CPU clock, and output driving. However, additional tweaks like Flash IO driving with subdivisions need modifications. Control and Flash On-Die Termination (ODT) and Schmitt window trigger (referring to the Schmitt trigger comparator circuit) also needed a few modifications to make it work.

Lexar, the leading consumer storage brand announces a collaboration with Silicon Motion, forming a significant partnership that will combine Lexar self-developed storage products with Silicon Motion industry-leading controller chips. This alliance aims to optimize portable storage solutions and enhance product competitiveness. During the first quarter of 2024, Lexar will be launching two Portable Solid-State Drive (PSSD) products.

The portable SSD single-chip controller solution from Silicon Motion, which combines integrated hardware, software, and data security features and is equipped with a USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface and four NAND channels, is utilized in both new devices. It meets the demands of game consoles and users who require high performance and low power consumption. These two new products are also highly portable and offer ample storage space due to the single-chip controller solution's compact size and increased storage capacity.

At CES 2024, Frore Systems, the pioneering developer of AirJet Mini, the world's first Solid-State Active Cooling Chip, unveiled the AirJet Mini Slim - a thinner, lighter, smarter and even more advanced solid-state active cooling chip.

Building on the success of the original AirJet Mini, which garnered widespread recognition, including the prestigious COMPUTEX 2023 Golden Award and CES 2024 "Best of Innovation" Award, Frore Systems continues to accelerate the pace of innovation in thermal management. The AirJet Mini Slim, featuring the same groundbreaking solid-state active cooling design of its predecessor, includes three new features, while remaining silent, lightweight and delivering superior heat removal compared to traditional fans.

MSI Spatium M580 Liquid Frozr is easily one of the most interesting SSDs we've come across in CES 2024. Picture this—an M.2-2280 SSD that has a self-contained liquid cooler, complete with a fan, radiator, a pump-block, and coolant channels. This is both cute and a little sad. M.2 SSDs were supposed to stay out of sight and be completely cable-free, like DIMMs. This isn't MSI's fault, they have to use the fastest controllers in the market, which are built on older 12 nm foundry nodes. PCI-Express 5.0 x4 is comparable bandwidth to PCI-Express 3.0 x16, and moving this kind of data is bound to generate heat for an SSD controller. Enough banter—the Spatium M580 uses the fastest Phison E26 Max14um controller, with Micron's fastest B58R 232-layer 3D NAND flash chips that deliver 2400 MT/s per flash channel.

The combination of Phison Max14um and B58R results in sequential transfer speeds beyond the 14 GB/s mark, which is where most PCIe Gen 5 x4 drives will end up accounting for the interface+protocol overhead. The theoretical max bandwidth of Gen 5 x4 is 16 GB/s. The drive comes in capacities of up to 4 TB. As for the cooler's design, the bare drive makes contact with a copper cold-plate, which has the block+reservoir, with a tiny pump. This sends coolant through a real aluminium heat-exchanger—this is probably the smallest radiator we've ever seen. The radiator is held up, a supporting structure has a tiny 20 mm lateral-flow fan, which blows air through the radiator. We can't wait to review this thing!

BIWIN is a major memory and SSD OEM that manufactures products for leading PC brands, including Lenovo, HP, and Acer. These include everything from USB flash drives, to portable SSDs; and even memory DIMMs. Acer has been trying to enter the DIY hardware market in a big way with its Predator brand, it's tapping into BIWIN for the memory side of things. We've had the Acer Predator Hermes DDR5 RGB series at the high-end; and the Pallas II DDR5 series at the entry level, and Acer is looking to fill the gap with the Vesta II DDR5 series. The original Vesta II series won a Red Dot design award in 2022. The Vesta II comes in certain upper mid-range speeds of DDR5-6000, DDR5-6400, DDR5-6600, and DDR5-6800; with capacities that include 32 GB (2x 16), and 64 GB (2x 32 GB). We also ran into some SSDs that strick to Acer's main marquee, which includes the FA200, a PCIe Gen 4 drive, which is based on a high-end Gen 4 platform, with speeds of up to 7.2 GB/s sequential reads, and up to 6.2 GB/s sequential writes. The drive comes in capacities of up to 4 TB.

Switching gears, we see the first Lenovo-branded DIY client SSDs in the retail channel. The LN960 is a fairly premium M.2-2280 drive with a Gen 4 x4 interface, capacities of up to 4 TB, sequential speeds of up to 7.4 GB/s, and a graphene-based heatspreader. The LN860 is an entry-level NVMe drive based on a Gen 3 x4 interface, with sequential speeds of up to 3.5 GB/s. The LS800 is is being offered more as an upgrade option for those still on older machines with a 2.5-inch SATA 6 Gb/s drive bay. It comes in capacities of up to 1.92 TB, has modern SLC caching technology, and offers sequential speeds of up to 520 MB/s.

Patriot Memory brought their latest ware to the 2024 International CES that use recent advancements in tech on both the SSD and memory fronts. On the SSD front, this year sees 14 GB/s capable PCIe Gen 5 NVMe SSDs thanks to Phison's E26 Max14um controller; and a new crop of USB4 portable SSDs; while the memory front sees DDR5 speeds go far north of DDR5-6000, thanks to on-module CKDs. Patriot showed us examples of each.

First up, there's the Patriot Viper PV573 Gen 5 NVMe SSD. This thing comes in capacities of up to 4 TB, and combines a Phison E26 Max14um controller with Micron's latest B58R TLC NAND flash chips that offer 2400 MT/s per flash channel. The controller also gets some incremental thermal optimizations, which means the cooling solution for the PV573 is a 16.5 mm-tall fan-heatsink. The drive offers up to 14 GB/s sequential reads, with up to 12 GB/s sequential writes. There's also a slightly de-rated version of this drive, the Viper PV553, which has the same combination of controller and NAND flash, but with transfer speeds of up to 12.4 GB/s reads, with up to 11.8 GB/s writes.

Next week at CES 2024, KIOXIA, the inventors of NAND flash, will highlight its extensive portfolio of solid state drives (SSDs) and memory solutions. This diverse lineup - one of the broadest range of flash solutions in the industry - is well-suited to virtually any solution that uses flash and includes new products, form factors and standards designed for upcoming IT requirements.

In today's dynamic technological landscape, where evolving standards push performance boundaries higher and end user expectations continue to climb, KIOXIA stands poised for the future by making the memory to process, manage and store the world's data. "Whether it's designing ultra-thin consumer PCs, enabling the automotive in-vehicle experience or streamlining professional photography - we make flash memory that brings applications to life and enhances user experiences," said Alex Mei, vice president of corporate marketing for KIOXIA America, Inc. "Countless consumer devices and applications rely on KIOXIA technology solutions to enrich lives and make new memories. CES gives us an opportunity to explore new possibilities and showcase the depth and breadth of our solutions."

Plextor, one of the most iconic names in PC storage once known for high performance and quality, has announced it will cease operations. Parent company Kioxia has decided to retire the Plextor brand name for solid state drives (SSDs). Instead, it will market products under its Solid State Storage Technology Corporation (SSSTC) brand going forward. The move comes after Kioxia acquired Plextor and its parent company Lite-On's SSD business back in 2019. Since then, Plextor has struggled to keep pace with new storage technologies. With PCIe Gen 4 and PCIe Gen 5 SSD controllers coming to market, Plextor failed to adopt the new Phison and InnoGrit platforms, instead sticking with Marvell controllers, lagging behind at that time.

Now, SSSTC and Kioxia will strictly focus SSD sales on the enterprise, data center, and industrial segments rather than the consumer market. The Plextor website is already redirecting to SSSTC.com, which no longer lists any drives for client PCs. While current Plextor SSD owners will continue to receive warranty support and RMA services, no new Plextor drives are expected to be released. The company had a history stretching back over 30 years of making top-performing optical disk drives and SSDs. Similarly to OCZ after its acquisition by Toshiba, the Plextor name will now fade into history. But in the fast-moving storage business, companies live and die by their ability to adopt cutting-edge technologies. Hence, companies are always on the edge of their seats, trying to survive.

LG Electronics (LG) is expanding its LG gram series in 2024, offering consumers a wider selection of compelling choices, including the new LG gram Pro. The perfect blend of power and portability, LG gram series ultra-lightweight laptops combine high-end specifications with exceptionally slim yet durable designs and all-day battery life. All 2024 models come with the latest AI-enabled functions on LG gram Link app, simplifying tasks like file sharing, photo sharing and screen mirroring across LG gram, Android and iOS devices. U.S. pricing and availability will be announced at a later date.

LG's best-in-class LG gram Pro laptops (models 16Z90SP and 17Z90SP) come equipped with a Intel Core Ultra processor with hybrid architecture, an NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card. The new LG gram Pro laptops are also embedded with the Intel AI Boost, Intel's neural processing unit (NPU) that can handle AI workloads even without a network connection.

MSI, the world's leading gaming PC hardware brand, is excited to announce the launch of its next-gen flagship SSD, the SPATIUM M570 PRO FROZR, along with the high-performance model, SPATIUM M482, expanding its SSD product line. Featuring the revolutionary PHISON E26 PCIe Gen 5 controller paired with state-of-the-art 3D NAND flash and an innovative passive thermal solution, the SPATIUM M570 PRO FROZR introduces a new era in storage performance with lightning-fast read and write speeds of up to 12.4/11.8 GB/s.

This represents up to 1.8 times faster speeds compared to current PCIe 4.0 SSDs, accompanied by a temperature reduction of up to 20℃. The SPATIUM M482, built with high-quality, high-density 3D NAND flash, delivers top-tier performance for PCIe 4.0 with a sequential read speed of up to 7300 MB/s. Both models deliver a supremely responsive experience, gaining valuable milliseconds in latency for gameplay or processing gigabytes of files for professionals, content creators, and gamers. Performance-enhancing technologies include a DRAM cache buffer for M570 PRO, and a SLC cache for all announced models, supporting a comprehensive range of data error correction features including LPDC ECC and E2E Data Protection. These SSDs offer a high TBW (Terabytes Written) for excellent durability and longevity backed with a limited 5-year warranty.

You can check out our review of the MSI Spatium M570 Pro Frozr 2 TB SSD.

ADATA Technology, the world's leading memory brand, has launched its latest SD810 external solid state drive, featuring triple IP68 waterproof, dustproof, and MIL-STD shockproof protection. The drive is equipped with a USB 3.2 Gen 2 x2 transmission interface with a read/write speed of up to 2000 MB/s and adopts the mainstream Type-C interface. In addition to supporting the latest series of iPhone 15 smartphones, it is also perfect for photographers or video creators who work outdoors on a regular basis. The SD810 external SSD delivers fast transfer and backup of large audio and video files while guarding against accidents and allaying the challenges of harsh working environments to perfectly protect your precious files.

The SD810 external SSD supports the USB 3.2 Gen 2 x2 high-speed transmission interface with read/write speeds up to 2000 MB/s. In order to prevent the high temperatures generated by high-speed transfer from affecting performance and stability, the body of the SD810 is constructed from aluminium alloy and its unique structure improves heat dissipation to maintain stable transfer performance even during continuous operation. Users can also edit and access large files directly on the SD810, increasing work efficiency. In addition, the SD810's elegant aluminium body is smaller than a credit card, making it lightweight, space-saving, and very convenient to carry whether you are working or traveling.

T-FORCE, the gaming brand of the leading memory and storage provider Team Group Inc., continues to push the boundaries of product development. Today, T-FORCE is launching four new gaming SSDs, the T-FORCE G70, G70 PRO, G50, and G50 PRO, which all use the PCIe Gen 4x4 interface. The SSDs feature international manufacturer InnoGrit's controller, which provides outstanding stability.

The G70, G50, and their PRO variants are available in the M.2-2280 form factor and come with patented ultra-thin graphene heat sinks. The G70 PRO also comes with an aluminium alloy heatsink, giving users an additional cooling option. Since every SSD cooling module in this series is compatible with the PS5 SSD expansion slot, both PC and console gamers alike can enjoy the high performance of these brand-new PCIe 4.0 SSDs. The T-FORCE G70 and G70 PRO SSDs have read speeds of up to 7000 MB/s, while the G50 and G50 PRO SSDs can clock up to 5000 MB/s. The T-FORCE G70 and G50 SSDs support SLC cache technology, and their PRO variants support both DRAM and SLC caching, giving players options to fit their needs. All four M.2 2280 SSDs use controllers produced by international manufacturer InnoGrit, which provide excellent stability and peace of mind for gamers.

PNY announced the addition of the CS3150 M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen 5 x4 SSD with integrated heatsinks to its lineup of solid-state drives. The CS3150 is at the forefront of cutting-edge storage, leveraging the NVMe PCIe Gen 5 x4 interface to deliver unrivaled data transfer speeds. With sequential read/write speeds up to 12,000 MB/s and 11,000 MB/s respectively, this breakthrough technology catapults computing experiences to unprecedented levels, making it an ideal choice for professionals, enthusiasts, and anyone seeking the pinnacle of storage performance.

Innovative Heatsink
The CS3150 at launch will be available in 1 TB and 2 TB densities and will come integrated with one of three different dual-fan heatsinks - Black, White, or Black-RGB. These revolutionary heatsinks have an innovative design with not one but two ultra-quiet fans to maximize heat dissipation generated by highly intensive applications, prolonged workloads, and lightning-fast transfer speeds.

CORSAIR, a world leader in enthusiast components for gamers, creators, and PC builders, today announced the launch of the MP700 PRO, its fastest PCIe Gen 5 M.2 SSD to date. Available in capacities up to 4 TB, with three different cooling options, the MP700 PRO sets a new standard for next-generation storage, with sequential read and write performance reaching a phenomenal 12,400 MB/sec and 11,800 MB/sec respectively—that's up to 75% faster than PCIe 4.0 SSDs.

On top of the impressive sequential throughput, the random read and write performance of up to 1.5 million read and 1.6 million write input/output operations per second (IOPS) put the MP700 PRO way ahead of the best PCIe Gen 4 drives. The MP700 PRO is backward compatible with PCIe 4.0 motherboards, making this an upgrade that will last you for years to come. Native support for Microsoft DirectStorage ensures that you'll get the most from the latest games, while copying files in Windows and loading applications has never felt so fast.

[Editor's note: Our in-depth review of the MP700 Pro is now live]

ASRock Rack Inc., the leading innovative server company, today is set to showcase a comprehensive range of servers for diverse AI workloads catering to scenarios from the edge, on-premises, and to the cloud at booth #1737 at SC 23 held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, USA. The event is from November 13th to 16th, and ASRock Rack will feature the following significant highlights:

At SC 23, ASRock Rack will demonstrate the NVIDIA-Qualified 2U4G-GENOA/M3 and 4U8G series GPU server solutions along with the NVIDIA H100 PCIe. The ASRock Rack 4U8G and 4U10G series GPU servers are able to accommodate eight to ten 400 W dual-slot GPU cards and 24 hot-swappable 2.5" drives, designed to deliver exceptional performance for demanding AI workloads deployed in the cloud environment. The 2U4G-GENOA/M3, tailored for lighter workloads, is powered by a single AMD EPYC 9004 series processor and is able to support four 400 W dual-slot GPUs while having additional PCIe and OCP NIC 3.0 slots for expansions.

TrendForce has issued its latest findings, indicating that the global SSD market has rectified its supply and demand dynamics in 2022, following a resolution in the shortage of master control ICs that had hampered the market in 2021. Despite the normalization of supply, global SSD shipments witnessed a decline, with only 114 million units shipped in 2022—a 10.7% decrease from the prior year.

The top three SSD shipment leaders of 2022 were Kingston, ADATA, and Lexar, with Kingston and ADATA maintaining solid advantages and experiencing growth in market share over 2021. Lexar's growth was attributed to an aggressive push for revenue in anticipation of going public. Kimtigo, in 2022, made significant strides in expanding into industrial control and OEM markets, which in turn boosted its shipment volume and market share. Netac maintained its competitive edge in the SSD market alongside securing several government orders in the enterprise SSD sector, keeping its market share and ranking consistent with the previous year.

Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory solutions, s excited to announce the NM790 with Heatsink M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4×4 NVMe SSD. This product release builds upon the success of its predecessor, the NM790 (without heatsink) which claimed several awards, including Best High-Capacity SSD from PC Gamer, Best High-Capacity PCI Express 4.0 SSD from PC Mag, Best Dram-less SSD 2023 from Tom's Hardware, and more.

This new version of the NM790 is designed for PS5 and PC gaming rigs and delivers even more performance - 7400 MB/s sequential read, 6500 MB/s sequential write, with random read and write speeds of up to 1,100K IOPS. The addition of an integrated heatsink keeps things running smoothly even at full throttle, ensuring that systems stay cool and maintain speed, power efficiency, and thermal control for sustained high-performance on both PlayStation 5 and PCs.

Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), today announced the availability of the Crucial T500 Gen 4 NVMe SSD as an expansion of its award-winning NVMe solid-state drive (SSD) portfolio. The Crucial T500 SSD is a best-in-class PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive, which leverages Micron's advanced 232-layer 3D NAND technology with industry-leading NAND I/O speeds of 2.4 gigabytes per second (GB/s) and is engineered to improve performance for console and PC gamers, photo and video editors and content creators. Available in two options, the T500 SSD with the heatsink is specifically designed for platforms like the PlayStation 5 (PS5) and PC gaming rigs, while the version without the heatsink fits well in laptops, desktops and workstations.

The T500 offers up to a 40% higher performance-to-power ratio, and speeds that are two times faster than the previous Gen 3 NVMe SSD offering. With lightning-fast sequential read and write speeds up to 7,400 MB/s and 7,000 MB/s respectively, Crucial T500 SSDs enable gamers to load games up to 16% faster, get quicker game texture renders and reduced CPU utilization with Microsoft DirectStorage. Likewise, it is easy to install and has up to 2 TB of storage - making it perfect for PS5 upgrades or UHD/8K+ videos. The T500 also delivers up to 42% faster performance in content creation applications, allowing users to run heavy workloads and render photos or videos faster.

Jung-Bae Lee, President and Head of Memory Business of Samsung Electronics, the world's largest NAND memory supplier, has noted in the blog post that Samsung plans to develop its 9th Generation V-NAND memory with over 300 layers, aiming for mass production in 2024. Samsung's V-NAND uses a double-stack structure and is expected to have more active layers than its competitors' 3D NAND memory, such as SK Hynix's forthcoming 321-layer memory. The increase in layers allows Samsung to enhance storage density and performance in its future 3D NAND devices, focusing on input/output (I/O) speed. While the specific performance details of Samsung's 9th Generation V-NAND remain undisclosed, the memory is expected to be used in next-generation PCIe SSDs with the PCIe 5.0 standard.

Jung-Bae Lee has noted: "New structural and material innovations will be critical in the upcoming era of sub-10-nanometer (nm) DRAM and 1,000-layer vertical V-NAND. As such, we are developing 3D stacked structures and new materials for DRAM while increasing layer count, decreasing height, and minimizing cell interference for V-NAND." The 9th installment of V-NAND, scheduled for 2024, is utilizing 11 nm-class DRAM. Additionally, the blog post reassures the commitment to CXL Memory Modules (CMM), which will enable the composable infrastructure of next-generation systems, especially with high-capacity SSDs powered by V-NAND.

ADATA, the world's leading brand for memory modules and flash memory and Intel recommended partner, in conjunction with its e-sports brand XPG (Xtreme Performance Gear), announces that XPG's complete range of DDR5 memory modules and ADATA Gen 5 SSDs fully support the latest Intel Core processor (14th gen) platform. The recent launch of this latest 14th Gen desktop processor platform emphasized its placing as the fastest processor in the world. Not only does this processor multi-task gaming and heavy workloads, but it also delivers amazing across-the-board performance, in line with the brand appeal fostered by ADATA and XPG. Together, we are committed to providing e-sports enthusiasts and creators with the fastest and most reliable experience available.

XPG DDR5 memory and ADATA PCIe 5.0 SSDs fully support Intel's latest desktop platform
ADATA has partnered with Intel and the world's foremost motherboard brands to conduct compatibility testing on XPG DDR5 memory modules and ADATA PCIe 5.0 SSDs in preparation for Intel Core processors (14th gen). Although the most common clock speed in the DDR5 market is currently 5600MT/s, XPG LANCER DDR5 memory modules successfully achieved an ultra-high clock speed of 8,000MT/s during testing and also support Intel XMP Ready to successfully overclock from 8,400MT/s to 9,900MT/s. The ADATA LEGEND 970 PCIe 5.0 SSD was tested at up to an ultra-high 10,000 MB/s sequential read and write speed with 4K random write speed reaching up to 1,400K, delivering a smooth and ultra-efficient desktop experience to gamers and creators alike.

In order to celebrate its 20th anniversary, GALAX has teased a special edition GeForce RTX 40 series graphics card. Although there are no specific details, due to the size and thickness of the teased cooler, it is most likely that this will be a special edition GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card.

As detailed by Videocardz.com, the new graphics card will include a three- to four-slot thick cooler with two fans on the front side and an open area on the front, which could be an opening for a third fan located at the back of the card. GALAX already has an extensive lineup of RTX 4090 graphics cards, a total of fourteen, as well as over 80 different models of RTX 40 series graphics cards. The new GeForce RTX 40 series graphics card should be announced tomorrow, and GALAX has already unveiled a new series of high-end PCIe Gen 5 SSDs as a part of the 20th anniversary celebration. Hopefully, these won't be limited to the Chinese market, and we'll see a worldwide release.

Solidigm today announced the D7-5810, an enterprise SSD for extremely intensity write workloads. Such a drive would be capable of write endurance in the neighborhood of 50 DWPD. For reference, the company's D7-P5620, a write-centric/mixed workload drive for data-logging, and AI ingest/preparation, offers around 3 DWPD of endurance, depending on the variant; and the read-intensive drive meant for CDNs, the D5-P5336, offers around 0.5 DWPD. Use cases for the new D7-P5810 include high performance caching for flash arrays dealing with "cooler" data; high-frequency trading, and HPC.

Solidigm D7-P5810 uses SK hynix 144-layer 3D NAND flash that's made to operate in a pure SLC configuration. The drive comes in 800 GB and 1.6 TB capacities, and offers 50 DWPD over an endurance period of 5 years (4K random writes). More specifically, both models offer 73 PBW (petabytes written) of endurance. The drive comes in enterprise-relevant 15 mm-thick U.2 form-factor, with PCIe Gen 4 x4 interface, with NVMe 1.3c and NVMe MI 1.1 protocols.

The advent of PCIe 5.0 SSDs with Phison's E26 controllers has been a double-edged sword. While these SSDs offer impressively high data throughputs, they come with a significant drawback: severe overheating issues that can cause the SSDs not only to throttle down but to shut off entirely. TechPowerUp first noted this issue back in May, in our Corsair MP700 review, where the uncooled drive shut down after 86 seconds of reads and after 55 seconds of writes. Regarding criticism from tech reviewers, Corsair has released a firmware update (version 22.1) for its MP700 SSD to ensure that it throttles down rather than shutting off when overheated. Yet, many other SSDs like the Crucial T700, Seagate FireCuda 540, Gigabyte Aorus Gen 5 10000, and ADATA Legend 970 still suffer from temperature issues.

However, it's crucial to note that these extreme overheating problems occur only when the SSDs run without any cooling. While some manufacturers have planned firmware updates to address the issue, Corsair is the only company that has taken tangible action so far. Crucial has released a new firmware (PACR5102), but the ComputerBase report indicates that the SSD continues to shut off at high temperatures. The problem, though, can generally be mitigated with proper cooling. Whether using the included cooler or placing the SSD under a motherboard cover, temperatures usually stay below the critical limit, thus avoiding a complete shutdown. When we tested the SSTC Tiger Shark Elite 2 TB with Phison E26 (with updated firmware) without adequate cooling, the SSD continued to operate and throttled down, indicating that the remaining SSDs using this controller need a proper firmware update that throttles the SSD instead of shutting it down.

To help consumers get the most out of their handheld gaming PC experience, WD_BLACK from Western Digital is introducing a new premium, high-performance M.2 2230 solution architected for today's handheld PC gamer. Building upon the WD_BLACK legacy of performance storage for all kinds of competitive gamers, the company is introducing the WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD. According to a recent Gartner report, the handheld gaming console market is expected to reach 14.8M by 2027. As the mobile gaming market continues to grow and more AAA titles are released, new and innovative storage solutions are being released and developed to ensure mobile gamers are able to make the most of their on-the-go gaming experience.

"With game sizes continually becoming larger, it's easy for handheld game consoles to fill up over time with new games and regular updates," said Eric Spanneut, vice president of client SSDs for Western Digital. "The new WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD boosts available storage up to 2TB2 and is specifically designed to handle the peak performance of demanding games for handheld gaming PCs."