GIGABYTE is proud to announce two new models of workstation motherboards and one new model dedicated to mission critical server applications. All of them being based on the Intel Xeon processors E5-2600 product family, these new models are designed to answer demanding needs for computing resources across various usage models, form factors and scales. While these products have been naturally thought for scenarios requiring heavy computing power through GPUs or GPGPU / co-processors cards, from CAD/CAE to rendering, simulation and modeling, their most notable advantage relies in their unique memory performance capability. GIGABYTE motherboards support DDR3-1600 MHz speeds with 16 GB 1.35V RDIMMs.

Achieved through GIGABYTE's capabilities in design, PCB layout and BIOS fine-tuning, this feature will be most appreciated in the many workstation applications where improvements in memory frequency result in speeding up the user's productivity and in all the industries relying on server applications where each incremental improvement in memory performance results in significant benefits, such as in finance.

Intel's performance-segment mSATA SSDs, the SSD 525 series, started selling in Japan under OEM packaging, although freely available in ground stores (much like bare hard drives). Based on the LSI-SandForce SF-2281 processor and Intel's own 25 nm MLC NAND flash chips, the SSD 525 is available in four capacities: 30 GB, 120 GB, 180 GB, and 240 GB. The 240 GB variant stands out, with speeds of up to 550 MB/s reads with 500 MB/s writes; while the others max out at 500 MB/s reads with 275 MB/s writes. The 30, 120, 180, and 240 GB variants are priced at 5,180¥ ($57), 14,480¥ ($160), 20,800¥ ($228), and 26,980¥ ($295), respectively.

Intel's SSD 525 line of performance mSATA SSDs may be slated for 2013, but made an early debut with the company's NUC (next unit of computing) desktop. A 180 GB variant of the drive was put to test by VR-Zone, which is driven by LSI-SandForce SF-2281 processor, and features three Intel-made 20 nm MLC NAND flash chips (6-channels). The drive cracked Anvil Storage Utilities benchmark with 504 MB/s (compressible) and 463 MB/s (incompressible) sequential read speeds, 468 MB/s (compressible) and 240 MB/s (incompressible) sequential writes, and about 55,841 IOPS 4K random write (QD16) performance. The performance numbers make the drive appear nearly as fast as larger 2.5-inch SATA SSDs, and could be a boon for Ultrabook makers.

Other World Computing (OWC) www.macsales.com, a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company, announced today the OWC Mercury Aura Pro is the industry's first high-performance Solid State Drive upgrade for the new 2012 13" MacBook Pro with Retina display (rMBP) computers introduced by Apple last week.

Available in 480 GB capacity for immediate ordering and with additional capacities to be announced in November, the 6G (6 Gb/s) SandForce Driven Mercury Aura Pro offers rMBP owners up to nearly 3x more storage and/or backup capacity than the factory 128 GB flash module.

LSI Corporation (NYSE: LSI) today reported results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2012. "In the third quarter we delivered strong year-over-year growth in an environment with considerable macroeconomic uncertainty and with softness in several key markets. We are managing the elements within our control, and are pleased with the significant improvement in margin and earnings over last year," said Abhi Talwalkar, LSI's president and CEO. "Looking forward, our design win performance is ahead of expectations and we are benefiting from the rapid adoption of LSI's exciting new flash-based products and the penetration of LSI products into large web and cloud datacenters."

Third quarter 2012 revenues from continuing operations were $624 million, in line with guidance, compared to $547 million generated from continuing operations in the third quarter of 2011, and compared to $660 million generated from continuing operations in the second quarter of 2012.

For those who haven't taken a leap to Intel's Z77 and Ivy Bridge combo yet, either you're cultivating self discipline or you're planning to prey upon something big. Well, now is the big moment, because ASRock is releasing its beastlike Z77 Extreme11!

This tiptop motherboard has 8 SAS2/SATA3 connectors supported by an LSI SAS2308 PCIe 3.0 x8 controller. For extreme graphics, 3-Way SLI/4-Way CrossFireX is supported via a PLX PEX 8747 bridge. The LAN solution is also tempting. Two Intel LAN chips to support dual LAN and teaming, while there's also a 2T2R Dual Band WiFi & Bluetooth 4.0 module and a bundled Wi-SB Box. Specially designed for computer enthusiasts, Z77 Extreme11 possesses unbeatable hardware and extreme powers waiting to be unleashed.

To address the significant increase in data over the next 10-15 years, and the demand for more energy-efficient network infrastructure and servers, ARM has announced the ARM CoreLink CCN-504 cache coherent network. This advanced system intellectual property (IP) can deliver up to one terabit of usable system bandwidth per second. It will enable SoC designers to provide high-performance, cache coherent interconnect for 'many-core' enterprise solutions built using the ARM Cortex-A15 MPCore processor and next-generation 64-bit processors.

LSI, a leading designer of intelligent semiconductors that accelerate storage, mobile networking and client computing, and Calxeda, an innovative supplier of disruptive SoC technology for the server market, are lead licensees for the CoreLink CCN-504 launch.

LSI Corporation today announced worldwide channel availability of the PCIe flash LSI Nytro MegaRAID cards, providing simple, transparent and cost-effective application acceleration for direct-attached storage (DAS). Nytro MegaRAID cards uniquely integrate PCIe flash technology and intelligent caching software with enterprise RAID data protection using leading LSI dual-core RAID-on-Chip (ROC) technology.

The increased availability of the LSI Nytro MegaRAID product family coincides with a growing data deluge that is challenging data center managers to reassess ways to balance application performance, storage and data protection requirements in the most cost-effective way possible.

Other World Computing (OWC), a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company, announced today the OWC Mercury Aura Pro as the industry's first high-performance Solid State Drive upgrade for 2012 MacBook Pro with Retina display (rMBP) computers. Available in 480 GB capacity, the 6G (6Gb/s) SandForce Driven Mercury Aura Pro offers rMBP owners 87.5 percent more capacity than the factory 256GB model. Additionally, customers buying the $579.99 MSRP Aura Pro direct from OWC until September 30, 2012, will later receive the OWC Envoy Pro USB 3.0 bus-powered portable enclosure (a $59.95 value) for re-tasking the rMBP's factory flash module as an external drive at no additional cost.

LSI Corporation today announced enhanced features for its SandForce SF-2200/2100 Client Flash Storage Processors (FSPs) specifically designed to satisfy the stringent power consumption requirements of Ultrabooks while also providing the superior performance benefits of flash-based technology.

LSI Flash Storage Processors are the intelligence that manages flash memory in solid state drives (SSDs) and delivers the performance and power efficiency benefits needed for the fast-growing Ultrabook market segment. The new LSI SandForce power management optimizations enable SSD manufacturers to develop drives that extend battery life and reduce system resume times, critical requirements in today's growing class of thin-and-light Ultrabook platforms. Fueling increased adoption of SSDs, the Ultrabook market is forecasted to grow at a compounded rate of 92 percent through 2017.

Since the last couple of weeks, we've known of MSI's plans to enter the client SSD market, thanks to a leak by LSI-SandForce. Today we're getting the first pictures of what MSI has been secretly working on. Called the Reflex series, MSI's first SSDs are built on the most widely used performance SSD platform, a combination of LSI-SandForce SF2281 controller and 25 nm synchronous NAND flash.

MSI's Reflex series will be launched in three variants, the RX-60 (60 GB), the RX-120 (120 GB), and the RX-240 (240 GB), respectively. Performance numbers differ with model. The RX-60 offers up to 525 MB/s reads with 495 MB/s writes, and 85,000 IOPS 4K random write performance. The RX-120 ups that to 550 MB/s reads with 515 MB/s writes, and 90,000 IOPS 4K random writes. Leading the pack is the RX-240, with 560 MB/s reads, 525 MB/s writes, and 90,000 IOPS 4K random writes. The three are built in the 2.5-inch form-factor, with SATA 6 Gb/s interface. Pricing and availability information is awaited.Update (23/07): MSI Europe informed us that while the product is real, it will not be available for purchase in Europe, and that there are no plans to sell the drives in the old continent, in the near future. MSI Europe's statement follows

Intel expanded its mainstream client SSD 330 series with the addition of a new 240 GB variant. The SSD 330 series, till date, only had sub-200 GB capacities, with 180 GB leading the pack. It was believed that Intel was making sure SSD 330 steered clear of the performance-segment SSD 520 series, to prevent internal competition that could end up hurting the SSD 520, and its higher margins for Intel. It appears, though, that with large-scale price-cuts, room has been created for a new 240 GB SSD 330 series model.

Built in the 2.5-inch 9.5 mm-thick form-factor with SATA 6 Gb/s interface, and driven by an LSI-SandForce controller, the 240 GB SSD 330 comes with sequential speeds of up to 500 MB/s (reads) and 450 MB/s (writes). It has rated 4K random access performance of 42,000 IOPS (reads) with 52,000 IOPS (writes). The SSD will be sold in bulk as drive-only trays, drive-only retail packages, and retail packages with migration-kits and 3.5-inch bay adapters (for desktops). Intel is yet to release pricing details, although a price of around US $200 seems likely. In related news, the wide-ranging price-cuts reported last week, have taken effect, according to the company.

LSI Corporation today introduced its latest MegaRAID 6 Gb/s SAS+SATA controllers and host bus adapters (HBAs) featuring the PCI Express 3.0 interface.

Seven new LSI MegaRAID controllers are offered with four or eight ports and provide a powerful combination of intelligent performance, enterprise RAID data protection and proven interoperability. Three new LSI HBA models provide state-of-the-art connectivity for servers and appliances in a variety of enterprise-level environments including corporate datacenters, the cloud and high-performance computing.

"In the face of massive data growth, system builders and resellers are racing to meet increasing demand for larger, more scalable systems that deliver reliability and high performance," said Brent Blanchard, director of worldwide channel sales and marketing, LSI. "The addition of PCIe 3.0 on the new MegaRAID controllers and HBAs brings dramatically higher levels of performance and allows greater system design flexibility, with proven LSI product quality and reliability."

Korean memory giant SK Hynix is launching its own branded consumer and enterprise SSD lines, à la Samsung (the other Korean memory giant). It is starting off with high-performance consumer SSDs targeting Ultrabooks, built in the 2.5-inch 7 mm-thick SATA form-factor. The SH910 series SSDs combine Hynix' homegrown H27QDG8VEBIR-BCB MLC NAND flash chips built in the 25 nm fab process, with LSI-SandForce SF-2281 processor.

The drive will be initially available in two capacities, 128 GB and 256 GB (higher than usual capacities thanks to adjusted overprovisioning). Both drives offer sequential transfer speeds of up to 520 MB/s reads with 500 MB/s writes; up to 60,000 IOPS 4K random seek, 35,000 IOPS random write; and feature-set that includes 128-bit AES encryption, TRIM, NCQ, and SMART. A performance review can be found at the source.

Kingston Digital Europe Ltd, an affiliate of Kingston Technology Company Inc., the independent world leader in memory, along with LSI, its SSD processor partner, have recently been in discussions related to the encryption capabilities of the SF-2000 platform. It was discovered that the 'self encrypting' feature that Kingston markets on both the SSDNow V+200 and KC100 lines runs in 128-bit AES encryption mode, not the originally stated 256-bit mode. Both AES modes encrypt and secure the data on the SSD from unauthorized access -- just to different encryption standards.

Kingston is working with LSI to correct this and to ensure that future production of the aforementioned drives delivers 256-bit AES encryption mode.

Post acquisition, an audit by LSI reportedly discovered that the 256-bit AES native data encryption by SandForce SSD processors never was, and that the feature really just encrypted data with 128-bit AES. The problem has been resolved and a fix is in the works. LSI will share the fix with all SSD manufacturers with SandForce-based products, who could then release firmware updates to end-users.

Biwin, an industry leader in flash storage products, today announced the NuvoDrive PX enterprise class 2.5 inch SATA III 6 Gbps SSD that supports up to 85,000 random write IOPS and features data loss protection in the event of sudden power failure.

NuvoDrive PX is based on the LSI SandForce SF-2582 Flash Storage Processor, which packs the vanguard of enterprise reliability features such as global wear leveling, NCQ support, SMART commands support, and an ECC engine capable of correcting up to 55 bits per 512-byte sector.

Other World Computing (OWC) www.macsales.com, a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company, announced today it will showcase its new line of Jupiter mini-SAS shared storage solutions at NAB this week. Built upon the mini-SAS interface for blazing bandwidth up to 48 Gb/s, the Jupiter family of racks, towers, and workgroup switches combine the highest level of data sharing performance and scalable capacity of up to 3600 TB at a cost that is up to 6x less than fibre channel infrastructures.

The Jupiter mini-SAS solutions also offer straight-forward installation in Mac and Windows OS environments with the simplicity of direct attached storage (DAS) using a single cable connection. OWC will demonstrate the high performance and scalability of the Jupiter mini-SAS shared storage solution at its NAB booth #14110 in the lower level of the LVCC's South Hall.

Other World Computing (OWC) www.macsales.com, a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company, today introduced the OWC Mercury Accelsior, the industry's first both Mac-bootable and PC-bootable, fully supported PCIe SSD card.

By utilizing the fastest data interface available in a Mac Pro or PC-the PCIe slot-the Mercury Accelsior offers nearly 3x the performance vs. an SSD in a SATA 2.0 3 Gb/s drive bay with well beyond even 6 Gb/s speeds of up to 780 MB/s. Now owners of PCs and Apple Mac Pros can stop waiting for I/O-intensive apps like Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, or Avid Pro Tools to render, capture or process; and can experience near instantaneous booting and application launches. The Mercury Accelsior will be highlighted along with other OWC storage solutions in booth #SL14110 during the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show being held this week in Las Vegas.

Intel today finally announced its SSD 910 "Ramsdale" PCI-Express SSD family. This is Intel's first SSD in the PCI-Express add-on card form-factor. Like its 2.5" SSD 710 series, the SSD 910 utilizes HET-MLC NAND flash chips, arranged in four SSD subuits. SSD 910 design consists of three stacked PCBs, the one with the PCI-Express 2.0 x8 bus interface holds a PCI-Express to SAS bridge (essentially a RAID controller), and four SAS/NAND ASICs (SSD controllers). Each controller is wired out to its NAND flash memory chips, which are arranged in the other PCBs.

The PCIe-SAS bridge is made by LSI. The SSD 910 series comes in two variants based on capacity: 400 GB and 800 GB. The 400 GB variant has just two SSD subunits, and hence provides transfer rates (according to an older article) of 1 GB/s reads and 750 MB/s writes, with 90,000 IOPS reads, with 38,000 IOPS writes; while the 800 GB variant, with its four subunits, provides 2 GB/s reads with 1 GB/s writes, and 180,000 IOPS reads, with 75,000 IOPS writes. The launch price of the SSD 910 400 GB variant is US $1,929; while the 800 GB variant is priced at US $3859, at launch.

World's top 3 motherboard manufacturer, ASRock Inc, unveils its latest Intel 7-series motherboard at 2012 Annual Global Tour. The latest 7-Series motherboard supports 2nd and 3rd Generation Intel Core i7 / i5 / i3 Processors. Featuring unique XFast 555 technology (XFast RAM, XFast LAN, XFast USB), ASRock 7-Series motherboard allows users to experience "REAL" performance boost (up to 5X better) in terms of PC's overall performance, LAN speed and USB transfer speed. ASRock has built up a reputation for building bulletproof mobos with very competitive price tag. In 2012 Global Tour, ASRock will be showcasing the long-awaited motherboards based on Intel 7-series chipsets.

LSI Corporation today introduced the Nytro portfolio, a comprehensive family of solutions that combines PCIe flash technology with intelligent caching and management software to achieve accelerated application performance in datacenters and cloud environments.

The amount of data being stored and accessed worldwide is growing at an exponential rate, outpacing the ability of traditional storage architectures to keep up. This creates bottlenecks, throttling application performance and making it harder for companies to extract the full value from data. Nytro solutions allow datacenters to contend with massive data growth and speed the ability of databases and other applications to access data and provide real-time analytics and reporting.

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of NAND flash storage solutions, today announces the new RAIDDrive upStream, a new type of SSD designed for the PCI backplane.

SSD solutions were first introduced as 2.5" SATA replacements for existing Hard Drives. These transitive solutions have clearly demonstrated the benefits of SSD technology we know today. SSDs are faster, use less power, are more rugged and are more reliable than HDDs but the 2.5" form-factor limited their capacity and the SATA interface has again limited the available throughput.

The vast majority of laptop and desktop computers sold today are equipped with rotating hard disk drives (HDDs), making the storage system the biggest bottleneck in most client computing applications. Biwin, an industry leader in flash storage products, today announced Elite Series SATA III SSDs, based on the LSI SandForce SF-2281 Flash Storage Processor, that are designed to substantially improve storage performance in laptops and desktops.

With a standard 2.5" form factor (dimensions: 100 x 69.8 x 9.5 mm), Elite Series SSDs are compatible with virtually any desktop computer and millions of laptops. They support 6 Gbps SATA III, and are downward compatible with 3 Gbps SATA II systems.

ORICO officially introduced the HS-01 series 2.5" SATA solid-state drives (SSDs). The drives come in four variants, based solely on the design of the drives' shells, while internally, the four are identical. Internally, the HS-01 is driven by LSI-SandForce SF-2281 controller, with 25 nm MLC NAND flash memory, offering 256 GB of storage. Apparently, these drives incorporate the latest firmware microcode released by LSI that helps the drive make better use of its available NAND flash capacity.

The drives take advantage of the SATA 6 Gb/s interface, offering sustained sequential speeds of 500 MB/s (read) and 350 MB/s (write). The four previously mentioned variants are HS-01A-256S3, HS-01C-256S3, HS-01D-256S3 and HS-01E-256S3 (first picture, CW). The bodies are made of CNC-milled aluminum, which are ridged to assist in heat dissipation. Backed by 5-year warranty, the HS-01 series 256 GB drives are priced at 2,898 RMB (US $458.3).