ASUS' ROG Maximus IX Code, the company's step-down product from the already detailed Maximus IX Formula, has also been leaked. Like the Formula, it's in the ATX form factor with the red and black colors of the ROG line; the difference between thie Maximus IX Hero and the Code stands in that the Hero is absent from the Code's PCB front shielding, the 2×2 MU-MIMO 802.11 AC WI-FI capabilities, as well as the and USB 2.0 (2+4) front panel connectors, putting it in an even lower tier in product placement, and, we expect, pricing (though, being part of the ROG line, that doesn't mean it will be cheap).

Seagate Technology plc, a world leader in storage solutions, today announced the launch of the Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Slim, the world's thinnest 2TB mobile hard drive. This new product builds on the award-winning Backup Plus Slim drive, delivering a stunning new design with the same leading capacity in an even slimmer profile. The Backup Plus Ultra Slim also includes 200GB of Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage and Lyve software compatibility, so users can back up, access and share their favorite files from any device or location.

"The launch of the Backup Plus Ultra Slim builds on Seagate's rich history of award-winning innovation to give users even more capacity in an incredibly small form factor," said Tim Bucher, vice president for Seagate's Consumer Group. "Based on our breakthrough ultra-mobile hard drive technology, this new storage solution gives them a better way to manage the increase in both data volumes and number of devices."

Seagate Technology plc. today introduced ClusterStor A200, a first-of-its-kind tiered archive storage system for high performance computing (HPC). The A200 helps reduce storage and operational costs by up to 50 percent compared to tier-one storage platforms.

The A200 was designed to complement the rest of Seagate's ClusterStor family of scale-out storage systems. It allows customers to non-disruptively migrate designated data off of the performance-optimized, primary storage tiers while keeping it online for fast retrieval. This avoids a common problem in shared HPC environments where the organization is forced to choose between having all of the data available to make the best analysis versus the time required to retrieve data from tape. Performance of the primary storage is often improved by migrating data and freeing up space for more efficient data layout. The pre-configured ClusterStor A200 solution includes an automatic policy-driven hierarchical storage management (HSM) system and near limitless scale-out capacity.

OCZ Storage Solutions -- a Toshiba Group Company and provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced the introduction of Host Managed SSD (HMS) technology, first supported by the Saber 1000 Series SSDs. HMS technology enables Host controls over internal SSD background processing tasks that were previously not exposed to host-level software. System-level software control of background processing tasks, such as Garbage Collection, enable improving overall storage performance, and specifically enable obtaining consistent and predictable latency across a large pool of SSDs.

Hyperscale, Cloud, and datacenters now run software defined storage applications which manage large pools of SSDs across multiple servers. Consistent performance of these SSDs is critical to many modern applications, such as modern data bases and online trading, that have migrated to the Cloud. Exposing HMS functions via API enables integration of HMS functions into the storage stacks.

The Storage Products Business Unit of Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc., a committed technology leader, announces a new, high-capacity addition to the MC04 Series launched in May of last year. The 6TB version of the MC04 Series of enterprise high-capacity HDDs is designed for bulk storage systems and servers supporting cloud-based applications and scale-out workloads. With an industry standard 3.5-inch form factor, the MC04 Series delivers 7,200 revolutions per minute (RPM) performance, enabling suitable service levels for high performance cloud-based applications and storage.

Toshiba's highest capacity enterprise cloud HDD delivers a 20 percent increase over the previous generation's 5TB capacity, enabling more efficient high-density, high-growth storage for multi-petabyte rack deployments. Furthermore, the newest addition to the MC04 Series improves ROI for scale-out storage solutions with a 20 percent increase in power efficiency (TB/W) over previous generations, enabling more cost-effective delivery of cloud storage services.

Want a compact gaming PC that doubles up as a home storage? The CS380 "Compact Storage" case could be worth checking out. This micro-ATX case features an aluminium door (with noise-dampening material), steel frame, and ABS front panel bits. Behind the door are eight 3.5-inch drive caddies, with SATA backplanes, which let you hot-swap drives; and a standard 5.25-inch drive bay. Apart from the eight 3.5-inch caddies, the case has two internal 2.5-inch drive bays (for OS drives).

The eight 3.5-inch caddies are split between two drive cages of four; which are separated by room meant for long graphics cards. Its ventilation includes two 92 mm front intakes (located in the space between the drive cages); two 120 mm side vents, two 120 mm top vents (which can hold on to a 240 mm radiator); and a 120 mm rear exhaust. The case measures 212 mm x 435 mm x 444 mm (WxHxD).

Crucial, a leading global brand of memory and storage upgrades, today announced significant updates to its Storage Executive tool. The new version (3.20) features Momentum Cache, an intelligent caching feature that can enhance burst performance by up to 10x[1], and allows users to extend SSD lifetime by reducing redundant writes. The tool uses idle memory for caching as needed, and installs easily via the Storage Executive interface.

In addition to the new features, Storage Executive also allows users to:

• Update to the latest firmware
• Monitor drive's temperature and health
• Reset the drive's encryption password
• Easily check how much storage has been used

OCZ Storage Solutions, a Toshiba Group Company and the most awarded solid state drive (SSD) brand of all time, today announced the release of the next generation Vector 180 SSD series along with the all-new SSD Guru storage management solution. Worthy of flagship status, the new Vector 180 features enhanced reliability, technology, storage capacity, and superior customer support all while providing the Vector's original game-changing performance and endurance it's known for. The feature-rich SSD Guru software tool not only enables users to do routine monitoring and maintenance, but truly helps them unlock their SSD's full potential.

Designed to power today's high-end consumer systems, the Vector 180 series is optimized for hardcore gaming and data-intensive applications thanks to its powerful OCZ Barefoot 3 controller and in-house Toshiba A19nm MLC NAND flash technology. New to this particular Vector release is an advanced reliability protection feature called Power Failure Management Plus (PFM+). In the event of unexpected system power loss or instability, the PFM+ feature helps safeguard the SSD and its at-rest data.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today introduced a high-performance mobile memory storage based on Embedded MultiMediaCard (eMMC) 5.0 technology. The new 128-gigabyte (GB), 3-bit NAND-based eMMC 5.0 storage is targeted at the smartphone and tablet mass markets.

"With the introduction of our value-focused, 3-bit NAND-based eMMC 5.0 line-up, we expect to take the lead in the expansion of high-density mobile storage," said Dr. Jung-Bae Lee, Senior Vice President of Memory Product Planning and Application Engineering Team, Samsung Electronics. "We are continuing to enhance our next-generation embedded mobile memory offerings with improved performance and higher densities to meet increasing customer demand across the mobile industry."

Silicon Power, the world's leading provider of memory storage solutions, today launches the ultra-rugged USB 3.0 portable hard drive for Mac users－Armor A65M. Maximizing the shockproof and waterproof specifications of the Armor Series, the Armor A65M is specifically designed for Mac users with all-inclusive safety shields fighting against various threats that may occur during daily operations, and it also complies with the U.S. military-grade drop test and the IP67 standard.

The Armor A65M pioneers data protection measures with its exclusive cup-shaped design for optimizing its waterproof and dustproof functions, which makes the Armor A65M the first portable hard drive that meets the IP67 standard in the industry. In addition, the Armor A65M is especially rigid with its three-layer construction including two layers of rubber and one unibody frame in the middle, altogether promising great protection to withstand drops and shocks. Incorporating complete inside-out protection, the Armor A65M is guaranteed to keep your data safe under all sorts of conditions and is ideal for Mac users on the go. Furthermore, the Armor A65M enables easy plug-and-play use for it is already formatted in HFS+ format and supports Time Machine.

ATP, the leading industrial Flash storage and DRAM memory solution provider, will be showing its industrial-grade M.2 and the latest SATA III interface products (SlimSATA, mSATA, and CFast) and ATP Testing Capabilities at the upcoming Embedded World 2015 at the Messe Nuremberg International Center Germany from 24th to 26th of February. ATP will be located at Hall 1, Booth #651.

ATP's brand-new industrial-grade SATAIII M.2 type 2242 and 2260, targets industrial embedded applications, which demand Solid State Storage with high performance and proven reliability in thin/limited spaces and extreme temperature conditions. In addition to the built-in features, such as BCH ECC checking, S.M.A.R.T monitor, TRIM and Advanced Wear-Leveling, ATP M.2 has its Power Cycling Protection (PowerProtector) and Data Integrity Protection (AutoRefresh) to ensure it outperforms other similar solutions in the market.

Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, today unveiled the Samsung Portable SSD T1, a stylish, external portable solid state drive (SSD) that represents a new standard of storage for today's digital life. Designed for speed and security without sacrificing style, the Portable SSD T1 is ideal for business travelers, creative professionals and content creators with a need for secure local storage they can take on-the-go and use to quickly transfer large amounts of data. Available in 250 gigabyte (GB), 500 GB and 1 terabyte (TB) storage capacities, the Portable SSD T1 will launch globally in 15 countries across the United States, European and Asian markets later this month.

Powered by Samsung's proprietary 3D Vertical NAND (V-NAND) technology, the Portable SSD T1 is a high-performance memory storage device recently chosen as an honoree for the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Innovation Awards. The new drive will be on display at the 2015 CES from January 6-9 at Samsung's booth, 11906, located in the Central Hall.

Seagate Technology plc, the pioneer in wireless storage, continues to grow its family of wireless storage solutions with the debut of Seagate Wireless, a 500 GB portable wireless drive designed for streaming and offloading of media from mobile devices. The new Seagate Wireless offers more space to carry everything consumers want on their mobile devices and alleviates the challenge of running out of storage space on smartphones and tablets. Seagate Wireless provides a solution to stream your favorite HD video on your Android Tablet or Smartphone, iPad, iPhone, Kindle Fire, Windows 8 computers and Windows RT tablets.

The new Seagate Wireless drive comes in a range of vibrant colors. There is a color to coordinate with one's wardrobe, mood, or mobile accessories. Available Seagate Wireless color options include lime green, cool blue, slate grey, fire-engine red and white.

WD, a Western Digital company and world leader in storage solutions, will demonstrate the world's fastest 4 TB hybrid drive at the SATA-IO booth (#205) at Storage Visions 2015, January 4 to 5 in Las Vegas, NV. WD's prototype drive utilizes the SATA Express PCI-e interface, 4 TB 3.5-inch hybrid hard drive, and up to 128 GB solid state drive to deliver compelling performance and GB-per-dollar solutions for desktop and gaming applications.

The two WD SATA Express interface demonstrations at Storage Visions 2015 will include commercially available motherboards from WD partners ASRock and Gigabyte. These systems will demonstrate cabled SATA Express PCI-e interconnect flexibility and configuration options for single-volume caching and RAID.

In what is a repeat of the design issues Intel faced with its previous X79 Express chipset, over its integrated storage controller, leading to motherboard vendors redesigning their products with fewer SATA/SAS ports than the platform is capable of, the company is facing design troubles with its already-launched X99 Express chipset, which drives its latest Core i7-5xxx "Haswell-E" HEDT platform. Intel X99 Express is based on a common silicon, on which the company's enterprise C610 chipset is also based. On paper, it features as many as ten SATA 6 Gb/s ports. The storage controller has its own exclusive Rapid Storage Technology driver, marked "RSTe" on Intel's Download website.

Intel withdrew version 4.1.0.1046 of its RSTe drivers (even from the list of older drivers), and made its motherboard partners do the same. Replying to German publication Heise.de, ASUS explained that the driver was withdrawn because it doesn't support ATA TRIM command for SSDs striped in a RAID 0 array. The latest driver makes only six out of ten SATA 6 Gb/s ports visible to the operating system, and you can create RAID arrays using on these six ports. The other four ports become visible as part of a separate controller, only when a device is plugged into them. This controller is recognized by Windows' internal Standard AHCI controller driver. This also means that the four ports don't benefit from the SATA power management features the first six ports do, nor can they be part of a RAID array with drives plugged to the first six ports. Intel did not respond to the Heise article.

Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today introduced the Canvio AeroCast Wireless Hard Drive, an innovative device that blends the benefits of high-capacity external storage with the ultimate in wireless freedom. Users can connect to their Chromecast device (sold separately) to experience their personal digital content such as movies, music and photos - by downloading Toshiba's Google Cast Ready app to cast entertainment from the Canvio AeroCast Wireless Hard Drive to an HDTV. The 1TB Canvio AeroCast Wireless Hard Drive is a fast and reliable all-in-one device that helps manage storage needs wirelessly.

"Storage needs are changing. By understanding the importance of mobility, we have taken storage to the next level. With integrated wireless capabilities, we empower our users to share and stream their personal digital content the way they want, wirelessly," said Maciek Brzeski, vice president, Branded Storage, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "The Canvio AeroCast Wireless Hard Drive fills a real need for consumers - they're now able to enjoy the content that they own, wirelessly on the home television."

WD, a Western Digital company and storage industry leader, today announced the expansion of its award-winning WD Purple line of 3.5-inch hard drives for video surveillance applications, with the release of the 6 TB capacity. Video surveillance is a highly data-rich application within the "Internet of Things (IoT)" ecosystem. WD Purple hard drives excel in new and existing home and small business security system environments with up to eight hard drives and up to 32 high-definition (HD) video cameras. Available today, WD Purple hard drives are being offered in capacities from 1 TB up to 6 TB.

"Video surveillance has long been a pioneering Internet-of-Things application. Driven by machine-to-machine interaction between high-resolution, high-bit-rate video cameras and high-capacity surveillance video recorders, IoT applications bring access and big data analytics to improve user's security," said Matt Rutledge, senior vice president and general manager of WD's Storage Technology group. "WD Purple 6 TB drives enable innovation in this fast growing market."

WD, a Western Digital company and world leader in storage solutions, is expanding its business-class NAS portfolio with the WD Sentinel DX4200 storage server. The WD Sentinel DX4200 is a complete solution using Windows Storage Server, designed to meet the demands of today's small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs) by combining Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 workgroup operating system and the Intel Atom C2338 Dual Core CPU.

With up to 16 TB of capacity, the WD Sentinel DX4200 enables small businesses to expand their office storage by upgrading the drives as the demands of their businesses grow. The WD Sentinel DX4200 is an ideal backup solution and provides SMBs the advantages of on-premise centralized storage.

RAIDON InTANK iR2770 has a patented design that allows two 2.5" SATA HDD/SSD to be fitted into one 3.5"drive space! It's equipped with optional RAID 0 to enhance the speed of transfer compare to a regular hard drive or switch to RAID 1 for an efficient and securer data backup. RAIDON iR2770 internal RAID module supports SATA 6G/bs host interface and SATA 22 pin power supply; the connector location exactly the same with a 3.5"hard drive. Thus it is not necessary to install any other brackets but just install the iR2770 to existing operating system and then the system will be upgraded as a RAID storage to secure data!

With Removable Drive Trays, in a various application range, the unique design of SATA connection gives itself removable characteristics; through RAIDON's removable trays, removing and installing SATA hard drives is more comprehensive and secure. The secure removable hard drive trays, users can easily move the entire hard drive like moving an entire video library. Users no longer need to rummage through a stack of CDs/DVDs to look for a video. Let the removable tray design make your workflow faster and more convenient. RAIDON has already envisioned these application advantages for users.

OCZ Storage Solutions -- a Toshiba Group Company and leading provider of high-performance solid state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, will unveil its latest storage solutions at the 2014 Intel Developer Forum (IDF), September 9-11 at Moscone West, San Francisco. New drives to be showcased include the upcoming Saber 1000 SATA III Series which is designed to deliver the best cost per GB for hyperscale data center customers, and the innovative Z-Drive 6000 2.5-inch PCIe 3.0 NVMe series that provides industry-leading IOPS per dollar.

OCZ has long been a major supplier to customers in the hyperscale and cloud markets, and the new Saber 1000 SATA III SSD was conceptualized and designed with key input from customers within this space to offer the best of both worlds with an enterprise-optimized feature-set, high capacity, and exceptional price point. Because these massive scalable infrastructures require premium yet practical storage, Saber 1000 is designed to be a more cost-effective solution than traditional enterprise-grade SSDs, effectively eliminating I/O bottlenecks and maximizing storage efficiency to meet the evolving demands of the fast growing hyperscale and cloud computing markets. Based off the proven OCZ Barefoot 3 platform which delivers superior and sustainable performance, Saber 1000 also provides enhanced data integrity with the addition of features like partial power fail protection and will also leverage the latest generation A19 NAND flash from Toshiba.

Toshiba Corporation and SanDisk Corporation today celebrated the opening of the second phase of the No. 5 semiconductor fabrication facility (Fab 5) and the start of construction of the new No. 2 fabrication facility (Fab 2) at Yokkaichi Operations, Toshiba's NAND Flash memory plant in Mie prefecture, Japan.

Toshiba started construction of the second phase of Fab 5 in August 2013, and Toshiba and SanDisk have overseen installation of production equipment in the expanded facility since July this year. Production in phase 2 began at the start of this month, with 15 nm NAND flash memory process technology, the world's smallest and most advanced node. Toshiba and SanDisk announced deployment of this jointly developed 15 nm NAND flash process in April this year, with initial production in part of Fab 5 phase 1, and now target conversion of the remaining capacity in phase 1 to the new process technology.

Toshiba Europe GmbH (TEG) Storage Peripherals Division today announces the launch of the Canvio AeroMobile wireless SSD, combining the convenience and capacity of portable storage with the durability and performance of solid state drives. The pocket-sized SSD has integrated wireless functionality and a high-speed USB 3.0 port, allowing you to transfer your precious data seamlessly between up to eight devices at a time - wherever you are.

Available in light gold, the stylish Canvio AeroMobile is the must-have central storage hub for your smartphone, laptop, tablet and PC. Offering 128 GB of storage, the SSD comes with expanded memory via the built-in SD card slot - doubling as a backup solution for your holiday snaps, family videos and personal data. For added peace of mind, SSD technology resists shocks and vibrations better than conventional drives and the improved battery life allows for up to 8 hours of continuous video streaming.

WD, a Western Digital company and a world leader in connected storage solutions, today unveiled My Passport Wireless, an easy to use Wi-Fi enabled storage drive that allows consumers to save, access and share stored content wirelessly with any smartphone, tablet, computer or other device. For the frequent business traveler to the family on a road trip or creative professional working in the field, the My Passport Wireless drive is a simple way to connect all computing and mobile devices to content without any wires or Internet connection. Additionally, when users need to transfer large amounts of data, the My Passport Wireless drive provides the option of using a high speed USB 3.0 connection.

"As we celebrate its 10th anniversary, the success of WD's My Passport line of portable hard drives is unprecedented," explains Jim Welsh, executive vice president, WD Content Solutions Business and worldwide sales. "Our new My Passport Wireless drive continues the evolution, resolving a common problem for today's mobile consumer; too many devices with limited storage and no way to offload their content and free up space on-the-go. Now, consumers will have one drive to easily store content from all their devices and enjoy that content anywhere they go."

The storage business is one of Toshiba's strategic focus businesses, alongside energy and healthcare. Our data storage products, such as HDD and SSD, are the key components of the storage business, along with NAND Flash, and we will make our business more competitive and larger by supporting cloud and social network service businesses that are expected to see rapid expansion.

HDD responsible for storing large amount of data and SSD responsible for high speed processing are seen as co-existing, complementing each other's characteristics. While offering a wide line-up of storage products, our main focus will be the enterprise market and the following products and targets.

• Near line HDD: Expand market share by increasing the capacity.
• Enterprise SSD: Gain market share by utilizing advantages of in-house NAND flash memory and expanding line-up for high speed processing storage at data centers.

The worldwide personal and entry-level storage (PELS) market was up by 1.5% year over year with almost 17 million units shipped in the second quarter of 2014 (2Q14), according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Personal and Entry Level Storage Tracker. Shipment values increased along with unit shipments by 1.8% from a year ago to $1.5 billion.

Hard disk drive (HDD) vendors continued to increase their share of PELS units shipped, gaining 3.3 points year over year to grow to 77.6% market share in 2Q14. Although the entry-level storage market continued to be dominated by the mainstream non-HDD vendors with 58.8% unit shipment market share, their market share was down 13.0 points year over year.