QNAP Systems, Inc. today launched the all-new TS-x28A series NAS for entry-level home users, including the TS-128A and TS-228A models. The TS-x28A series provides complete multimedia storage, sharing and streaming functions, and complete file and data protection capabilities (including snapshots) to meet increasing data protection needs for home users. The launch of the TS-x28A series also marks the milestone of all QNAP NAS on the market being able to benefit from snapshot protection. Users can now enjoy more features, stronger protection, and more cost-effective NAS.

The TS-x28A series features a Realtek RTD1295 quad-core 1.40 GHz processor with 1 GB RAM, providing abundant performance for home multimedia/data storage needs. The TS-x28A series also comes with QTS 4.3.4, the latest version of QNAP's award-winning operating system. QTS 4.3.4 introduces enhanced snapshot features with lowered hardware resource requirements, allowing NAS with 1 GB RAM to benefit from snapshot protection. Users of the TS-x28A series will enjoy these advanced data protection capabilities alongside other amazing applications for multimedia, sharing, backup and data storage at an attractive price point.

HighPoint announced the RocketU 1344A, a USB 3.1 gen 2 add-on card, which puts out four type-A ports. Its USP is guaranteed 10 Gbps bandwidth for each of the four ports at all times. A PLX PCI-Express gen 3.0 bridge chip segments a PCI-Express 3.0 x4 interface into two gen 3.0 x2 connections to ASMedia-made 2-port USB 3.1 controllers. Each controller is fed with 20 Gbps of bus bandwidth, and hence the overhead on each port is minimized. This card is ideal for systems that don't support PCIe bifurcation. The company didn't reveal pricing.

We headed to the GIGABYTE Aorus booth at the 2018 International CES to check out the only motherboard based on AMD's upcoming 400-series chipset visible in the entire show, the Aorus X470 Gaming 7. We snapped a lot of pictures. The first thing that caught our attention is the board's updated styling, which resembles the one GIGABYTE introduced with its Intel Z370-series motherboards. The second thing of course, was two 32 Gb/s M.2 slots, confirming that AMD has indeed addressed 300-series chipset's greatest shortcoming - lack of PCIe gen 3.0 general purpose lanes. Since the AM4 SoC puts out 4 gen 3.0 general purpose lanes of its own, which wired to one 32 Gb/s M.2 slot on 300-series motherboards, the new 400-series boards will have at least two of these slots, one wired to the AM4 SoC, and another to the chipset.

The Aorus X470 Gaming 7 could become the company's flagship socket AM4 product based on AMD X470 chipset. It's been designed as such. Built in the ATX form-factor, the board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, and 4-pin ATX power connectors. A 12-phase VRM supplies power to the AM4 SoC. It's interesting to note that GIGABYTE chose some very high-current chokes for the chip's main voltage domains. The VRM heatsinks, too, are elaborate aluminium fin-stack types, with the two heatsinks spreading heat over a heat pipe. Is this a telltale sign that certain Ryzen 2 parts could have >95W TDP? The CPU socket is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots, two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x8/x8 when both are populated), and one of the two M.2 slots (we're guessing the top M.2-22110 slot). Both it, and the bottom M.2-2280 slots have included heatsinks. Other expansion slots include an x16 (electrical x4) slot wired to the chipset, and two x1 slots, which are all gen 3.0.

Silverstone at CES 2018 also showcased some number of cases and storage solutions that the company hopes to carve its way through the market with. There's an interesting 4x M.2 Drive bay, for instance, which occupies a traditional 3.5" bay but gives users the option to mount up to 4x M.2 SSD drives; there's a 2.5" SSD expansion bay (EXB01) that allows for hot-swapping of SSDs mounted on the rack; an M.2 to PCIe adapter with embedded heatsink and LEDs, as well as a PCIe Gen3 x16 to an NVMe drive adapter.

Mushkin at CES 2018 also announced other products in addition to their Triactor and Helix-L, Pilot SSD products. Still on the SSD side of the announcements, Mushkin also introduced their new external SSD solution, the CarbonEXT. The CarbonEXT delivers data through its USB 3.1 interface, which is fed by 120 GB - 1 TB memory capacities via a Silicon Motion SM2258XT controller (SSD), and an ASMedia solution (ASMedia ASM1153E) for the USB interface. This combination of components delivers maximum sequential throughput of up to 450 MB/s, in a 93 x 50 x 13 mm package with black and sandblasted gun metal trim finish aesthetics.

Mushkin's Silverline DRAM heatsink is Mushkin's new revision of an already launched product, built with aircraft-grade aluminum for fast heat dissipation. These modules are for both budget and look-conscious gamers and DIY's, with Mushkin promising a pretty palatable price-tag for users that pick up these "head-turning" diamond cut design heatsinks.

Thermaltake, a leading premium gaming tower manufacturer, announced the immediate availability of the new Thermaltake View 91 Tempered Glass RGB Edition Super Tower Chassis at CES 2018 at the Venetian Hotel Veronese 2402 Suite from January 9th (Tue) to 12th (Fri). Boasting the trio huge 5mm thick tempered glass panels for internal components show-off, the View 91 TG RGB delivers a sleek look to complement its excellent cooling.

Apart from the four built-in 140mm Riing Plus LED RGB Fans, which offer patented 16.8 million colors LED ring, 12 single controllable LEDs, and are digitally PWM controlled through the patented Riing Plus RGB Software, the View 91 TG RGB can accommodate up to two large 200mm fans on top, three 140mm fans at the bottom, while there is still space for up to six 200mm fans inside the enclosure. Speaking of hardware support, this XL-ATX super tower is engineered as a high-end workstation to include a USB 3.1 Type-C port for extra data transfer speed, and has room for up to twelve 3.5"/2.5" HDDs plus "10+2" expansion slots. It supports CPU coolers up to 200mm in height, VGA lengths up to 600mm, and PSU sizes up to 220mm in length, and the latest AIO/DIY liquid cooling solutions.

ASUS today announced its latest lineup of small form factor products at CES 2018 in Las Vegas, including the PB40 and PN40 Mini PCs, Chromebox 3 and Tinker Board S. This year's innovations offer compactness and versatility for a variety of usage scenarios without compromising quality or performance.

With the new PB40 and PN40 Mini PCs, users can enjoy the power of a computer with the convenience of a compact and portable device, whether for work or play. The latest Chromebox 3 lets users enjoy their favorite Android apps for both home and educational entertainment, with the full power of an 8th Generation Intel Core processor. And with the new ASUS Tinker Board S, DIY enthusiasts can enjoy class-leading performance for turning their creative ideas into reality.

Kingston showed off its HyperX Savage EXO external SSD, targeted at notebook gamers, and game console users, so you could easily swap out game install folders of multiple games on the fly. Built in a compact, yet rugged polycarbonate chassis, the drive comes in capacities of 480 GB and 960 GB, implementing 3D TLC NAND flash memory. The drive takes advantage of USB 3.1 gen 2 (10 Gbps) interface, offering sequential transfer rates of up to 490 MB/s reads, and up to 480 MB/s writes (something not possible with USB 3.1 gen 1, due to interface overhead). Both type-A and type-C cables come included with the drive, a single cable handles both power and host-connectivity.

ASRock today unveiled the industry's first micro-ATX form-factor motherboard for AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors, the X399M Taichi. The board supports a full-featured Threadripper HEDT build. Drawing power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, it uses an 8-phase VRM to power the CPU. MOSFETs of this VRM vent heat onto both a smaller primary heatsink, and a larger secondary heatsink, via a heat-pipe. The TR4 socket is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots, supporting quad-channel DDR4 memory; and three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (from which at least two run at full x16 bandwidth at all times).

Storage connectivity on the ASRock X399M Taichi includes three 32 Gb/s M.2 slots, one 32 Gb/s U.2 port, and eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Networking connectivity includes 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.x WLAN, and two 1 GbE interfaces. USB connectivity includes eight USB 3.0 and two USB 3.1 (including a type-C) ports on the rear panel, and four USB 3.0 ports via headers. ASRock deployed its highest-grade onboard audio solution, which takes advantage of a 120 dBA SNR CODEC, audio-grade capacitors, and ground-layer isolation. The company will showcase this board at the 2018 International CES.

Today Intel is announcing the Intel Thunderbolt 3 controller JHL7x40 series, code named Titan Ridge. Comprised of three controllers, the JHL7x40 series is a compatible extension of the current line of Intel JHL6x40 Thunderbolt 3 controllers, code named Alpine Ridge. The JHL7540 and 7340 controllers provide computer makers the same Thunderbolt 3 40Gb/s performance and feature set as Alpine Ridge, and also adds DisplayPort 1.4 capability for increased video performance.

The JHL7440 controller was specifically designed for Thunderbolt 3 monitor and enterprise dock makers who choose to offer basic compatibility when a Thunderbolt 3 monitor or dock is connected to a USB-C computer port. To accomplish this, the JHL7440 controller integrates USB-C computer port compatibility so a Thunderbolt 3 monitor or dock can intelligently provide more performance and features when connected to a Thunderbolt 3 computer port, and basic compatibility when the Thunderbolt 3 monitor or dock is connected to a USB-C computer port. Additionally, as with the other controllers in the JHL7x40 series, the JHL7440 supports DisplayPort 1.4.

ADAM elements will be present at this year's CES in Las Vegas and showcase a new member of its highly successful and multi-awarded storage extension family for Apple's iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices - the iKlips II. Connected to any of these via the Lightning interface, users can easily free up space on their mobile devices and use the iKlips app, now updated to version 4, for a multitude of other tasks.

Extra storage for iOS devices
The Apple MFI-certified (made for iPhone/iPad/iPod) iKlips II comes with both a Lightning and a USB 3.1 connector, so data exchange between iOS devices and a macOS or Windows computer is a breeze. Available with capacities of 32, 64 and 128 GB, these stylish flash drives support the exFAT file system, so there is no limit to the size of individual files. The iKlips II comes with a 3-year warranty. It will be available in the colors grey or red from mid-January 2018. Prices (MSRP) are as follow: £50 for the 32 GB, £70 for the 64 GB and £90 for the 128 GB version.

MSI, one of the world leading motherboard developers, is pleased to introduce the new Mini-ITX B350I PRO AC motherboard, ready for AMD SocketAM4 and the latest RYZEN processors. Building a small form factor PC, whether it's for professional, multimedia or gaming use, has never been more interesting on the AM4 platform with this comprehensive, feature packed solution.

A strong 9-phase PWM design (6+2+1), unseen on any AM4 Mini-ITX motherboard, the use of Military Class components and inclusion of DDR4 Boost, ensures a perfectly stable system under any condition with top performance. It also features DisplayPort, a HDMI output and 2x pin headers for RGB strips.The new B350I PRO AC even comes with Mystic Light, allowing anyone to change the system LED colors while applying lighting effects.

The only other active x86 architecture licensee than AMD, VIA Technologies, is planning a comeback to the x86 processor market, bolstered by R&D investment by Shanghai Zhaoxin Semiconductor. VIA and Zhaoxin have been co-developing the ZX family of x86 processors for rollout in 2018, and at least on paper, the chips appear to have the chops to take on Intel's "Gemini Lake" SoCs. The new VIA-Zhaoxin combine CPU family begins with the KX-5000 "Wudaoku" SoCs launched late-2017. These are full-fledged SoCs, which completely integrate the chipset (including the southrbidge).

The KX-5000 chips feature 4 or 8 CPU cores without SMT, 2.00-2.20 GHz nominal CPU clock, 2.40 GHz boost clock, a dual-channel DDR4 IMC, a PCI-Express gen 3.0 root complex, an integrated graphics core, and platform I/O that includes SATA 6 Gbps, and USB 3.1 gen 2. This chip debuted on only one product from a major OEM, the Lenovo M6200 desktop model launched in China. 2018 could see a broader launch of VIA-Zhaoxin chips, with the KX-6000. While the older chips were built on the 28 nm process, the KX-6000 series will be built on the newer 16 nm process, feature 4 or 8 CPU cores clocked at speeds of up to 3.00 GHz, while retaining the feature-set of the KX-5000 series. These chips could realistically be touted as low-cost alternatives to Intel "Gemini Lake" SoCs, although Zhaoxin is making bold claims about its performance nearing that of AMD Ryzen processors.

To complement the release of the highly anticipated new Define R6, Fractal Design announces two accompanying accessories to even further expand the capabilities of the new case, both visually and technologically. The Connect D1 upgrade kit enhances speed and convenience with full USB 3.1 Gen 2 support and the latest Type-C connector. The Connect D1, available for purchase in early 2018, enables fast charging and blazing 10Gbps transfer speeds on compatible motherboards and devices with hassle-free bidirectional Type-C connections.

The Flex VRC-25 offers a unique step-up in style as a vertical PCI-E riser card and extender, making your graphics card the outward facing centerpiece of your build. Coming late January, R6 owners can free their GPU from the bounds of traditional mounting with confidence knowing the Flex VCR-25 is stress-tested for guaranteed stable, uncompromised performance. The Flex VCR-25's patented shielded overlap cable and riser card solution is specially fitted with custom standoffs for the Define R6, ensuring every installation is as clean-looking, reliable and rock-solid as the case itself.

EVGA introduces you to the ultimate in raw performance for the next-gen Intel Extreme lineup, the EVGA X299 Dark. The Dark is crafted from the ground up to be the performance apex with everything you need to make a record-breaking benching run or a 24/7 number cruncher, and nothing you don't - a board that is as reliable as it is fast.

Transcend Information Inc., a leading manufacturer of storage and multimedia products, is proud to announce the release of the StoreJet 200 for Mac portable hard drive. This large capacity, elegantly designed, and lightweight drive is an instantly classic accessory for Mac devices. Featuring the USB 3.1 Gen 1 interface, a USB Type-C connector, and pre-formatted with the HFS+ file system, the StoreJet 200 is ready to go right out of the package.

Lightweight and capacious
Transcend's StoreJet 200 for Mac is only 9.95 mm thick and weighs in at just 133g, making it the perfect storage companion for work or travel. In addition to its portability and sleek design, the StoreJet 200 for Mac has a storage capacity of 2TB, allowing users to enjoy their digital life wherever they may roam.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash products, today launched i-Memory AI720 flash drive that is chic in style. The Apple MFi-certified AI720 is merely 7.5mm thick and comes with both Lightning and USB 3.1 connectors. Thanks to its unique save-as-you-record function for 4K video, high-resolution videos will no longer occupy much space in your mobile phone. The AI720 supports strong encryption and has been designed to resist water and dust for more care-free user mobility thanks to nano coating technology. The AI720 is available in 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities, with gold and gray schemes.

Dual connectivity, one elegant and stylish design
The AI720 is lightweight, thin, and beautifully shaped, making it a perfect match for iOS devices. It features a longer lightning connector to fit iOS devices perfectly even if the cover is extra thick or padded. And the metallic sandblasted surface not only makes it elegant, also fingerprint-resistant. The AI720 is available in two fashionable colors- gold and gray, for an urban vibe.

ASUS CEO Jerry Shen today announced ASUS NovaGo (TP370) at the second annual Snapdragon Technology Summit in Maui, Hawaii. NovaGo is the world's first Gigabit LTE-capable laptop designed for truly connected mobility, providing users with an always-on, always-connected experience. This ultrathin and light convertible laptop is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Mobile PC platform, and features a Gigabit Snapdragon X16 LTE modem for download speeds exceeding that of typical home Wi-Fi. It has up to a 22-hour battery life with over 30 days of modern standby, and a built-in eSIM that ensures seamless connectivity across borders.

Mr. Shen joined Executive Vice President of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and President, Qualcomm CDMA Technologies Cristiano Amon onstage during the keynote speech of the three-day event. "Today marks the beginning of a new era of personal computing and ASUS is very proud to be paving the way with Qualcomm Technologies and other partners to develop this new landscape for 'Always Connected' Windows on Snapdragon PCs. ASUS NovaGo reinvents the concept of laptop connectivity and productivity - it's the world's first laptop that is connected anywhere, at any time, with the new Gigabit LTE network; and lasts up to 22 hours on a single charge for beyond all-day battery life," said Mr. Shen.

ORIGIN PC launched upgraded models of their award-winning EON15-X, EON17-X, and EON17-SLX high-performance gaming laptops and their ORIGIN ND-17, NS-17 and NS-15 professional high-performance laptops today. Gamers, enthusiasts, and professionals all over the world can unleash mobile dominance with ORIGIN PC's new EON, ND and NS laptops featuring Intel's latest 8th generation "Coffee Lake" desktop processors up to an Intel Core i7 8700K and with ORIGIN PC's benchmark-breaking professional CPU overclocking.

Thanks to ORIGIN PC's CPU overclocking and Intel's 8th generation Core processors you can easily live stream your gameplay experiences, record gameplay, edit clips, and post your epic highlights faster than ever on the go! The new EON, ND and NS laptops also feature support for up to DUAL NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics, up to 64GB of DDR4 Memory, PCIe NVMe m.2 drives in RAID, and optional 1080p 120Hz displays or 4K displays; both with NVIDIA G-SYNC support.

QNAP today launched the all-new QBoat Sunny, a small and powerful single-board Internet of Things (IoT) mini server for IoT developers. QBoat Sunny can connect to versatile IoT development boards, devices and applications, and be used as a server for small-scale/private IoT applications, or a fog computing node/gateway in large-scale/public IoT environments. The high-performance QBoat Sunny can save significant bandwidth fees and cloud computing costs for developers, and integrate into various usage scenarios.

QBoat Sunny provides unprecedented processing and storage performance with its Annapurna Labs AL-314 processor, 2 GB RAM and two M.2 SATA SSD slots (2260 and 2280 lengths). In addition, QBoat Sunny is equipped with three 1000BASE-T ports, two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type A ports, and a M.2 slot for wireless module installation (2230 length). QBoat Sunny utilizes QTS Lite, a lightweight version of QNAP's award-winning QTS operating system. QTS Lite not only preserves core functionality of QTS (including File Station, Storage Manager, Network & Virtual Switch and App Center) but also provides Container Station and QIoT Suite Lite for IoT developers. QBoat Sunny offers great hardware/software performance and expandability for building versatile IoT scenarios to streamline development and make IoT more accessible and fun for everyone.

Do your hard drives become idle when you upgraded your computer? Instead of having them retired, with Apacer AD100 and AD300 external enclosures, they can serve new purposes! Equipped with SATA III and USB 3.1 Gen 1 high speed interface with UASP, both models come with enhanced transmission speeds that are up to 400 MB per second. AD100 is built with high-strength steel and plastic for better protection. AD300, on the other hand, is crafted with aluminum alloy, complete with especially designed cooling holes for better heat dissipation. Both enclosures are built with tool-free designs for fast installation, easily turning the unused hard drives into external storage solutions.

The brand new AD100 and AD300 external enclosures are designed especially for 9.5mm and 7mm 2.5-inch HDD/SSD. The SATA III and USB 3.1 Gen 1 interface with UASP significantly improve the transmission performance which is test proven to reach 400 MB/s when operating with a SSD, representing a 73% increase in read speed compared to an enclosure without UASP. Also, the read speed can reach 100 MB/s when operated with a conventional hard drive. AD100 and AD300 make your unused hard drives become high-speed portable storage solutions.

ASUS today introduced the WS X299 SAGE motherboard, a socket LGA2066 motherboard designed for Intel Core X "Skylake-X" processors, in the SSI-CEB form-factor. This board is targeted at the same quasi-workstation crowd that the company's WS X299 Pro and WS X299 Pro SE are designed for, but unlike the latter, it lacks an iKVM remote-management chip. Those looking for more serious workstation builds involving something from Intel's Xeon stable or even 2P setups, should consider the larger WS C621E SAGE. The WS X299 SAGE is targeted at those who need the massive PCIe loadout of the C621E SAGE, but can make do with 1P Core X processors.

The ASUS WS X299 SAGE draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, two 8-pin EPS, and a 6-pin PCIe power. An 8-phase VRM powers the CPU, and is rated to power 16-core and 18-core CPU models. The CPU socket is wired to eight DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 128 GB of quad-channel DDR4 memory; and seven PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots. Storage connectivity includes eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports, and two each of 32 Gb/s M.2 slots and 32 Gb/s U.2 ports. Four USB 3.1 gen 2 ports, two 1 GbE interfaces, and a dozen USB 3.0 ports make for the rest of it. The company didn't reveal pricing.

QNAP Systems, Inc. has joined forces with Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) to roll out the world's first Ryzen-based NAS - the high-end business TS-x77 series (available in 6 , 8 , and 12 -bay models). Featuring processors with up to 8-cores/16-threads (with Turbo Core up to 3.7 GHz), SSD caching, and with support for graphics cards, the TS-x77 delivers incredible processing power for driving resource-demanding applications such as VDI, server virtualization, private cloud, and 4K video playback/transcoding.

The TS-x77 series includes models with AMD Ryzen 7 1700 (8-cores/16-threads) and AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (6-cores/12-threads) processors that support AES-NI encryption acceleration and up to 64 GB DDR4 RAM. Two M.2 SATA 6 GB/s SSD slots are provided for cache acceleration or high-performance storage pools. Every model in the series provides USB 3.1 Gen2 10Gbps Type-A and Type-C ports, and three PCIe slots for incredible expansion potential. Supported PCIe devices include a graphics card, 10GbE/40GbE NICs, PCIe NVMe SSD, USB 3.1 expansion cards, and QM2 cards (that add additional M.2 SSDs or 10GbE connectivity). Incorporating incredible performance, reliability and scalability, the TS-x77 series provides an exceptional storage solution for diverse business IT environments.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of highperformance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories today launchedthe UV220 and UV330 USB Flash drives, adding to its extensive range of portable storage devices. The UV220 works in USB 2.0 and is offered in up to 64GB, while the UV320 operates in much faster USB 3.1 and ships in up to 128GB. The two share a capless design where the connector extends and retracts using a quick-slide mechanism. ADATA remains committed to its USB Flash drive global leadership role and will continue releasing new models as market needs evolve.

From USB 2.0 to USB 3.1 5Gbps, ADATA recognizes demand for diverse USB Flash drives remains strong. Consumers want functionality, style, and ease of use as well as affordability. Hence ADATA delivers: from the entry-level UV220 to the vastly speedier UV320, and their many contemporaries in the ADATA catalog. From 16GB UV220s to 128GB UV320, just these two classic models cover much ground and offer a wealth of options for users that need to quickly save and move data.

Akasa today introduced the Galileo ST, its fanless chassis for the mini-STX form-factor. The cuboidal pedestal chassis features two compartments. Two-thirds of it is the main compartment with the motherboard tray and room for drive bays and connectivity, while a third of it is a large aluminium heatsink for passively cooling the CPU. Two 6 mm-thick copper heat pipes draw heat from the CPU base, pushing it through this heatsink, where it's passively cooled. The heatsink can handle Intel LGA115x CPUs with TDP of up to 35W.

Measuring 300.6 mm x 154 mm x 58.5 mm (WxDxH), the case is made almost entirely of brushed aluminium with diamond-cut edges. The case can hold up to two 2.5-inch drives. Other nifty features include holes for WLAN antennae, front-panel connectivity with one each of type-A and type-C USB 3.1 ports (standard header), and HDA audio jacks. The company didn't reveal pricing.