Pioneer Japan sent out a press release today, announcing two new 16x Blu-ray Disc writers, the BDR-S12J-X And BDR-S12J-B. Both drives are equipped with a Serial ATA Revision 3.0 interface and are capable of 16x BD-R, 14x BD-R DL, 8x BD-R LTH, 2x BD-RE and 2x BD-RE DL writing speeds and a maximum BD-ROM read speed of 12x. The BDR-S12J-X And BDR-S12J-B also write to triple-layer (100GB) BD-R media at 8x, quad-layer (128GB) BD-R media at 6x and triple-layer (100GB) BD-RE media at 2x.

What makes the BDR-S12J-X And BDR-S12J-B unique is their ability to play back Ultra HD Blu-ray content. When installed in a Windows 10 PC with the included PowerDVD software and an i7 or i5 Kaby Lake processor, users can play back movies at 4K resolutions. The two drives also ship with authoring software from CyberLink and are equipped with Pioneer's PureRead4+ technology, which greatly improves the reading performance of scratched and dirty discs.

The top of the line BDR-S12J-X also adopts a low resistance flat cable, anti-vibration parts and high gloss, hard coat UV paint. In addition, it has the ability to check and display the playback quality of an audio CD (CD-DA) and, in the case of a low quality level, recommend the settings for optimal playback.

OWC, a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company, has released the second generation of their super-fast ThunderBlade external SSD, with a lower price point and improved performance. For creative professionals and prosumers who work to capture and process 4K or 8K video, the updated ThunderBlade Gen 2 can be the difference between staying under budget and on-schedule on a project - or not.

The new ThunderBlade is stackable and runs cooler than the previous iteration, while still maintaining a near-silent environment with its fanless operation, all factors that can be critical in an operation on the go or in a tight space. With dual Thunderbolt 3 ports users can daisy-chain up to five additional ThunderBlades, and by connecting more than one drive with SoftRAID, speeds can be increased up to 3800MB/s. The newest ThunderBlade can complete a 1TB content transfer in under four-and-a-half minutes.

CDRLabs has taken an in depth look at Samsung's latest consumer NVMe SSD, the 970 EVO Plus. Specially designed for tech enthusiasts, hardcore gamers, and professionals who need unrivaled performance, this M.2 form factor drive is powered by Samsung's proven Phoenix controller and is equipped with a PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe 1.3 interface. The 970 EVO Plus also integrates Samsung's fifth generation V-NAND technology with a sophisticatedly tuned firmware to achieve significant performance improvements as well as increased power efficiency over its predecessor, the 970 EVO.

Samsung Electronics America, today introduced the Samsung 970 EVO Plus, the newest enhancement in its Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) SSD portfolio. With industry-leading performance and up to two terabytes in capacity, Samsung’s 970 EVO Plus sets a new bar for high-performance storage, enabling IT professionals, tech enthusiasts and gamers to handle intensive workloads on PCs and workstations with more ease.

“Since introducing the first NVMe SSDs to the consumer market in 2015, Samsung has continued to challenge technical barriers in SSD design and performance,” said Dr. Mike Mang, vice president of Brand Product Marketing, Memory Business at Samsung Electronics. “The new 970 EVO Plus powered by Samsung’s latest fifth-generation V-NAND technology will now offer unrivaled performance in its class when taking on demanding tasks like 4K content editing, 3D modeling and simulation as well as heavy gaming.”

Transcend Information Inc., a leading manufacturer of storage and multimedia products, is proud to announce the MTE220S PCIe M.2 Solid-State Drive. This SSD utilizes PCI Express Gen3 x4 interface and is compatible with NVM Express (NVMe) specifications. Utilizing this interface means never-before-seen transfer speeds of 3,500 MB/s read and 2,800 MB/s write are now a reality. Using 3D chips and packing into a M.2 2280 form factor, the MTE220S SSD is the must-have for gaming enthusiasts and high-end applications!

Unparalleled reliability at 3,500 MB/s
Transcend's MTE220S SSD comes equipped with DDR3 DRAM cache memory. This means that commonly used programs load much faster, and boot time is greatly reduced. Utilizing SLC caching, the MTE220S SSD can reach astonishing read/write speeds of 3,500 MB/s and 2,800 MB/s, respectively, and 4K Random performance is also significantly improved. In addition to speeds, reliability is also enhanced with the Low Density Parity Check code in place.

Western Digital Corp. today introduced its second-generation, high-performance WD Black SN750 NVMe SSD with up to 2TB capacity on a single-sided M.2 form factor, and will be showcasing a version for desktop systems or custom-built gaming rigs, which has an integrated heatsink that helps maintain speed and temperature. This enhanced drive enables gamers and hardware enthusiasts to snag a tangible, next-level competitive boost during intense PC gameplay.

Advancements in PC and graphics technologies are taking PC gaming to new heights. To take advantage of the increasingly immersive and responsive in-game experiences, gamers must navigate several challenges, including higher performance demands and large file sizes, with some games approaching file sizes exceeding 100GB. Top-level transfer speeds give users near-instant access to their games and files, getting them back into game action more quickly and boosting the system’s overall responsiveness.

BIOSTAR has announced the S100 Plus series SSD, an affordable solid state drive (SSD) with outstanding performance for laptop and desktop computer upgrades. Built in a beautifully designed 2.5-inch unibody with ultra-slim 7.0mm casing, featuring an ultra-stable shock-proof design. The S100 Plus Series SSDs are available in 240GB and 480GB, making upgrading or replacing previous generation storage more accessible than ever.

With the SATA3 6GB/s interface, the S100 240GB Plus has sequential read/write speeds of 510MB/s and 370MB/s, and the S100 480GB Plus with read/write speeds of 540MB/s and 460MB/s to achieve ultra-fast game or software access. Compared with traditional hard drives, the read/write speed is an improvement of up to 200-300% in performance, which offers a whole new gaming and work experience.