Today, CDRLabs brings you a review of Plextor's new TLC NAND-based PCIe SSD, the M8Se. Targeted at entry-level gamers, this M.2 form factor drive is powered by Marvell's 88SS1093 "Eldora" controller and is available with up to 1TB of Toshiba's 15nm TLC NAND flash. To compensate for the slow write speeds typically associated with TLC NAND, the M8Se uses Plextor's exclusive PlexNitro cache acceleration technology to optimize performance without taking up any space on the drive. The M8Se is also equipped with a PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe 1.2 interface to provide higher bandwidth and lower latency than SATA SSDs.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash products, today launched its XPG GAMMIX product series, first shown at Computex 2017. The debut consists of the GAMMIX S10 PCIe3x4 NVMe 1.2 M.2 2280 SSD, capable of 1800MB/s read and 850MB/s write thanks to premium 3D NAND in up to 1TB capacity. The S10 features a stylish heatsink for expedited heat dissipation. It is joined by GAMMIX D10 DDR4 memory modules, which likewise boast a custom heatshield to ensure lower temperatures and more stable performance. They are offed in black and red colors, and in up to 3000MHz factory speeds with a starting speed of 2666MHz on new Intel X299 motherboards. The GAMMIX line provides gamers, PC DIY enthusiasts, and overclockers with additional options that combine performance and design, stemming from the core XPG mission statement of ensuring better experiences.

GAMMIX S10: PCIe3x4 NVMe 1.2 M.2 with a cool twist
With speeds up to 1800MB/s read and 850MB/s write, the S10 leverages the efficiency of the M.2 2280 form factor and the NVMe 1.2 protocol to better serve performance seekers, from gamers to graphics professionals. It cuts down data transfer waits, loading times, and seek latency, and packs up to 1TB 3D TLC NAND driven by an SMI controller. The custom-designed XPG heatsink ensures temperatures are at least 10 degrees Celsius lower than non-shielded M.2 SSDs, promoting stability and longevity. DRAM and SLC caching help maintain peak performance, with read/write IOPS ratings of 130K/140K. The S10 further supports LDPC error correction, and has a 2 million hour mean time before failure rating. It arrives backed by a 5-year warranty. In addition to 1TB, customers can choose from 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB models.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories today launched the HD710 Pro durable external hard drive alongside an addition to the best-selling HD650 range. The HD710 Pro improves on its HD710 predecessor by exceeding IP68 dust and water proofing plus military-grade shock resistance. It enhances the safeguarding of stored data against accidents, damage, and the rigors of active lifestyles, and is available in four colors. The HD710 Pro offers up to 4TB capacity. The refreshed HD650 arrives in a stylish light blue over black color scheme, also providing 4TB capacity – a new milestone for unpowered USB external hard drives. Together, these two new USB 3.1 models bolster the ADATA external hard drive portfolio, giving consumers more choice.

HD710 Pro: more durable and bigger than before
The original HD710 proved quite successful for ADATA on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS. The HD710 Pro improves on it with enhanced dust and water proofing that boosts its durability for use in harsh environments and the outdoors. It exceeds IEC IP68 requirements, being completely dust-tight and able to withstand up to 60-minute submersion in 2 meters of water. It also meets and passes MIL-STD 810G 516.6 requirements, surviving shocks and impacts associated with drops from up to 1.5 meters. The HD710 Pro uses a custom triple-layered protective build and implements G-Shock sensor technology that stops and restarts drive activity when shocks or vibrations are detected to prevent data corruption. The drive features an ergonomic USB port cover for effortless open/close, and a useful wraparound groove for storing its USB cable. Red, yellow, and blue variants are available in 1TB/2TB, while the black version goes up to 3TB/4TB.

 In addition to a new metallic look, the drive offers intuitive WD Discovery™ software to help consumers easily back up photos, videos and important documents shared and created across multiple social networks, cloud services and devices. The My Passport Ultra drive is the ideal storage solution for consumers who want to consolidate and preserve all aspects of their digital lives.

Today's consumers have multiple social media accounts, and according to Parks Associates research, use an average of three public cloud services per household like Dropbox, Google Drive™ or Microsoft OneDrive, all of which increases their digital footprint. With so many ways to create, share and store content, there is a growing need for solutions that enable consumers to consolidate all of this crucial data. The My Passport Ultra drive with WD Discovery software makes it easier than ever to back up content from popular social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. With a few simple steps, users can download all of their content, including tagged photos and videos from Facebook, onto the drive. WD Discovery software is also an excellent way for users to keep a local copy of files they've stored on their favorite public cloud services.

Toshiba Memory Corporation, the world leader in memory solutions, today announced development of the world’s first BiCS FLASH™ three-dimensional (3D) flash memory with a stacked cell structure. The newest BiCS FLASH™ device is the first to deliver 4-bit-per-cell (quadruple-level cell, QLC) technology, advancing capacity beyond that of triple-level cell (TLC) devices and pushing the boundaries of flash memory technology.

Multi-bit cell flash memories store data by managing the number of electrons in each individual memory cell. Achieving QLC technology posed a series of technical challenges, as increasing the number of bit-per-cell by one within same electron count requires twice the accuracy of TLC technology. Toshiba Memory has drawn on its advanced circuit design capabilities and industry-leading 64-layer 3D flash memory process technology to create the QLC 3D flash memory.

Beijing Memblaze Technology Co., Ltd. today announced the launch of its next generation of PCIe NVMe SSD products, PBlaze 5 700 and 900 series, for hyper-scale data center deployment and for enterprise mission critical applications, respectively. PBlaze5 utilizes high-quality 3D Enterprise-level TLC NAND and supports NVMe 1.2a, with SSD user capacities up to 11TB.

PBlaze5 comes in 2.5-inch U.2 and HHHL add-in card form factors and provides high performance 6GB/s read bandwidth (128KB) and >1M IOPS random read (4KB), with typical read write latency of 90/15μs. PBlaze5 U.2 interface is hot plugable, hot removable and hot swapable, effectively reducing data center operation complexity.

CDRLabs has taken an in depth look Patriot's PCIe NVMe SSD, the Hellfire. Designed with the needs of content creators, gamers and enthusiasts in mind, this M.2 form factor drive is powered by Phison's PS5007-E7 controller and offers features like static and advanced wear-leveling, advanced garbage collection, TRIM support and bad block management. The Hellfire is also equipped with up to 480GB of Toshiba's 15nm MLC NAND flash as well as an ultra-fast PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe 1.2 interface to deliver read and write speeds that are up to 4x faster than SATA SSDs.