Storage

In desktops and laptops alike, RAM is usually the easiest component to upgrade. However, tablets and smartphones all come with the memory chips soldered to the motherboards. In both cases you have to weigh all the options before making your purchase decision. How much memory do you need in a laptop? Is memory capacity more important than storage capacity? We will answer your questions in our in-depth article.

While DRAM prices have been dropping since January of this year, the price of DDR4 memory is still significantly higher than it was in 2016. Now, during a time of reduced demand, Samsung may be planning to cut down on supply in order to keep today's prices.

The PJ-3280 NVMe SSD is designed to boost the performance of desktops or laptops without breaking the bank. It comes in 128, 256 and 512 GB capacities and, thanks to the PCIe Gen 3 X2 interface, it can reach sequential reading speeds of up to 1,600 MB/s plus writing speeds of up to 950 MB/s, making it 3 times faster than SATA III SSDs.

aibo, Sony's robot in the shape of a puppy, is available from today (September 18, 2018) for purchase in the US. This event is being dubbed the "First Litter" release of the mechanical pets. Sony claims that aibo can learn to recognize up to 100 faces and develops a unique personality based on how it is treated.

ASRock is set to update their Fatal1ty motherboard line with new ones, including the Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 offering exposed in a recent leak. This new product will sport triple M.2 and PCIe slots. It also has 3 Ethernet ports, one of which is 10-gigabit.

Using the 10 nm manufacturing process, Samsung managed to pack 256 GB or RAM on a single stick, proving that DDR can offer a viable alternative to Intel's Optane and 3DXPoint technology. The 256 GB RAM modules are only available for servers at present, while desktop and laptop PCs get 32 GB per module, but it will not be long before these capacities hit the mainstream markets.

The Nintendo Switch Online Service has been anticipated for some time. A rumor that precedes its launch suggests that users of the new feature will be able to back up all their games in a cloud. However, there may be an opt-out for developers.

The new TS-x77XU lineup targets enterprise customers with no less than 8 rackmount NAS models. Most of these models come with redundant power supply units and use AMD Ryzen processors. Depending on the model chosen, the processor used can be the quad-core Ryzen 3 1200, the hexa-core Ryzen 5 2600, or the octa-core Ryzen 7 2700.

With its single-sided M.2 2280 package, the XPG SX6000 Pro NVMe SSD can fit PCs, as well as compact laptops and mini PCs. The new Realtek PCIe Gen3x4 controller coupled with second gen 64-layer 3D TLC NAND memory chips can deliver sequential read speeds of up to 2,100 MB/s and write speeds of up to 1,500 MB/s. Capacities range from 256 GB up to 1 TB.

Silicon Power announced the launch of four PCIe NVMe SSDs at IFA 2018 today. The P34A80 and P34M85 support PCIe Gen3 x4 while the P32A80 and P32M85 connect via PCIe Gen3 x2 lanes. The M85 models come with an added heat sink to prevent overheating during continuous activity.

Samsung’s new X5 portable SSD is equipped with Thunderbolt 3 and is screamingly fast. According to the company, the drive can transfer a 3 GB video in just 2 seconds and a 20 GB video in only 12 seconds.

The UMIDIGI Z2 line has jumped into a ring increasingly full of phones with features associated with more well-known names such as the Huawei P20/P20 Pro. These new phones is powered by an octa-core processor, has dual cameras and a dual SIM slot, both of which have 4G/LTE. It also has a notch and color-shifting variants.

WhatsApp has distinguished itself among messaging apps through its ability to eat your storage. However, a new agreement between the Facebook subsidiary and Google mean that WhatsAapp backups will no longer clog up space on the Drives of its users.

One is Google's new cloud-storage solution for those who formerly used services such as paid Drive. It provides a unified location for the data generated by apps such as Photos, Drive and Gmail. Google One has been absorbing Drive customers who wish to switch to it, and is now available to new customers too.

Want to see a laptop with 12 cores and over 20 TB of internal storage? Eurocom can make it possible if enough users show interest. The reseller is collecting data to see how it can best approach building its next generation of gaming laptops and mobile workstations.

The new 4 TB 4-bit QLC SSD by Samsung comes with a 3-year warranty period and has a level of performance similar to the company’s 3-bit design. The new SSD for consumers provides read speeds of up to 540 MB/s and write speeds of up to 520 MB/s. This drive arrives more than a decade after Samsung's 32 GB 1-bit SLC SSD that was introduced in 2006.

When compared to 64-bit 3D flash, Toshiba's 96-layer BiCS flash technology promises to consume 4.7 W less power while providing potentially higher storage capacities. The OEM intends to launch its XG6 series soon for high-performance client PCs and laptops where competition from Samsung, Lite-On, and SK Hynix is fierce.

Anticipating increased demand for 3D NAND flash storage in the coming year, Samsung is looking to invest an additional US$2.6 billion to expand production capacities of its NAND factories in China and Korea taking the total investment to US$9 billion by 2019. The increased investments are being centered around production of 3D NAND flash, V-NAND flash, and QLC flash memory.

NRAM is made of carbon nanotubes that are more efficient than the current technologies used in 3D XPoint and NAND Flash devices. Nantero - the company developing NRAM - claims that its technology can provide better write speeds for decreased power requirements and production costs, and the memory has high temperature tolerance (up to 800 degrees Centigrade).

The fifth-generation V-NAND memory chips by Samsung use the "Toggle DDR 4.0" interface for the first time in the industry and provide a data transfer speed of up to 1.4 Gbps — an impressive increase of 40 percent over the previous generation. These new 256 Gb chips will soon be followed by 1 Tb offerings.

AI, machine learning and computer vision application will be getting a boost via the new NGD Catalina 2 programmable SSDs. Coming in 2.5-inch / add-in-board form-factors, these solutions integrate Toshiba's 3D NAND memory chips and benefit from the PCIe 3.0 X4 speeds with peak sequential read/writes capping at 3.9 GB/s. The programmable part is handled through a Xilnix FPGA.

The improved SD Express cards will feature transfer speeds up to 985 MB/s via the PCIe/NVMe interface and 128 TB storage capacities. These improvements target 4K/8K video processing, VR and augmented reality applications, AI-driven vehicles and IoT ramifications. First to get the latest specs will be the SDHC/XC/UC cards scheduled to arrive in 2019.

Enthusiasts who want the fastest possible storage speeds already know to buy motherboards that use flagship chipsets (e.g. Intel's Z370 and AMD's X470). However, a series of benchmarks from TechSpot confirm that dual slot X470 boards can restrict performance if one of the slots is connected to the chipset with PCIe 2.0.

The industry's first NF1 NVMe SSD that has just been introduced by Samsung is optimized for data-intensive analytics and virtualization applications, targeting next-gen data centers and enterprise servers. This drive provides twice the capacity of the current M.2 NVMe SSD for about the same size.

It's clear that HDDs will soon become obsolete even when it comes to capacity, but the enterprise sector is still relying on these devices because SSDs still cost a fortune in large numbers. Seagate's latest Exos 14 TB HDD is primarily aimed at the enterprise sector, but IronWolf and Barracuda versions for NAS and consumer markets are also expected in late 2018.

A press release from Dell Technologies has shown that the Texas-based company has enjoyed strong results for the first financial quarter of fiscal year 2019. Total net revenue stood at US$21.4 billion, which is a considerable increase over the US$18 billion revenue earned for the first quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Consortium of buyers includes Seagate, Apple, Dell, Kingston, and SK Hynix. This is one of Seagate's biggest movements into the NAND flash business, an area where their major competitor, Western Digital, has focused on in recent years.

Taiwanese motherboard specialist Gigabyte has announced an entry into the SSD market. The company has published a press release detailing its new UD PRO Series. The series currently consists of just two SATA III drives: a 256 GB model and a 512 GB model. Prices are expected to be around US$68.99 for the 256 GB variant and US$119.99 for the larger drive.

The latest solid state drives from Samsung have only just been launched, and they have already received price cuts. The tech giant announced the 970 Pro and Evo NVMe SSDs in April, with the devices being made available for purchase on May 7. It is now possible to obtain the drives at cheaper rates than the suggested retail prices listed in the April press release.

Intel has launched the new Optane 905P range of SSDs, which are based on the previous 900P series. The 905P range comes in two variants; a 960 GB PCI-e based add-in card and a 480 GB U.2-based 2.5" drive, and both of them are available across major retailers for US$1299 and US$599, respectively.

The new Samsung Pro Endurance has impressive endurance stats compared to their competitors and read speeds that match non-endurance cards.

The first DDR5 memory modules are slated for a 2019 commercial release, while JEDEC will finalize the specifications this summer. The DDR5-4400 module demoed by Cadence requires lower voltages and is considerably faster than the current DDR4-3200 standard, even with CL42 latencies. Later on, speeds will be upped to 6400 MT/s and capacities should reach up to 32 Gb per chip.

The 128 GB and 256 GB versions of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus are now available for pre-order in the United States. These have previously been available in some select markets and are now exclusively available from Samsung's own website.

Manufacturers may have been artificially inflating DRAM prices by restricting supply and agreeing to not cannibalize the market share of others. The abnormal rise in revenue by as much as 166 percent YoY has caused at least one U.S. law firm to investigate further into the matter with correlative results.

To enthusiasts, a primary SSD may seem like a no-brainer for new PCs. Unfortunately, everyday shoppers at most retailers are still drawn in by the higher capacities and lower price points that HDDs offer and not realize the immense performance benefits of SSDs. Two of the largest PC manufacturers in the world will purportedly push primary SSDs onto more budget and mainstream laptops in lieu of HDDs should NAND prices continue to decline.

Samsung is refreshing its mid-range NVMe SSD lineup with the 970 Evo and Pro models that are using the latest version of the company's 64-layer 3D V-NAND memory chips. The Pro version is slightly faster but comes only in 512 GB and 1 TB capacities, while the Evo model has capacities ranging from 256 GB up to 2 TB.

A press release from research company Gartner has stated that Samsung has overtaken Intel as the world’s largest semiconductor vendor. The figures for 2017 show the South Korean company gaining 14.2% of the global market share whilst their rivals in California managed 14.0%. Samsung’s top place has been partly attributed to revenue growth in the memory market.

Although it still does not feature filters and themes or the ability to add text, the movie editor inside Google Photos has just received a new interface with a white color scheme, as well as new controls and commands that aim to improve the video editing capabilities of this popular app.

One of the biggest trends of the past few years in terms of computers is without a doubt the establishment of a completely new kind of storage device - the faster and all-electronic instead of partly-mechanic Solid-State Drives. The popularity of SSDs as well as the variety of models available has vastly increased in the last years. This article is designed to offer you concrete purchase recommendations.

Market analysts are predicting that the slight oversupply of NAND flash for eMMC/UFS and SSD storage seen in the first few months of 2018 will continue through to the middle of the year. Due to a delay in production expansion, this could result in higher prices in the last half of 2018.

The entry-level consumer TLC series includes 256-bit encryption and Opal 2.0 at affordable starting prices of $60 USD for the 120 GB model. Kingston SSDs are notable for their five-year standard warranty as opposed to two to three years from many other storage manufacturers. The UV500 SSDs will likely find their way into inexpensive or mainstream laptops since they lack NVMe support.

The external NVMe SSDs from OWC are aimed at high-end users who create UHD content. Capacities range from 1 to 8 TB but prices are considerably higher than the mass produced NVMe solutions. Two ThunderBlade models can be connected in SoftRAID mode in order to provide increased read speeds of up to 3800 MB/s.

The WD Purple series is designed to withstand more rewrites and at wider temperature ranges than a consumer-grade variant. Applications where constant data access is vital, such as on surveillance systems or servers, can benefit from the increased reliability of the WD Purple MicroSD card. Prices start at just $18 USD for the 32 GB version with a 64 GB version coming next month.

Specifically designed for gamers, PC enthusiasts, overclockers, and video rendering professionals, the new XPG Gammix S11 from ADATA offers read speeds of up to 3200 MB/s, while the write speeds can reach 1700 MB/s. The included sleek red/black heatsink provides optimal operating temperatures, increasing the stability and extending the lifespan of the SSD.

Kingston Technology has released a new SSD to its extensive product line-up. The A1000 is a PCIe NVMe solid state drive that is available with three different storage capacities: 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB. The A1000 is an entry-level solution in an M.2-2280 form factor, with prices starting at US$119.60 for the 240 GB variant, US$218.40 for the 480 GB model, and US$403 for the 960 GB version.

In case you weren’t aware, March 31 is World Backup Day. Today is the day when computer users should no longer procrastinate with that crucial task and take a few moments to backup their data. It might seem like an April Fools’ Day joke, but facts offered by the World Backup Day website show just how important it is to keep a regular backup of your files.

It appears Huawei might be working on a smartphone that offers a whopping 512 GB of storage space. A recent online listing for a Huawei device offers specification details such as 6 GB RAM and 512 GB ROM. If the Chinese technology company is actually developing a handset with such an amount of storage, then it will be twice the size of the largest amount of storage the iPhone X currently offers.

The AMD RX-412ND-powered QNAP TS-x73 lineup targets small businesses and power users, featuring 4, 6, and 8 drive bays. In addition to the aforementioned processor and 4 GB or 8 GB of memory, its list of features also includes 2 PCIe Gen3 x4 slots for increased flexibility, 4 USB 3.0 ports, and 4 Gigabit LAN ports.

Just one month and a few days after the introduction of Samsung's 30 TB SSD, Nimbus Data pushes the size of the world's largest such drive to the impressive value of 100 TB. Compared to the previous owner of the crown, the new king of the storage market draws 85 percent less power per TB and has a 42 percent lower total cost of ownership per TB. The 100 TB model will be accompanied by a 50 TB one and both will be available this summer.