Editorials

Building the Ultimate Home Entertainment Server with an ASUSTOR NAS and Viper Gaming NVMe SSDs

April 25, 2024 | What happens when you combine the compact ASUSTOR AS5402T NAS with four Patriot Viper Gaming VP4300 Lite M.2 PCIe Gen4 SSDs? Magic.

PS5, Xbox Scarlett SSD may use Optane-like ReRAM to supercharge speeds

November 26, 2019 | Next-gen consoles may use Optane-like cache modules to supercharge SSD speeds and keep storage costs low.

Investigation: m.2 Heatsinks, are they worth it?

April 18, 2018 | We have run m.2 Heatsinks through some of our tests, are they really necessary?

Thunderbolt 3 Cable Roundup: Do they differ?

June 15, 2017 | We collected 20 Gbps and 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 3 cables from several vendors and put them to the test to see if there is a difference between them.

Alienware 15 R3 Laptop Storage Performance Investigation

May 23, 2017 | We investigate the storage performance and options of the Alienware 15 R3 Kaby Lake laptop as it becomes the base of our Thunderbolt 3 testing.

Intel Optane Memory: What It Is and Why It Matters

March 27, 2017 | Intel's Optane memory module is available for pre-order from today. Do you want one for your Z270 motherboard? Probably. Read on and find out why.

Microsoft Windows 10 vs. Windows 8.1 SSD Storage Performance Analysis

August 18, 2015 | We take a close look at Windows 10 versus Windows 8.1 SSD storage performance so you will know what to expect from Microsoft's newest operating system.

Kaspersky's NSA HDD Firmware Spying Revelations - Data Was Never Safe

February 18, 2015 | The NSA has backdoor access to a huge amount of computers, if not all, and we're not seeing a word from world leaders - and this shouldn't surprise you.

Q&A with QNAP regarding Intel Baytrail and its latest NAS products

November 13, 2014 | Today QNAP takes some questions from us and tells us why it thinks it's leading its competition in the NAS game right now with Intel Baytrail and more.

TweakTown's Complete SSD Toolbox Software Roundup

October 10, 2014 | Today Chris gives us a rundown on all of the current SSD toolboxes available. We look at software from all the big players in this handy article.

PNY SandForce based Optima SSD - The Switch Side Discussed

July 1, 2014 | We caused quite a stir with our bait and switch SSD allegation, but we stand behind it 100%. We looked at the bait, now it's time to see the switch.

Thunderbolt 2: Ready for Windows with the ASUS ThunderboltEX II

April 14, 2014 | Today we take a close up look at the ASUS ThunderboltEX II and all the amazing performance that goes along with the new Thunderbolt 2 standard.

Thunderbolt - Do cables actually matter in Storage Applications?

April 9, 2014 | We explore the performance of various different Thunderbolt cables to see if they make any difference in storage application tests. Let's go!

TweakTown Interview with Alex Mei from OCZ Storage Solutions

March 20, 2014 | This past week, we sat down with Alex Mei from OCZ Storage Solutions to discuss topics including past, present and OCZ's future as part of Toshiba.

SSD Consistency Testing - 18 Drives Tested for Real-World Performance

February 25, 2014 | With a new test in hand via Futuremark, we look at worst case and recovery performance to find real differences in SSD performance.

Thecus brings RAID 50 and RAID 60 to its NAS' - We check out the Performance Numbers

February 7, 2014 | Two weeks before CES, Thecus announced RAID 50 and RAID 60 support. With one supported NAS in hand, Chris sees how the new RAID formats perform.

ASUS is ready for SATA Express - Early tech and performance preview

December 20, 2013 | With SATA III limiting performance nowadays, SATA-I/O went to work designing the storage technology for the future, and now we have it to try out.

The State of Solid State 2013 Edition

December 4, 2013 | It's been two years since Chris released his signature series that covers the SSD market. Today he talks about OCZ, next-generation NAND and more.

TweakTown Best of Consumer Storage for 2013

November 30, 2013 | Tyler takes us on a journey back checking out some of the best consumer storage devices for the year. Let's go!

Tiered Storage Setup for Consumers - Tips for boosting performance

October 31, 2013 | Chris talks about why you should try to keep some data types off your SSD and why large programs should be installed on a mechanical hard drive.

Samsung 840 EVO Overview - New SSDs with Interesting Rapid Mode Cache

July 25, 2013 | With two new SSD drives on hand to review today, we're breaking the technology and software features out into a separate article. Let's discuss Samsung's 840 EVO.

The Great SSD Flash Shortage of 2013 - EOL 25nm, the pain and the future

June 26, 2013 | Most SSD products with 25nm IMFT NAND are now end of life, but finding products with 20nm flash is difficult. Companies that traditionally used IMFT NAND are now turning to Toshiba and SanDisk to keep product going.

A look at SanDisk's Extreme II SSD Architecture

June 3, 2013 | Today SanDisk launches a new flagship SSD for the enthusiast market. We'll have three reviews with performance data, but to start today out, let's take a look at what Extreme II has under the hood.

Bang for Your Buck: Best 256GB Class SSD's under $200

May 16, 2013 | The best capacity size and the highest value, today Chris walks us through the best buys. Through extensive investigation, we uncover the fastest SSD's that give your computer a performance kick, not your wallet.

Seagate's 2013 Consumer and Enterprise SSD Product Overview

May 7, 2013 | Seagate finally gives in and prepares to enter the consumer SSD market. At the same time, the company is extending their enterprise portfolio in an effort to catch up to competitors.

Kingston LSI SandForce B02 for Low Power SSD's - Power Consumption Investigation

February 28, 2013 | LSI SandForce announced the new B02 stepping several months ago. Now companies are starting to build hardware. SF-2281VB2 uses technologies introduced by LSI to reduce the power consumption of the successful 2281 SATA III controller. The result is the same SF-2281 performance, but now paired with ultra low power consumption.

Samsung 840 SSD Storage Endurance Testing - TLC to the End

February 12, 2013 | Today we start on an adventure. Despite reviewer's claims, Samsung has never stated the endurance life of its new TLC NAND flash used in the new 840 SSD. We're going to find out just how many program erase cycles the flash can take... in time.

LSI SandForce 5 Series SSD Firmware - TRIM Lost and Found, Performance Investigated

August 1, 2012 | If you've bought an SSD in the last five months or updated your firmware, you need to read this article. Chris concludes a quest he started exactly five months ago and is now ready to guide you to higher performance with your LSI SandForce controlled SSD.

LSI Evolves to PCI Express 3.0 - New Products Announced

July 4, 2012 | LSI discusses several new products that make the leap to PCIe 3.0, unlocking bandwidth on RAID controllers and improving IOPS performance on HBAs.

Kingston Factory Tour - Making of an SSD from Start to Finish

April 6, 2012 | Kingston invited us exclusively into its Taiwan factory and we see the process of making an SSD from start to finish.

LSI Nytro Product Family Overview - New WarpDrive XD Revealed and more

April 2, 2012 | What we dubbed as the LSI WarpCache has been revealed. LSI didn't use our product name, but instead went with Nytro WarpDrive. See it and the rest of the Nytro family of products right here.

To Hell with their Cloud. Build your own Today!

November 21, 2011 | We keep hearing about how the Cloud will do this and it will do that - so on and so on. Let's ignore future tense and see what it does right now!

An Interview with LSI about the SandForce Acquisition

October 28, 2011 | Chris sits down with LSI's VP, Gary Smerdon to talk about the company's recent acquisition of SandForce - the biggest player in the SSD controller market.

OCZ Technology Vertex 3 SSD Form Factor: Bigger isn't Always Better

May 18, 2011 | It seems OCZ's latest drives take on a form factor all their own.

SandForce SF-2141 Controller & Intel Z68 Chipset: Destined to be Together?

May 3, 2011 | Chris plays a game of connect the dots while speculating all the way to the big picture.

TweakTown's SSD Fill Testing Explained

March 31, 2011 | After a month of testing and fine tuning, we are ready to explain the new SSD test used exclusively in our SSD reviews hereon.

SandForce SF-2000 Series Client Launch

February 25, 2011 | SandForce has just released details of their two new consumer controllers - the SF-2100 and SF-2200. Chris shares these details with us in perspective.

The State of Solid State in 2011

January 18, 2011 | Marvell, SandForce, Intel, Toshiba and Indilinx are ready for 2011 with high-speed SSDs running at speeds of up to 550MB/s.

SandForce SF-1200: Does Lower Capacity Mean Lower Performance?

June 21, 2010 | Does lower capacity always have to mean lower performance with SSDs? Four different capacity OCZ Vertex 2 drives should let us know.

How to make an SSD: Touring A-DATA's Taipei Factory

June 9, 2010 | Chris and Cameron visited A-DATA's Taipei SSD production facility and captured on video how to make an SSD.

Indilinx Barefoot Firmware Testing with the RunCore Pro IV SSD

March 2, 2010 | Chris looks at Barefoot performance over three generations of firmware using RunCore's Pro IV.

The Future of Storage is Small

January 7, 2010 | Like it or not, the storage industry is going small. We'll explain how and why today.

SATA 6Gbps Implementation Investigated - ASUS vs. GIGABYTE P55

December 23, 2009 | GIGABYTE and ASUS chose different paths for SATA 6Gbps on P55 motherboards. Today we put them to the test to see which is better implemented.

The State of Solid State - Chapter II

December 8, 2009 | Chris brings you up to speed with all things happening in the SSD market.

Early look at USB 3.0 X25-M SSD performance versus USB 2.0, eSATA and more

November 10, 2009 | We visited the Macpower office and ran some benchmarks to get an early look at USB 3.0 performance using an Intel X25-M G2 80GB SSD.

SATA 6G Implementation Preview - Ironing Out The Creases

November 3, 2009 | Sean looks into the implementation of the new generation SATA 6G interface, the issues it brings with it and the ways around them.

TweakTown Storage Product Testing - Our How To Video Guide

September 28, 2009 | There are many ways to test hard drives and NAS servers. Come see how we do it in a series of easy to follow video demonstrations so that you can too.

RunCore 32GB Pro IV SSD Home Theater PC Upgrade - Worth it?

August 13, 2009 | During our visit to China last month, RunCore gave us one of their 32GB Pro IV SSDs. We hooked it up to our HTPC - Worth upgrading? Watch our video!

Flash Memory Summit Coverage - Part 1

August 12, 2009 | Flash memory has become a key component to nearly all technology, from cell phones to SSDs.

Runcore Factory Tour Video - Production of an SSD

July 28, 2009 | This week we traveled to Hangzhou, China to visit Runcore and see their new range of SSDs. We also stopped by their factory to see how an SSD is made!