Storage News - Page 13

Back in April, Microsoft updated its DirectStorage API to version 1.2, bringing support to older drives and performance improvements to the technology that is all about leveraging GPU power to improve game load times on NVMe storage.

YouTube channel Compusemble, using the DirectStorage GPU Decompression benchmark and the latest Crucial T700 Gen5 SSD (which we hailed as the "world's best-performing retail SSD" in our full review), showcases the benefits of PCIe Gen5 over PCIe Gen4.

Using NVIDIA's 535.50 GeForce beta driver, we see some pretty impressive results thanks to the Crucial T700's Phison E26 controller and 2000 MT/s Micron 232L NAND. Compusemble notes that the latest official 535.98 driver release features the same GPU decompression optimizations we see here, so hopefully, we get to see the effects in games sooner rather than later.

T-FORCE is a recognized name in the PC gaming space, delivering all forms of high-performance storage, memory, and even cooling for enthusiasts and mainstream builds.

At Computex 2023, we spotted some cool console-specific hardware from the company, specifically the AL1 Aluminum Heat-Sink designed explicitly for the PlayStation 5.

Sony's fast internal storage for the PlayStation 5 can be expanded with just about any PCIe Gen4 drive that can hit speeds of at least 5,000 MB/s - as long as it features a compatible heatsink or some form of cooling to keep the temperatures down. And with the ability to take off-the-shelf storage to expand a PS5's total capacity - like the T-FORCE CARDEA Z4 Series M.2 PCIe SSD that features read speeds of up to 7,200 MB/s - you can also affix a custom heatsink like the new T-FORCE AL1.

Regarding new PCIe Gen5 SSDs, we're in the middle of an arms race, where it's all about hitting speeds previously unheard of in the storage space. As with all things tech, going faster means generating more heat, and when it comes to new PCIe Gen5 storage - additional cooling is no longer an option.

Heatsinks, pipes, and active fans for SSDs are here - and even liquid cooling. The first PCIe Gen5 products to hit the scene that pushed sequential read speeds up to 10GB/s required some serious cooling.

With Patriot debuting its first PCIe Gen5 drive at Computex 2023, the Viper PV553 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen5 x4 SSD, the company has managed to deliver impressive sequential read speeds of up to 12,400MB/s (12.4GB/s) and write speeds up to 11,800MB/s (11.8GB/s) using a low-profile cooler.

ADATA unveiled its most powerful Gen 5 SSD that's built with unique cooling technology designed for improved heat dissipation.

ADATA is switching its focus to cooling solutions for its SSDs, and at Computex 2023, the company showcased what it's calling Project NeonStorm, a Silicon Motion SM2508 PCIe Gen5 M.2 SSD controller that pushes 14,000 / 12,000 MB/s read/write performance. While the read-and-write performance is very impressive, it's not what ADATA wants you to focus on.

ADATA has implemented a water cooling + fan solution that the company claims can provide 20% better heat dissipation compared to SSDs without water cooling. This water-cooling design features an extruded aluminum structure that holds in water, while the front/rear fans for heat dissipation. According to ADATA, when the heat rises off the SSD, it first contacts the heat spreader to increase the contact area.

Announced not that long ago, MSI's new SPATIUM M570 Pro series of Gen5 SSDs featuring the cutting-edge PHISON E26 PCIe Gen 5 SSD controller, 3D NAND flash, and custom-tuned active cooling system promised to deliver record-breaking 14 GB/s read speeds.

At Computex 2023, we saw it in action, where the promise of up to 14 GB/s read speeds was not only true - but sitting at exactly 14,520.75 MB/s read (14.5 GB/s) and 12,409.09 MB/s write. That alone is incredible when you factor in that most PCIe Gen5 offerings currently top out at just over 10 GB/s. However, what really grabbed our attention was that the SSD temperature was only 44 degrees Celsius during the benchmark.

How MSI has managed to keep the new SPATIUM M570 Pro cool won't be a mystery once you take a look at its size, as this is a PCIe Gen5 SSD with a custom cooler that is quite large for an SSD - and it even includes a sizable fan.

TEAMGROUP is headed to Computex 2023, and under its "Dazzle, Chill, Integrate" banner, the company is set to showcase several new products ranging from new high-speed memory kits, a funky new RGB-lit AIO cooler, and even PCIe Gen5 M.2 SSD storage with active cooling that can hit sequential read and write speeds of over 12,000MB/s and 11,000MB/s.

The T-FORCE DARK AirFlow Cooler Series, Gen5 M.2 PCIe SSD in particular, looks impressive and is the flagship Gen5 SSD from TEAMGROUP. The company notes that it has designed the heatsink specifically for the drive, which includes aluminum fins, heat pipes, and an active fan.

TEAMGROUP is best known for its memory solutions. At Computex, we'll see several new T-FORCE products, including T-FORCE XTREEM ARGB DDR5 Gaming Overclocking Memory and T-FORCE XTREEM DDR5 Overclocking Memory. Both feature frequencies starting from 7,000MHz to 8,266MHz, so you're looking at some pretty incredible speeds backed up by excellent cooling and stylish designs.

Sabrent's new Rocket Q 2230 SSD, available in 2TB capacity, not only fits in Valve's Steam Deck but also delivers exceptional PCIe Gen4 performance and offers enough space to install several games. It's also compatible with the new ASUS ROG Ally PC gaming handheld, so it's a great choice for portable gaming fans.

Sabrent has put the new Rocket Q to the test inside a Steam Deck at its labs, and the results are impressive, with sequential read speeds of over 3,5000 MB/s and write speeds of over 3,200 MB/s. With Valve allowing for game installs to be copied over a network to a Steam Deck, you'll have enough speed to make a dent in the 2TB capacity in no time. Not to mention the benefit of faster load times to get into the action.

Specs-wise, the Rocket Q 2230 SSD offers speeds of up to 5,000 MB/s and 800K IOPS in a small package with 176-layer Micron TLC NAND flash and a fast 12nm Phison E21T SSD controller. Sabrent notes that the Rocket Q 2230 SSD has been designed with portable gaming devices like the Steam Deck, with an eye toward improving load times, capacity, and long-term reliability.

KIOXIA has announced a new affordable range of PCIe Gen4 SSDs, the BG6 Series, the first to use the company's new 6th generation BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory. This means a performance uplift of 1.7 times its predecessor - the KIOXIA BG5 Series.

Using the M.2 2230 and M.2 2280 form factors, the KIOXIA BG6 Series has been designed to deliver speed at an affordable price point, with capacities of 256 GB, 512 GB, 1,024 GB, and 2,048 GB available. This ensures compatibility across various devices, from PCs to laptops to embedded devices and even something like Valve's Steam Deck.

Making full use of the PCIe Gen4 interface, the BG6 Series supports up to 6,000 MB/s sequential read and 5,300 MB/s sequential write (tested using the 1TB capacity variant) - which is a big jump over the BG5 Series' up to 3,500 MB/s sequential read and 2,900 MB/s sequential write.

The inventor of NAND flash memory, KIOXIA, is set to debut its latest breakthroughs at Dell Technologies World next week - headlined by the new server-ready SSDs with PCIe Gen5 technology. KIOXIA notes that its presence at the show will focus on the benefits of PCIe 5.0 SSDs over PCIe 4.0 SSDs in real-world server and storage configurations and workloads.

As reported the other day, KIOXIA is leading the charge with the first EDSFF drives (Enterprise and Datacenter Standard Form Factor) using PCIe Gen5 technology - the KIOXIA CD7 Series EDSFF E3.S Data Center SSDs. Now we can add CM7 Series Enterprise NVMe E3.S drives on Dell Technologies servers to the line-up.

It's also partnered with Dell Technologies for an AI-driven pop-up manufacturing demo that will feature AI, KIOXIA CM6 Series SSDs, and an NVIDIA GPU to showcase real-time manufacturing and quality control with the aid of AI. Very cool.

Solidigm's latest flash memory storage solution for mainstream and read-intensive workloads is the Solidigm D5-P5430 QLC SSD. Designed and optimized for read-intensive apps - your virtual desktop infrastructures and communications - the PCIe Gen4 QLC SSD offers substantial storage density while delivering read performance perfect for mainstream workloads.

Solidigm describes these workloads as typically 80% reads, with massive amounts of data at high throughput, covering everything from content delivery to video-on-demand, object storage, decision support systems, and email.

The new Solidigm D5-P5430 QLC SSD are also designed as drop-in replacements for existing compatible leading TLC NAND-based PCIe SSDs, offering an increase in storage density, 18% lower energy costs, and up to 14% more lifetime writes - some impressive stats to be sure, which all help to reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).