Western Digital Corp., today introduced a portfolio of external storage solutions for PC and console gamers to enable access to new engaging experiences and capture more winning gameplay, without maxing out their gaming storage. The solutions include a first-to-industry SuperSpeed USB (20Gb/s), USB 3.2 gen 2x2 port in a game drive.

Games on the market today use the latest in graphics technologies, taking advantage of immersive environments such as augmented and virtual reality. These modern applications call for higher performance and file sizes, with some games approaching or exceeding file sizes of 100GB. This presents a challenge for gamers who don’t want to sacrifice their current favorite games while trying out the latest games on the market.

CDRLabs has put together a brief review of ORICO's new transparent NVMe M.2 SSD enclosure. This tool-free design features a clear, plastic case that lets you see the drive inside as well as a finned, aluminum heatsink to keep it cool. ORICO's new enclosure is also equipped with JMicron's JMS583 USB 3.1 Gen 2 to PCIe Gen3 x2 bridge controller which provides Type-C connectivity, 10Gbps data transfer speeds and support for TRIM and UASP.

SK hynix Inc. announced today the launch of its “Gold S31” solid-state drive (SSD). Gold S31 (SATA III – first generation) is the first of the Company’s new SuperCore series of consumer SSDs, an internal drive lineup based on SK hynix’s core technology.

With its speed and reliability, SK hynix’s Gold S31 will be a perfect choice for all PC users, particularly for gamers, designers, and content creators. Gold S31 pushes the limits on high-performance SSDs, providing users the next level of speed with sequential read speeds up to 560MB/s, as well as superior quality, reliability, and five-year warranty.

The 2.5-inch drive supports the SATA III interface based on 3D NAND Flash technology, and is now available in 1TB, 500GB and 250GB capacities on Amazon U.S.

Toshiba Memory Corporation, the world leader in memory solutions, today announced XFMEXPRESS, a new technology for removable PCIe attached, NVMe memory devices. With a new form factor and an innovative connector, XFMEXPRESS technology delivers an unparalleled combination of features designed to revolutionize ultra-mobile PCs, IoT devices and various embedded applications. Recognizing the need for a new class of removable storage, Toshiba Memory leveraged its extensive background in single package memory designs to develop XFMEXPRESS technology and offer these key features:

Game-Changing Serviceability
Putting serviceability front and center, XFMEXPRESS technology enables a new category of small memory devices and SSDs that are easy to service or upgrade. By pairing a robust, compact package with removable memory functionality and flexibility, XFMEXPRESS technology will help diminish technical barriers and design constraints.

Mobile-Friendly Footprint
The XFMEXPRESS form factor’s no-compromise size and low profile (14mm x 18mm x 1.4mm) offers a 252mm2 footprint, optimizing the mounting space for ultra-compact host devices without sacrificing performance or serviceability. With this minimized z-height, the XFMEXPRESS form factor is excellent for thin and light notebooks and creates new design possibilities for next-generation applications and systems.

Toshiba Memory Corporation, the world leader in memory solutions, today announced that it has developed the industry’s fastest-class PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs for enterprise applications that achieve a sequential read performance of over 6.4GB/s. A reference display and a demo of the new CM6 Series SSDs will be showcased in Toshiba Memory America’s booth (#307, Hall A) at the Flash Memory Summit in Santa Clara, USA, which will be held until August 8.

The CM6 Series SSDs support dual-port PCIe Gen4 x4 lanes and are NVMe 1.4 compliant. The family of enterprise NVMe SSDs will be available in a 2.5-inch form factor with capacity points from 800GB to 30TB, and 1 or 3 drive writes per day endurance options.

Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that it has begun mass producing 250-gigabyte (GB) SATA solid state drive (SSD) that integrates the company’s sixth-generation (1xx-layer) 256-gigabit (Gb) three-bit V-NAND for global PC OEMs. By launching a new generation of V-NAND in just 13 months, Samsung has reduced the mass production cycle by four months while securing the industry’s highest performance, power efficiency and manufacturing productivity.

“By bringing cutting-edge 3D memory technology to volume production, we are able to introduce timely memory lineups that significantly raise the bar for speed and power efficiency,” said Kye Hyun Kyung, executive vice president of Solution Product & Development at Samsung Electronics. “With faster development cycles for next-generation V-NAND products, we plan to rapidly expand the markets for our high-speed, high-capacity 512Gb V-NAND-based solutions.”

Western Digital today announced two new 96-layer 3D flash NVMe SSD families, the Ultrastar DC SN640 and Ultrastar DC SN340. Both are purpose-built for either mixed-use-case workloads or very read-intensive applications, respectively. The new Ultrastar drives help meet the evolving, and increasingly specific workload demands placed on data centers today, while building a strong, flexible foundation for the zettabyte-scale era of the future. Leveraging Western Digital’s in-house SSD controller designs, firmware development and vertical integration, these new solutions underscore the company’s strengths in developing innovations that allow customers’ data to thrive, from edge to core to cloud.

NVMe is having a great impact on enterprises and what they can do with data, particularly for real-time analytics, M2M and IoT, and emerging technologies like composable infrastructure. Data center customers understand the nature of their data streams and application workloads and are realizing that today's general-purpose architectures are inefficient and can carry resource and cost overhead. Ushering in new NVMe SSD innovations for the workload evolution, Western Digital's new purpose-built solutions include: