Western Digital Corp. today announced its successful development of four bits per cell, X4, flash memory architecture offering on 64-layer 3D NAND, BiCS3, technology. Building on its pioneering innovation of X4 for 2D NAND technology and past success in commercializing it, the company has now developed X4 for 3D NAND by leveraging its deep vertical integration capabilities. These include silicon wafer processing, device engineering to provide sixteen distinct data levels in every storage node, and system expertise for overall flash management. BiCS3 X4 technology delivers an industry-leading storage capacity of 768 gigabits on a single chip, a 50 percent increase from the prior 512 gigabit chip that was enabled with the three bits per cell (X3) architecture. Western Digital will showcase removable products and solid-state drives built with BiCS3 X4 and systems capabilities in August at the Flash Memory Summit in Santa Clara, California.

“The implementation of X4 architecture on BiCS3 is a significant development for Western Digital as it demonstrates our continued leadership in NAND flash technology, and it also enables us to offer an expanded choice of storage solutions for our customers,” said Dr. Siva Sivaram, executive vice president, Memory Technology, Western Digital. “The most striking aspect in today’s announcement is the use of innovative techniques in the X4 architecture that allows our BiCS3 X4 to deliver performance attributes comparable to those in BiCS3 X3. The narrowing of the performance gap between the X4 and X3 architectures is an important and differentiating capability for us, and it should help drive broader market acceptance of X4 technology over the next several years.”

QNAP Systems, Inc. today announced the new business-class AMD-powered TS-x73U series NAS; available in 8, 12 and 16-bay models with single and redundant power supply options. With a high-performance AMD Embedded R-Series RX-421ND quad-core CPU (2.1 GHz base, 3.4 GHz boost), a pre-installed dual-port 10GbE SFP+ network card, and two M.2 SATA 6Gb/s SSD slots (for empowering SSD caching to realize optimized storage efficiency with Qtier™ technology), the rack-mountable TS-x73U series is ideal for business organizations looking for a secure private cloud and efficient IT infrastructure for 10GbE networks.

With a dual 10GbE configuration, the TS-x73U series is capable of delivering up to 1,567 MB/s throughput, while the accelerated encryption engine with AES-NI enables unmatched encryption performance of up to 1,244 MB/s to boost system performance. Coupled with high scalability, the 10GbE-ready TS-x73U series satisfies virtualization and fast backup/restoration requirements for an ever-growing amount of data that demands higher bandwidth, and facilitates day-to-day operations with greater productivity.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories today launched the SE730H external solid state drive, an update of the best-selling SE730. The SE730H performs at 500MB/s read and write, and moves to 3D TLC NAND for increased durability and longevity, while remaining one of the most compact external SSDs worldwide. It has a reversible USB-C connector for greater convenience, and a stylish metallic design. Data transfers use USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gbps). Importantly, the SE730H meets IEC IP68 dust and water proof requirements, as well as military-grade shock mitigation standards. Available in 256GB and 512GB, the SE730H is Windows, Mac OS, and Android compatible for seamless cross-platform usage.

Super compact with the benefit of 3D NAND
While previous generation SE730 drives were only available in 250GB, the shift to high quality 3D TLC NAND has allowed ADATA to offer the SE730H in up to 512GB. At the same time, the SE730H maintains is compact footprint as the smallest device in its class (external USB-C 3D NAND SSD). It weighs a mere 33g, and users can choose from gold or red metallic color schemes. With 3D TLC NAND, the SE730H delivers more than just bigger capacity: 3D NAND is also around 25% longer-lasting than 2D NAND, and more reliable for the life of the product while consuming less power, a plus for paired device batteries. In terms of performance, the SE730H reaches 500MB/s read and write, or about five times the speed of external mechanical drives.

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.