SSD

The solid state drive market is evolving very fast lately. Not only do we now have an external drive with a huge 16TB storage capacity, but PCIe 4.0-capable motherboards are becoming more prevalent. Why is PCIe 4.0 so important? Bandwidth, baby. Compared to PCIe 3.0, the new 4.0 has double the bandwidth. From a storage perspective, this means PCIe 4.0 solid state drives will provide insanely fast speeds.

Today, MSI unveils a trio of new PCIe NVMe M.2 solid state drives under its new "SPATIUM" branding. Called "M370," "M470," and "M480," one drive uses PCle 3.0, while the other two utilize the faster PCle 4.0. In other words, the company is providing options, allowing consumers to choose the speed that best meets their needs (and budgets).

Backing up files to the cloud makes a lot of sense -- you can access them from anywhere, and recover them in the event of your local computer storage being compromised, damaged or stolen.

But while cloud backup is secure, it does require you to entrust your personal data to a third-party, and if you have personal or company files that you really don’t want falling into the wrong hands, then storing them on an encrypted drive could be a better -- and safer -- bet.

If you have a cutting-edge PC with PCIe 4.0, you will probably want to get a compatible solid state drive to maximize your performance. True, PCIe 4.0 SSDs are largely for bragging rights and benchmarks -- you probably won't notice a difference in actual use -- but still, you might as well go for the best if the difference in price isn't totally obscene.

Today, TEAMGROUP unveils a new M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD. Called "T-FORCE CARDEA A440," this speedy gaming-focused SSD comes with interchangeable heatsinks -- a very unique cooling option. Essentially, you can opt for the giant aluminum heatsink if it fits in your computer, or the graphene heatsink if space is tight

The transition to PCIe 4.0 is undoubtedly in full effect, with more and more computers and motherboards having the new standard. Whether or not the user truly needs the benefits of PCIe 4.0 is debatable, but it is still cool regardless. After all, it is important to continually push boundaries.

One of the best aspects of PCIe 4.0 is faster solid state drives. For instance, today, Seagate unveils a new M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD. Called "FireCuda 530," this speedy gaming-focused SSD can be had with an optional aluminum heatsink -- for an added fee, of course. It offers a maximum read speed of 7,300MB/s and max write of 6,900MB/s.

Solid state drives are wonderful, right? No one disputes that. SSDs are fast, compact, and energy efficient. The only real downside when compared to hard disk drives is capacity. HDDs typically offer higher storage capacity than SSDs.

But what if that wasn't the case? What if you could have the best of both worlds? Well, folks, Sabrent has a new Thunderbolt 3 external SSD that might make you forget about old-school HDDs entirely. Called "Rocket XTRM-Q," the SSD (SB-DXMQ-8X2) can now be had with an insane 16TB of storage! It even has a durable aluminum body.

The transition to PCIe 4.0 is in full effect, with more and more computers and motherboards having the new standard. Whether consumers truly need the benefits of PCIe 4.0 today is debatable, but it is still cool regardless. After all, it is important to continually push boundaries.

Today, KLEVV launches two new PCIe NVMe M.2 solid state drives. Called "CRAS C720" and "CRAS C920," the former uses PCle Gen3 and the latter utilizes the faster PCle Gen4. In other words, the company is providing options, allowing consumers to choose the speed that best meets their needs (and budgets).

There are many manufacturers of solid state drives, but in my experience, Samsung's SSD offerings are amongst the best. They are reliable, affordable, and quite often, blazing fast too. If your data is important to you, a reputable brand is a must, and you can never go wrong with Samsung in this regard.

How does Samsung continually provide excellent solid state drives? The enormous company is constantly pushing boundaries, likely due to large R&D budgets that other SSD makers can't come anywhere near matching. Today, Samsung unveils its latest groundbreaking SSD. Called "PM1731a," the 2.5-inch drive is notable for utilizing Zoned Namespace (ZNS) technology and the company's sixth-gen V-NAND flash memory.

The transition to PCIe 4.0 is in full effect, with more and more computers and motherboards having the new standard. Whether consumers truly need the benefits of PCIe 4.0 today is debatable, but it is still cool regardless. After all, it is important to continually push boundaries.

One of the best aspects of PCIe 4.0 is faster solid state drives, of course. For instance, today, Western Digital unveils its latest NVMe PCIe Gen4 SSD. Called "WD_BLACK SN750 SE," it is designed for both gamers and PC enthusiasts.

Solid state storage is constantly getting faster. The truth, however, is while PCIe Gen 4 SSDs are now available, they are total overkill for most consumers. Heck, most people would be more than fine with a meager SATA drive. With that said, the previous-generation PCIe Gen 3 SSDs are now very inexpensive (and quite speedy) making them a smart purchase whether you truly need the extra speed or not -- as long as your computer is compatible.

Today, Silicon Power launches its latest NVMe M.2 solid state drive for both desktops and laptops. Called "XPOWER XD80," this PCIe Gen 3 SSD has fairly modest specifications in the grand scheme of things, but it is definitely more than fast enough for the majority of consumers.

If you need to store a lot of... legally obtained media files... such as films and TV shows (piracy is bad, mmkay?), a network attached storage device, or "NAS," is a great way to do so -- especially if it has a built-in Plex server. This is what I use in my home -- some hard drives set up in RAID filled with media that my family enjoys streaming through Plex on Apple TV. For the most part, this works well. There are only two problems -- the hard drives are rather slow and loud. The latter is a major issue, as the NAS is stored in my living room and hearing the drives spin up can be annoying.

I can obviously replace the hard disk drives with solid state drives, although it would mean a decrease in overall capacity. Still, it would be nice to have faster transfer speeds and less noise -- the cooling fan would still whir a bit though. SSDs are not typically ideal for constant reading and writing, however, but a new such drive from Transcend apparently is. Called "SSD250N," it is a 2.5-inch SSD designed specifically for NAS usage. The focus of this drive is reliability and longevity.

The transition to PCIe 4.0 is in full effect, with more and more computers and motherboards having the new standard. Whether or not the user truly needs the benefits of PCIe 4.0 is debatable, but it is still cool regardless. After all, it is important to continually push boundaries. "To Infinity and Beyond!" as the great Buzz Lightyear says.

One of the best aspects of PCIe 4.0 is faster solid state drives. For instance, today, Patriot launches a new such SSD under its VIPER gaming brand. Called "VP4300," this speedy M.2 2280 PCIE Gen4x4 SSD comes with interchangeable heatsinks -- a very neat cooling option. Essentially, you can opt for the thicker aluminum heatsink if it fits in your computer, or the thinner graphene heatsink if space is tight -- both come included in the box.

The transition to PCIe 4.0 is in full effect, with more and more computers and motherboards having the new standard. Whether or not the user truly needs the benefits of PCIe 4.0 is debatable, but it is still cool regardless. After all, it is important to continually push boundaries.

One of the best aspects of PCIe 4.0 is faster solid state drives. For instance, today, TEAMGROUP unveils a new M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD. Called "T-FORCE CARDEA A440," this speedy gaming-focused SSD comes with interchangeable heatsinks -- a very unique cooling option. Essentially, you can opt for the giant aluminum heatsink if it fits in your computer, or the graphene heatsink if space is tight.

Does anybody truly need a PCIe 4.0 solid state drive? Well, "need" is a tricky word. Nobody will die as a result of using a slower and cheaper PCIe 3.0 SSD, but at the same time, some people very strongly crave having the latest and greatest. Gamers in particular are constantly looking for an edge with better hardware, even if doesn't really end up helping with their gaming.

Today, ADATA launches an insanely fast solid state drive under its XPG gaming brand. Called "GAMMIX S70 BLADE," it is a PCIe Gen4x4 M.2 2280 SSD with read speeds up to 7,400MB/s and write speeds up to 6,400MB/s. Yeah, folks, that is extremely high performance and both gamers and enthusiasts are going to want it badly.

Solid state storage is constantly getting faster. The truth, however, is while PCIe Gen 4 SSDs are now available, they are total overkill for most consumers. Hell, most people would be more than fine with a meager SATA drive. With that said, the previous-generation PCIe Gen 3 SSDs are now very inexpensive (and quite fast) making them a smart buy whether you truly need the extra speed or not. In other words, a SATA SSD should probably be avoided nowadays -- unless your PC simply isn't compatible with anything else.

Today, Kingston launches its latest NVMe M.2 solid state drive for both desktops and laptops. Called "NV1," this PCIe Gen 3 SSD has fairly modest specifications in the grand scheme of things, but it is definitely more than fast enough for the majority of consumers. Most importantly, it is priced very competitively. Just how affordable is the NV1? It starts at less than $65!

Earlier today, we told you about an all-new NVMe solid state drive from Lexar. That SSD looks quite nice, as it is both fast and affordable. Not to mention, the Lexar brand is synonymous with "high-quality." That company has been cranking out great memory products for many years.

Of course, Lexar is not the only trustworthy maker of SSDs. Along with more-known manufacturers like Samsung are lesser-known companies like Transcend. If you have shopped for storage products lately, you have probably come across Transcend, and yes, that brand can absolutely be trusted too. Today, Transcend launches its latest NVMe SSD. Called "MTE240S," it is designed for both content creators and gamers. With that said, it should be a solid choice for any computer user, really.