Articles about Storage

Solid state storage technology is constantly improving. 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, TEAMGROUP releases its latest NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD, and it is very affordable. Called "MP33 PRO," it isn't the fastest such drive, but it is certainly speedier than any SATA drive. While it lacks a fancy heatsink or flashy sticker, it will be offered in two PCB colors -- blue and black. While both colors are nice, the black is certainly the better looking of the two.

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I still remember getting my first-ever solid state drive -- a SATA model with a small capacity by today's standards. It was mind-blowing to see how fast Windows could boot from it. Also great? No longer being forced to hear the sound of a mechanical hard drive seeking for data. All things considered, the transition from HDD to SSD was one of the most significant upgrades of my entire computing life. And you know what? I am sure many consumers would say the same.

With all of that said, solid state drives aren't just great inside computers -- they work wonderfully outside of them too. What do I mean by that? I am referring to portable storage. Thanks to NVMe drives, external storage devices can be faster and tinier than ever. Not to mention, with USB-C, you never have to worry about plugging in the connector the wrong way either. Today, Western Digital launches such a drive and it is absolutely gorgeous. Called "WD My Passport SSD," it features an internal NVMe drive, USB-C connectivity, and a beautiful metal exterior that oozes elegance.

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Another day, another solid state drive. Yes, folks, we are once again telling you about a new SSD. There sure are a lot of new models hitting the market lately, right? This time, the drive is from Silicon Power. We recently reviewed one of that company's external SSDs, but I digress.

Called "UD70," it is a PCIe 3.0 SSD that uses 3D QLC NAND. Unfortunately, it is not a PCIe 4.0 drive like the company's similarly named US70. While a PCIe Gen 3x4 SSD is nothing out of the ordinary, Silicon Power boasts about it having superior cooling capabilities. No, it doesn't have a huge heatsink. In fact, it has no heatsink at all. Actually, SP says the cooling capabilities are baked into the UD70's firmware.

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Backing up data is an essential part of computing responsibility. Just like regularly changing your car's oil, you should regularly back up your computer's files. The sad reality is, many people don't think about their important files until they are lost forever. How sad would it be if you lost your entire music library, your work projects, or worst of all, your family photos?

Nowadays, the cloud makes data backup easy, but you should not trust that solution exclusively. What if there is a situation where you don't have internet access, or even worse, the cloud provider goes out of business? You should also backup your files locally -- redundancy is key. Depending on how much data you have, a portable solid state drive often makes a lot of sense, as they offer very fast speeds and no moving parts. Not only does an external drive allow you to move data between multiple computers, but you can easily lock it in a safe or fireproof box if needed.

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If you want to store your data externally, you can always go with a mechanical hard disk drive. That makes sense, as HDDs are typically a more cost effective option when compared to solid state drives. With that said, SSDs have dropped in price a lot lately, and are getting larger storage capacities all the time. For instance, both Sabrent and Samsung recently showed off 8TB SSDs. Not to mention, solid state drives are faster and have no moving parts, making them worth the premium for some consumers.

Lexar recently announced a new portable SSD that uses USB-C for connectivity, and it is rather affordable. Called "SL200," it appears to use a SATA drive internally, so it isn't the fastest option on the market. With that said, it is still significantly faster than a USB hard disk drive. Your PC doesn't have USB-C? Don't worry. The attractive drive comes with both a USB-C to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-A cable in the box.

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The solid state drive market is evolving very fast lately. Not only do we now have an M.2 drive with a huge 8TB 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, Silicon Power unveils an all-new SSD that uses PCIe 4.0. Called "US70," the company promises some impressive performance. For instance, read speeds can reach 5,000 MB/s, while write can go up to 4,400 MB/s.

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Synology makes some great network-attached storage (NAS) enclosures. Whether for home or business, its devices can be filled with storage disks to set up collaborative file-sharing over a network. Synology's offerings are fast and dependable, making them smart choices for consumers. There's a reason so many people trust the brand.

The company's NAS products can work with any brand of storage disk, but still, Synology has decided to begin selling its own solid state drives for some reason. Yeah, it is kind of odd to see drives with Synology branding, but here we are. I suppose the company saw a money-making opportunity, so who can blame it for trying to increase profits. The company isn't just offering 2.5-inch SATA SSDs either, but M.2 PCIe-based drives too. Nice.

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When it comes to data storage, drives can never be "fast enough" or have capacity that is "large enough." We need manufacturers to continually push boundaries, making sure that technology never stops evolving. For instance, SD cards have been in use for many years now, but they are far faster than when they first hit the scene.

And today, The SD Association announces that SD cards are about to get faster than ever, thanks to the SD 8.0 Specification. With SD Express technology, which is based on NVMe and PCIe, you will eventually be able to buy an SD card with speeds nearing 4GB/s!

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If you are still using a mechanical hard disk drive as your operating system boot drive, what the hell is wrong with you? No, really -- why are you like this? Look, I can understand using a HDD for data storage in 2020, but for your OS, you need to be using a solid state drive. Seriously, folks, the performance difference is "night and day" -- an SSD is significantly faster. Long gone is the excuse that SSDs are too expensive -- they are dirt cheap now. This is particularly true for the 2.5-inch SATA solid state drives, which are extremely affordable these days. Whether you have a desktop or laptop, an SSD should be in your computer.

ADATA has a new such 2.5-inch SATA SSD that should serve as a good drop-in upgrade for all you maniacs still using hard disk drives. Called "SU720," it is very unremarkable, but that is by design. Despite inexplicably having the word "ultimate" on the label, this SSD isn't meant to make enthusiasts drool or win any awards. Instead, it will offer a nice boost in performance to those still booting from a woefully deficient 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch SATA mechanical hard drive. And hopefully, it should be easy on the wallet too.

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There are some really great things happening in the solid state storage market lately. For instance, OWC just launched a 4TB M.2 drive, while Silicon Power released a very thin external SSD. KINGMAX even announced a super-fast NVMe PCIe Gen4x4 SSD. What a time to be alive!

Today, Kingston unveils a solid state drive that isn’t revolutionary, but it is still quite cool. Called “KC2500,” it is an M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe Gen3x4 SSD. Best of all, it is quite affordable, with pricing starting below $74.

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Other World Computing (also known as OWC) is a very Apple-centric company. Its products are typically designed for Mac computers, such as the iMac, Mac Pro, and MacBook to name a few. Hell, the company's website is MacSales.com -- what does that tell you? Despite primarily focusing on Apple products, its offerings aren't exclusive to Mac. Many of its storage, memory, and docking products are compatible with Windows and Linux computers too.

OWC's latest storage product is sure to be cross-platform, as it is merely a solid state drive. The SSD is a very fast M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe variant, but that isn't what makes it so exciting. Actually, it is the capacity -- an insane 4TB! And yes, as you can expect, the 4TB Aura P12 M.2 NVMe SSD (S3DN3P2T40) is quite expensive.

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Solid State Drives are great for many reasons, two of which are speed and durability. They are much faster than mechanical hard drives, and since they have no moving parts, they are less likely to become damaged from bumps, drops, or excessive vibration. Another great thing about SSDs are their size. With portable solid state drives in particular, they can be quite diminutive -- much better for tossing into a bag or sliding into a pocket.

Today, Silicon Power unveils a new such drive that is not only very svelte, but quite fast too. The "PC60," as it is called, is a mere 11mm thin and just 80mm around. The squarish drive uses USB-C for connectivity and the ultra-fast USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface. It is thin, small, and fast, but also, quite attractive too. It even has a hole for attaching a carabiner, lanyard, or keychain.

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Solid state drives are great for home consumers and PC enthusiasts, but that is not the extent of their usefulness. Actually, the improved performance of SSDs over mechanical hard disk drives is beneficial for business use too. In particular, industrial applications can benefit from the fact that SSDs have no moving parts, making them less likely to fail from hardcore vibration or excessive jostling.

Today, ADATA launches an all-new industrial-grade SSD. Called "IM2S3314," it uses the diminutive M.2 2242 form factor and the SATA 3 interface. The drive can be had in several capacities ranging from 16GB to 256GB, with two memory types -- MLC (multi-level cell) and A+ SLC (single-level cell). But wait, what is this "A+" variant of SLC? ADATA explains that its proprietary A+ SLC technology, "utilizes custom NAND Flash firmware with an A+ sorting algorithm to emulate SLC performance." And now you know!

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All solid state drives are fast -- when compared to a mechanical hard drive, at least. With that said, not all SSDs are created equally. SATA based SSDs are the slowest of the bunch, with PCIe-based drives being the fastest. Of course, there are different generations of PCIe that have gotten continually faster. Currently, consumers have access to some computers and motherboards with PCIe Gen 4.0.

If you have a newer computer with PCIe Gen 4.0, congratulations -- you have a nice rig. If your SSD isn't PCIe Gen 4.0, however, you might be missing out on some potential speed. There aren't many of those drives on the market, but today, one more is unveiled. Called "PX4480," this new SSD from KINGMAX is insanely fast, making SATA SSDs look like straight trash!

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Cloud storage company Storj Labs is launching a new decentralized service aimed at storing data more efficiently and providing additional revenue-generating opportunities for storage node operators.

Called Tardigrade -- in case you were wondering a tardigrade is an eight-legged water dwelling micro animal (or if you've watched 'Star Trek: Discovery' a sort of massive space-travelling flea) -- it offers cloud object storage that's S3 compatible, high performing, easily implemented, exceptionally durable, and with high availability.

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