CES hasn’t even started yet and storage seems front and central once again as we saw first hand with an unexpected visit to Western Digital/SanDisk last night at Pepcom.  Check this out.  It is a 8TB palm sized portable SSD that is USB-C and will transfer data…lots of data… above 1GB/s easily.  It is an early prototype but this is …

Lexar is announcing the new Lexar­ Professional SL100 Pro Portable SSD, which is currently the world’s fastest 1TB portable SSD, delivering up to 950MB/s reads and up to 900MB/s writes.  The SL100 Pro features an aesthetically pleasing brushed aluminum housing that is drop-, shock-, and vibration-resistant. The SL100 Pro’s slim size allows it to fit easily into a pocket or …

Ease of use is massive to me, and I am sure that’s  the same with most.  M.2 SSDs, as sweet as they are for capacity, size and speeds, are at the best of times difficult to install simply because of the size of the #$%&^% retainer screw. Can this be concerning?  Well, I can remember some time ago when that …

Not to often that we have to eat crow (figuratively speaking) but our review today is just that.  A few months ago, we reviewed the JMicron Type-C NVMe M.2 SSD to USB 3.1 Gen 2 adapter and quoted it as being ‘not quite ready for prime time.’  Simply, I was wrong.  As a reviewer, we sometimes get caught up in …

We have had this sitting on out Test Bench for some time and I thought I might do a little playing with it and throw a few tests out there.  It is a JMicron USB 3.1 Gen 2 to PCIe/NVMe adapter and it uses a Type-C connector. This adapter accepts a M.2 SSD up to a 2280 form factor and …

This week we met with Larry O’Connor, Founder and CEO of Other World Computing (OWC). Much of OWC’s success has been as a provider of storage upgrade solutions for Apple-made computing devices.  Our meeting in a suite at the Venetian was to view and discuss OWC’s latest offerings and plans. Apple has had a bit of a history of producing computing …

Plextor is announcing a new generation of external SSDs that feature a USB Type-C interface.  The Plextor EX1 is slim and lightweight, as well as offering extreme data transfer speeds.  The EX1 features a shock-proof case design that is both rugged and attractive, offered in either a  titanium silver or gold finish. The USB Type-C interface (USB 3.1 Gen 2) …

Without a doubt this is the year of portable storage.  Through advances in NAND flash memory, we have seen the footprint of all storage devices shrink considerably, and if they haven’t, their capacity has increased significantly.  Take a look at Samsung’s latest 960 Pro M.2 2TB SSD we recently reviewed for example.  This little baby can store 34,000 hrs of …

Ever the innovator, ASRock is announcing two unique products to add additional connectivity to your computer’s motherboard and/or case. ASRock is the world’s first in offering a front panel that supports front Type-A and Type-C USB 3.1 ports. Their new U.2 Kit is an add-on card that supports the latest and fastest Intel SSD 750 series of SSDs. The latest …

Our SSD close up today is going to examine the different SSD types and form factors common to the consumer. This is the third paper in a series of recent articles that explained the benefits and components of a solid state drive and will go so far as to make up our SSD Beginners Guide.  Each article is designed to …