CODENAME GRIFFIN Since our discovery of the next gen LSI SandForce flash controller at Computex earlier this year, it has been the talk of the storage world.  Codenamed Griffin, ADATA displayed both enterprise and M.2 ultrabook SSD prototypes of the controller at their event display without mention or word to anyone, almost daring the storage world to take note.  It …

The practice of using unbranded peripherals in computers is common.  Apple does this and carries things a step further by demanding that components, such as the SSDs, are proprietary to a specific build only. Not only can the SSD in Apple’s new Mac products not be upgraded with third-party SSDs, but also, they can’t even be switched off with SSDs …

SONY ULTRABOOK PRO 13 CONFIGURATIONS DIFFER A few weeks back, we published our review of the Sony VAIO Pro 13 ultrabook where we discovered that there were two different configurations of the VAIO being shipped, that with a SATA 3 M.2 SSD and that with a native M.2 PCIe SSD.  Not only did the system that we received contain a …

UNDERSTANDING SATA M.2 AND NATIVE M.2 PCIE SSDS By now, many are aware that there is a new SSD standard known as NGFF or M.2.  NGFF is actually a slang term that started the process rolling and means ‘next generation form factor’.  If you have been following our reviews as of late, you would have also learned that, within the …

A few weeks back, we posted an article that stated our opinion of the new Apple MBA as being one of the top ultraportable laptops available today, and quite possibly, untouchable.  The backlash from Sony fans was amazing, many clearly noting that we hadn’t tested, or included, the new VAIO 13 Pro as a comparison system in that report…and they …

We have only seen one ultrabook pushing 1GB/s transfer speeds to date and that was the Acer Aspire S7 which, well they cheated as they were using a custom dual sided SSD in RAID 0. Next in line was our recent review of the 2013 MBA which, as it stands, is using a custom Samsung PCIe SSD to reach great …

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world-leading memory technology provider, is announcing mass production of its XP941 PCI-Express (PCIe) solid state drive (SSD) to be utilized in modern ultra-thin notebooks / laptops.  Earlier this quarter, Samsung began supplying the new XP941 SSD to OEM notebook PC producers. With mass production of the XP941, Samsung is establishing a basis for a significant …

If you could load a motherboard with absolute killer features, what would you include?  Intel’s new X99 chipset opens the door a bit where, with the right X99 CPU, our PCIe lanes increase to 40 allowing us the leverage to stack our systems much more than we ever could have before.  Can you imagine a triple SLI/Crossfire graphics card layout …

Capacity, performance and value are three things always being examined by the media professional to increase efficiency and productivity.  Similarly, a large chunk of media production and editing still favors the Mac.  Our report today examines the newest release of the OWC ThunderBolt 4 external storage device, a device that connects to the newest Mac Pro via single or dual …

Our visit with Marvell this week at Computex went as expected and we got a bit of an update on their Altaplus M.2 PCIe X4 controller, previously designated as the Altaplus and numbered 88SS9293.  Timing right now for Marvell is great as Q4 is going to be a key point in time for M.2 X4 release.  LSI expects that the …