Published work
Technical Analysis
More than 500 reviews, articles, guides and white papers, written to make storage technology legible and useful. 425 carry my byline and are listed below. The rest are white papers, press releases and technology-trend posts I wrote for enterprise SSD and server makers.
The archive
The SSD Review bylines, 2014–2019
Every card opens the original.
Stories 151 to 200 of 211, newest first.
Kingston SDCA3 microSDHC/SDXC UHS-I U3 Card Review (64GB)For the latest and greatest action cams or even cellphones like the Note 4, microSDXC cards are essential. With 4K video output becoming a norm and high bit rates following it, flash memory with high write speeds is in great demand.
ADATA Shows Off SandForce SF3700 SSD and New TLC SSD – CES Update 2015Last week we were eager to meet with ADATA’s team at CES 2015. In their suite they had not only some new lighting and hard drive products, but some very interesting SSDs on display. One of these is an enterprise M.2 drive featuring a SandForce SF3700 controller.
Patriot Showcases Ignite SSD and More – CES 2015 UpdateCES has been great so far, there are a lot of new products that have been unveiled and we look forward to reviewing everything we can get our hands on. We stopped by Patriot’s suite in the Bellagio to see what they had up their sleeve.
Samsung Discusses Enterprise SSDs – CES 2015 UpdateThis morning at CES Las Vegas, we attended the Bellagio where we met with Ryan Smith, Sr. Product Manager of SSD Marketing, Samsung. We got to take a look not only at their current SSD line up, but what should be coming out over the next year or so.
Samsung SM951 PCIe 3.0 M.2 SSD In Mass ProductionSamsung Electronics Co., Ltd., has recently announced that it has begun mass producing a high-performance, low-powered PCIe M.2 SSD, the SM951. The OEM drive is targeted for ultra-slim notebook PCs and workstations. It is compatible with both PCIe 3.0 and PCIe 2.0 interfaces.
Kingston HyperX Predator M.2 SSD Capable of 1.4GB/s and 125K IOPS – CES 2015 UpdateMaking our rounds at CES, we made a stop by Kingston to check out what they had going on. It turns out, they have something pretty impressive. They are releasing a brand new PCIe 2.0 x4 M.2 SSD capable of 1.4GB/s reads and 1GB/s write, the HyperX Predator! UPDATE: Exclusive Full Review Here.
OCZ Displays New JetExpress Controller On New NVMe M.2 SSDs – CES 2015 UpdateThis week at CES 2015 in Las Vegas, our good friends at OCZ introduced us to a few new SSDs, as welll as a dynamite new SSD controller. On their display floor, OCZ has a brand new Vector series SSD, the Vector 180. This SSD will be the last of their Barefoot 3 powered product line.
PNY Shows Off New SSD Product Lines – CES 2015 UpdateWhile at Pepcom’s Digital Experience! 2015 in Las Vegas, NV, we were quite interested in what was going on at the PNY booth. They have announced a new line-up of SSDs for enterprise, client, and consumer applications. The naming scheme has also changed from before, now opting for a two letter abbreviation per drive class followed by a number series.
Trusted Computing Group Booth – Storage Visions 2015 UpdateWith computers in use reaching the two billion mark and mobile phones exceeding the world population, security is mission critical. Based on IDC estimates, about half of all data is unprotected. The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse reports that 536,508,478 records have been breached from unencrypted drives that were lost, stolen or hacked since 2005.
Samsung Unveils Portable SSD T1- Storage Visions 2015 UpdateWhile about the exhibit floor here at Storage Visions 2015, we couldn’t help but notice a small gathering around Chris Geiser, senior memory and storage product manager at Samsung.
Marvell’s New 88NV1120 Pictures Display Ultra Small Controller – Storage Visions 2015 UpdateThis afternoon at Storage Visions, we had the fortune of bumping into our close friend Mike Chen, Marvell SSD and Strategic Marketing Director, who had a bit of a surprise in store. Some might remember Marvell’s announcement of their new 88NV1120 and 88NV1140 controllers back in December, but we don’t think anyone could have imagined a controller this small.
SanDisk Intros Very Low Priced SSDPlus SSD – Storage Visions 2015 UpdateToday at Storage Visions 2015, we met with Siobhan Lyons, Sr. SanDisk PR Manager, and Brian Cos, Sr. Director of SanDisk Enterprise Storage Solutions, both of who had some great SSD news!. Today SanDisk announces a new affordable SSD line option to customers, the SanDisk SSD Plus.
Storage Visions 2015 – The Future of FlashAfter yesterday’s long cross country flight and well needed rest, we’re all here at Riviera Convention Center to check out Storage Visions 2015! Today and tomorrow there are sessions on all things storage.
SSD of the Week – ADATA SP610In last week’s SSD of the Week we highlighted AMD’s first entry into the SSD market, their Radeon R7. It is a gamer oriented drive that has been developed with OCZ to deliver some great performance. This week we are starting off 2015 by recommending a great performing drive at very good price points, the ADATA SP610.
SSD of the Week – AMD Radeon R7We hope you have been enjoying the holidays and to all we wish you a happy new year! To end the week, our SSD of the Week will be highlighting a newcomer’s introduction to the SSD market, AMD’s Radeon R7. This gamer oriented SSD continues to expand AMD’s Radeon product diversity.
Samsung 850 EVO SSD Review (1TB) – Differing Series Controllers ComparedThe Samsung 850 EVO is a third generation TLC NAND SSD, second 3D V-NAND product on the market, and the first SSD in the industry to feature 3-bit 3D V-NAND. At first people were weary of TLC NAND, due to the issues it presents. TLC NAND has much lower endurance and slower performance when compared to MLC and SLC.
Samsung Magician 4.5 RAPID Mode – Evaluated With Demonstrated Speed IncreaseOver the years, consumers have demanded and pushed manufacturers to develop SSD toolboxes to use when they install an SSD in their system. Offering a SSD toolbox has become almost a necessity in today’s SSD market.
SSD of the Week – OCZ Arc 100Our SSD of the Week series became a little side tracked over the past few weeks. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals going on, almost any SSD was a good buy. Now however, prices are back where they should be and the holidays are just around the corner.
Mushkin Reactor SSD Review (1TB) – High Value High Capacity SSDs Become the NormIt has been quite a while since Mushkin has released a new SSD product. Our last Mushkin product review was in 2013 where we ripped apart their Scorpion Deluxe PCIe SSD which utilizes multiple SandForce controller based SSDs on a single PCIe card.
Samsung 850 EVO SSD Review (120/500GB) – Showing Off 3D TLC V-NANDAt the end of June, Samsung released the 850 Pro which was the successor to the 840 Pro. With it came their brand new 32-layer MLC 3D V-NAND flash, and this flash allows for greater durability, lower power consumption, improved performance and a 10 year warranty.
Top Cyber Monday SSD Deals 2014Don’t miss out on a chance to upgrade your PC on the cheap. If this Thanksgiving and Black Friday wasn’t enough, there is still time to get some great deals on new SSDs this Cyber Monday. SSDs speed up everything from system boot time, to application loading. We’ve seen dramatic differences in old systems with just a simple SSD upgrade.
Top SSD Thanksgiving Sales 2014It’s that time of the year again, when online retailers are dropping prices on products left and right. Over the past few days there have been some okay deals when it comes to SSDs in anticipation of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
SSD of the Week – The Plextor M6eWhen building a gaming PC, the first thing you think of is speed.
SanDisk’s Fusion ioMemory Accelerates High Energy Physics ResearchTo speed up the potential discovery of new particles and forces that will help explain the building blocks of the universe, physicists need supercomputers with the fastest storage solutions. Today, SanDisk announced that the University of Michigan and University of Victoria (CA) are utilizing SanDisk’s Fusion ioMemory solutions.- SSD of the Week – SanDisk Ultra IIIn the most recent SSD of the Week we went over the top performing Samsung XP941 as our highlight. It offers speeds that are twice that of the SATA 6Gb/s limit in a M.2 form factor. Now, we are going to focus back on the mainstream market. This week we are looking at the SanDisk Ultra II.
Intel Expands DC S3500 Series SSD Family – Higher Capacity and M.2 OptionsIntel’s DC S3500 Series SSDs for data centers and cloud computing are designed for fast consistent read performance with strong data protection in mind. Intel puts their drives under 5000 unique tests to ensure quality and a low .44% failure rate.
SSD of the Week – Samsung XP941 M.2 PCIe 2.0 X4Last week we went over the top SATA based SSD on the market, the Samsung 850 Pro. Today, we are going to take a look at the top M.2 drive on the market…which also happens to be by Samsung, the XP941! Most manufacturers have been releasing SATA based M.2 drives recently. These drives have a 6Gb/s interface limit.
Transcend MTS800 M.2 2280 SATA SSD Review (128GB)We have been seeing more M.2 SSDs lately, a lot of which are companies’ first steps into the market since the form factor is so new. They have been designed to meet strict size requirements and allow for greater flexibility in product development. They are the perfect fit for mobile devices with their compact size and light weight.
SSD of the Week – Samsung 850 ProSamsung has had a strong track record with SSDs. Their drives offer high reliability as well as high performance for those with a need for speed. They are one of the few manufacturers that designs and manufacturers every major SSD component in their drives. That alone should tell you about their expertise and strength in the industry.
KINGMAX M.2 2242 SATA SSD Review (128GB)KINGMAX started off back in 1989 and has been committed to becoming a leader in global memory technology since. They manufacture an array of memory products from DRAM to USB drives to SSDs. They have been offering 2.5″ SSDs since 2008 and the release of their M.2 2242 and M.2 2280 SATA SSDs marks their first step into the M.2 world.
SSD of the Week – Crucial M550 M.2 SATA SSDCrucial has been a leader in delivering value to their customers, whether it be in their SSDs or their great customer support. A few weeks ago we dubbed their new MX100 one of the best budget 2.5″ SSDs out. It follows in the footsteps of their M550.
IronKey Workspace W700 Secure Flash Drive ReviewThe International Data Corporation reported that there are over 1 billion workers in the mobile workforce today. With the increased use of mobile devices such as tablets, smartphones, and laptops, the fact is that the mobile workforce continues to grow.
SSD of the Week – RevoDrive 350Focused on the SanDisk Extreme Pro, last week’s SSD of the Week was aimed towards high end SATA performance at a cost that wouldn’t break the bank. This week, we will be following a similar trend, however this time, we are focusing on the PCIe interface. When working with large media files, speed is king.
Micron M600 mSATA SSD Review (256GB)M.2 SSDs were developed to replace the mSATA form factor, however these devices are still in their infancy and the demand for mSATA SSD still exists. mSATA SSDs are mainly deployed in mobile devices such as tablets, laptops, and Ultrabooks because they allow for lighter and thinner designs.
Micron M600 M.2 SATA SSD Review (256GB)M.2 SSDs are starting to gain traction. The Samsung XP941 is starting to become more available and Plextor won Best of Show with their M6e at FMS this year. Both LiteOn and Hynix displayed some 1TB M.2 SSDs and LSI showed off some M.2 reference designs with their latest SF37000 controller.
SSD of the Week – SanDisk Extreme ProLast week we stepped it down a bit for the SSD of the Week with the value oriented Crucial MX100. This week, we decided to step it back up and focus on the enthusiast class 2.5″ drives. This week’s SSD highlight is the SanDisk Extreme Pro.
SanDisk Announces X300 SSD and STAR Services for Corporate EnvironmentsThis morning, SanDisk announces the X300 SSD and its SanDisk Tech Assisted Refresh services. The 24/7 mobile workforce continues to grow in the corporate world. HDDs are becoming too slow and unreliable. Corporations demand storage solutions with higher performance and reliability. SanDisk’s the release of the new X300 SSD and STAR program are the perfect solutions for these issues.
Micron M600 SSD Review (256GB/1TB)As a reader on our site, you should be very familiar with Crucial and their highly regarded consumer SSDs. Most recently recently, they announced their newest drive the MX100.
SSD of the Week – Crucial MX100Last week we kicked it up a notch for the SSD of the Week with the enterprise Intel NVMe PCIe DC P3700. However, this week we are on the opposite spectrum with the budget SSDs. The highlight of this week is the Crucial MX100.
Kingston SM2280S3 M.2 SATA SSD Review (240GB)The introduction of the SM2280S3 M.2 SSD last June marked Kingston Technology’s first entry to the M.2 SSD arena. For those new to M.2 SSDs, M.2 marks the standardization of smaller form factor SSDs to sizes smaller than what we have seen in mSATA.
RAIDON Runner GR2660 SSD/HDD RAID Enclosure ReviewExternal enclosures offer users many options and benefits from storage expansion to redundancy and speed. RAIDON Technology Inc. has been in the storage industry since 2000. They focus on high quality and unique product designs to provide professionals with reliable data storage solutions.
The SSD Review SSD of the Week – Intel NVMe P3700 SSDLast week we started off the SSD of the Week series with the value oriented the Samsung 840 EVO. This week we are focusing on pure performance. Where else could we look besides the first NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD on the market? Intel is a big name in the SSD world and are known for their performance and reliability.
Micron Announces M600 Client SSD Family To Include Notebook, M.2 and mSATA Form FactorsMicron Technology, Inc., a global leader in storage technology, is announcing their next generation SSD, the M600. The M600 is a client-class SSD that sets the bar for high performance, high power efficiency, and robust endurance.
SanDisk Ultra II SSD Review (240GB) – TLC Memory Goes MainstreamSanDisk is a world leading producer in NAND flash and NAND flash products. From consumer SD cards and USB drives to OEM flash storage, SanDisk is everywhere in this market. Just a few months ago, they released their highest end, enthusiast class SSD, the Extreme Pro.
Angelbird SSD2go Pocket External SSD Review (512GB)We are always on the go and the safe transport of our data is of high importance, especially for media professionals such as myself. Whether it is travel from home to office or offsite to remote regions for a new project, I need to make sure my data is safe and backed up as it is created.
The SSD Review SSD of the WeekLast week we looked throughout the flash memory market to find what we thought were the Top SSD Picks for Fall 2014. In response to the unexpected response to that article, we have decided to post a new weekly article that identifies the best SSDs, and SSD prices, found each week.
Top SSD Picks for Fall 2014Summer has come and gone, and over the past few months, there have been quite a few SSDs released into the market, and the question of, “Which SSD should I buy?” seems to still come up a lot around forums. Usually, there are some predetermined recommended favorite in each.- OCZ ARC 100 SSD Review (240GB) – Consistency in a Value SSDIt has been quite a while since we have seen a value oriented SSD from OCZ. Their last two releases where the Vector 150 and the Vertex 460, the latest updates to their enthusiast and mainstream drive lines.
Plextor PlexTurbo Demo and M6 Pro Release Imminent- FMS 2014 UpdateWell, things have been very busy here at FMS over the past few days and now it is finally drawing to a close. Before we left, we stopped by the Plextor booth to see what was going on with them and their product line. There we saw a demonstration of their new PlexTurbo.
LiteOn Shows Off 2TB 2.5″ SATA and 1TB M.2 Enterprise SSDs – FMS 2014 UpdateFrom the many things we have seen at FMS this year, we were surprised to see two things from LiteOn. One being their 1TB P1P M.2 form factor enterprise drive and the other being their 2TB 7mm 2.5″ N9S drive.
From my author pages at Tom’s Hardware and The SSD Review, as of November 4, 2026. TechnologyX is offline, so its cards open the Internet Archive copies.
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