Tag Archives: TxBench

This report is rather special.  Just under ten years ago, we did a report on an Apricorn Aegis Secure Key 3.0 (ASK3) external SSD which is my longest standing product still in use today.  Ten years.  Most recently, Apricorn reached out asking if I might like to report on their newer updated version of the ASK3 and I couldn’t resist.  …

It has been a while since this release, but we received an SSD in the mail today that deserves a quick look: the XPG Mars 980 Blade by ADATA. This 1TB SSD stands out because we can’t remember the last time we had a drive of this capacity in hand, let alone reviewed one. Times are changing, however, and NAND …

It is not often that we start a report off speaking to the interior components of an SSD.  This is that exception so bear with us as this will play out very well.  Last June, we attended Computex and discovered a new PCIe 5.0 SSD controller by SMI, the SM2504XT.  Its extremely small footprint tied into great performance, while having …

QLC NAND flash memory has been available in an SSD for sometime now, and as with TLC before it and MLC before that, it has experienced some growing pains.  With every generation of memory comes the naysayers and haters that prefer to look back rather than forward.  Luckily companies such as Micron look forward.  The unfortunate reality, however, is that …

There is a new SSD that is about to make its mark and it changes things.  It is the mSSD, short for microSSD, and Longsys holds the patented IP (intellectual property) with Lexar already pushing forward with their Play X Gen4 SSD and AI Storage Core releases.  It has been discussed at some length by other companies, however we have …

We’ve been conducting comprehensive microSD Express card reviews for some time, and if you look back at our original charts, Samsung was included in that group. We initially held back on publishing the Samsung report because the card was supplied by a third party, never spoke of performance variables, and showed behavior that differed from the rest. It didn’t align …

We’re entering an era where smaller, faster, and higher-capacity SSDs are no longer luxuries; they’re necessities. I experienced this firsthand last year while shopping for a new ultrabook. My shortlist of must-haves was clear: a compact form factor, support for at least a 4TB SSD, and PCIe 4.0 performance. Ideally, I wanted PCIe Gen5 speeds, but nothing on the market …

Lexar has done it again… and this time, Sony Alpha and FX series owners finally have reason to celebrate. For years, they’ve been like kids watching from the sidelines while Canon EOS R5 users like myself enjoyed the benefits of faster CFExpress Type-B storage. But that all changes now. Thanks to Lexar, Type-A users are catching up in a big …

Samsung introduced an SSD last week that just happens to be a ‘Samsung first’.  It is the Samsung 9100 Pro Gen 5 SSD and we have reviewed this previously in its 4TB capacity.  Samsung has a reputation of being one of the best in the industry and we might bet that their sales reflect such by a healthy margin.  Deservedly, …

Yesterday we posted our first ever report on the ADATA Premier Extreme 256GB microSDXC Express Card and it provided us with data transfer speeds over 800MB/s in a card smaller than a dime.  This report followed a report we did on the Silicon Motion SM2708 SDXC Express controller some time ago, the same controller found within that microSD Express card.  …