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À partir d’avant-hierAnandTech

Micron at CES 2024: USB4 SSD Technology Demonstrations

Micron's consumer brand, Crucial Memory, has been putting extra focus on the SSD market over the last few quarters. The brand was marketing entry-level QLC drives in the 2018 - 2022 time frame. Recently, emphasis has also been placed on cutting-edge SSDs - both internal (such as the Gen4 T500 and Gen5 T700) and external (such as the X10 Pro). Vertical integration, coupled with Micron being the first flash manufacturer to achieve volume production of 200+ layer 3D NAND, has been crucial to Crucial's success in these segments.

At the 2024 CES, Micron had a couple of interesting USB4 SSD technology demonstrations for its resellers / partners and invited media. These are essentially products under development (with no guarantees that they would make it to the market in their current form). Both products are bridge-based solutions using the ASMedia ASM2464PD USB4 to NVMe accessory controller. The key update over the popular ASM2364 (USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 upstream, and PCIe 3.0 x4 downstream) is the shift to a 40 Gbps USB4 upstream port along with a PCIe 4.0 x4 link downstream. The power delivery component of the Type-C specification is also implemented within the controller.

The portable SSD version has a gumstick form-factor, with the transparent casing housing a M.2 2280 SSD - a 2TB Gen4 Micron 3400 OEM drive in this case.

The drive is expected to be passively cooled, with the larger form-factor enabling a thermal performance similar to that of the X10 Pro / X9 Pro. Bridge-based solutions are the standard option for high-performance portable SSDs.

Similar configurations (bridge + DRAM-equipped M.2 SSD) such as the SanDisk Extreme PRO v2 (E81) have yielded excellent all-round performance for a wide range of workload types. We expect the same to continue in the USB4 era. That said, vendors like ADATA using the same bridge have opted for active cooling to avoid thermal throttling in their USB4 PSSD. It remains to be seen if this design will remain fanless in its final form (and if it does, thermal performance would be an interesting aspect to analyze).

The USB4 desktop SSD is a comparatively unique product. This is an actively cooled design with a small fan, and uses a U.3 SSD inside. Other vendors like OWC have tried multiple M.2 SSDs configured with software RAID in a large-sized enclosure, but this one has a single high-capacity drive (8TB in the sample being demonstrated).

Designed for stacking (without daisy-chaining support), the eSSD also requires external power. The drive can also power notebooks through the USB4 connection, which can make up for the presence of a discrete power adapter. Specifics of the power delivery will only be available when the product is officially introduced. This product could be made more attractive by having some downstream USB Type-A / Type-C ports (eSSD in a dock). That said, there are two aspects that will probably make this the performance and consistency king of USB4 SSDs - the presence of a fan, and the use of a Gen4 U.3 SSD (which is most likely an enterprise drive that advertises worst-case performance and not speeds in the SLC cache region).

The current crop of USB4 SSDs are focused on performance, and sacrifice power- and energy-efficiency. Those aspects will be addressed by native USB4 UFD controllers like Phison's U21. Silicon Motion tends to keep controllers under wraps until reference designs are ready to ship (if the introduction of the SM2320 was anything to go by). We expect external / portable SSD vendors to eventually add native UFD controller-based products to their USB4 lineup, but that seems unlikely to happen in the first half of 2024.

Phison Details U21 USB4 PSSD and E31T Mainstream Gen 5 SSD Controllers

Phison's lineup of SSD and portable SSD controllers is keeping pace with the general industry trends, as evidenced by their products on display at the 2024 CES.

Portable SSDs in all forms and sizes (including the popular thumb drive as a SSD-in-a-stick) have gained a lot of market and mind-share in recent years, thanks to rising capacity and performance. An important contributor on the power-efficiency front (which is important for flash drive vendors to pack SSD performance in a thumb drive) has been the rise of native flash controllers like Phison's U17 / U18 and Silicon Motion's SM2320.

Since the launch of the U17 / U18 in 2021, USB4 has become common on client platforms from both Intel and AMD. SSD controller vendors are keeping pace with that update, and Phison is officially the first out of the door with their U21 USB4 eSSD controller. (Note: It appears that the PSSD nomenclature promoted by SSD vendors is being replaced by eSSD on the controller side). Similar to the U17 / U18, these are single-chip solutions. Small thumb drives may also end up using these in a multi-chip package (where the flash and the controller are packaged together to save on area).

Phison indicated that the U21 controller can practically saturate the USB4 bus with speeds up to 4000 MBps. Fabricated in TSMC's 12nm process, the U21 can support up to four channels with 16 chip enables. Backwards compatibility is an important aspect. USB4 requires compatibility with only USB 3.2 Gen 2, USB 3.2 Gen 1, and USB 2.0 for certification purposes. However, the U21 can also work in the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) mode if required. Phison's customers can use this controller for PSSDs ranging in capacity from 512GB to 8TB. Both TLC and QLC NAND can be used. Flash speeds of up to 1600 MT/s is supported. This might hold back the power- and energy- efficiency a bit, as we have seen higher flash speeds getting the job done faster and having lower overall energy consumption for a given workload. Higher flash speeds also reduce the number of required channels for a given performance target, and that results in power savings too. It remains to be seen if other eSSD controller vendors support 2400 MT/s flash later this year.

In internal SSD controller news, Phison is also readying the E31T mainstream Gen 5 controller for launch this year. As the naming convention goes, this is a DRAM-less controller suitable for mainstream M.2 2280 SSDs with a focus on low power operation (suitable for mobile platforms). This quad-channel controller is fabricated in TSMC's 7nm process with peak performance numbers of around 10800 MBps for sequential workloads and 1.5M IOPS for 4K random accesses.

Support for TCG Opal / Pyrite ensures that the E31T platform can also be used for OEM SSDs meant for business deployments.

Phison also had the X2 enterprise SSD platform on display. This is a Gen 5 x4 dual port U.2 solution (also available in E3.S form factor) with steady state sequential performance of 14 GBps for reads and 12 GBps for writes. Random read IOPS are at 3M, and write IOPS are at 0.8M.

Phison's X1 platform was adopted by Seagate in the Nytro 5050 Series, and it is likely that we will see the X2 come to market with a different performance profile / firmware tuning when the Nytro series get an update.

CES 2023: QNAP Brings Hybrid Processors and E1.S SSD Support to the NAS Market

Par : Ganesh T S

Over the last few years, the developments in the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) network-attached storage (NAS) market have mostly been on the software front - bringing in more business-oriented value additions and better support for containers and virtual machines. We have had hardware updates in terms of processor choices and inclusion of M.2 SSD slots (primarily for SSD caching), but they have not been revolutionary changes.

At CES 2023, QNAP revealed plans for two different NAS units - the all-flash TBS-574X (based on the Intel Alder Lake-P platform), and the ML-focused TS-AI642 (based on the Rockchip RK3588 app processor). While QNAP only provided a teaser of the capabilities, there are a couple of points worth talking about to get an idea of where the COTS NAS market is headed towards in the near future.

Hybrid Processors

Network-Attached storage units have typically been based on either server platforms in the SMB / SME space or single-board computer (SBC) platforms in the home consumer / SOHO space. Traditionally, both platforms have eschewed big.LITTLE / hybrid processors for a variety of reasons. In the x86 space, we saw hybrid processors entering the mainstream market recently with Intel's Alder Lake family. In the ARM world, big.LITTLE has been around for a relatively longer time. However, server workloads are typically unsuitable for that type of architecture. Without a credible use-case for such processors, it is also unlikely that servers will go that route. However, SBCs are a different case, and we have seen a number of application processors adopting the big.LITTLE strategy getting used in that market segment.

Both the all-flash TBS-574X and the AI NAS TS-AI642 are based on hybrid processors. The TBS-574X uses the Intel Core i3-1220P (Alder Lake-P) in a 2P + 8E configuration. The TS-AI642 is based on the Rockchip RK3588 [ PDF ], with 4x Cortex-A76 and 4x Cortex-A55 fabricated in Samsung's 8LPP process.

QNAP is no stranger to marketing Atom-based NAS units with 2.5 GbE support - their recent Jasper Lake-based tower NAS line-up has proved extremely popular for SOHO / SMB use-cases. The Gracemont cores in the Core i3-1220P are going to be a step-up in performance, and the addition of two performance cores can easily help with user experience related to features more amenable for use in their Core-based units.

NAS units have become powerful enough to move above and beyond their basic file serving / backup target functionality. The QTS applications curated by QNAP help in providing well-integrated value additions. Some of the most popular ones enable container support as well as the ability to run virtual machines. As the range of workloads run on the NAS simultaneously start to vary, hybrid processors can pitch in to improve performance while maintaining power efficiency.

On the AI NAS front, the Rockchip RK3588 has processor cores powerful enough for a multi-bay NAS. However, QNAP is putting more focus on the neural network accelerator blocks (the SoC has 6 TOPS of NN inference performance), allowing the NAS to be marketed to heavy users of their surveillance and 'AI' apps such as QVR Face (for face recognition in surveillance videos), QVR Smart Search (for event searching in surveillance videos), and QuMagie (for easily indexed photo albums with 'AI' functionality).

E1.S Hot-Swappable SSDs

QNAP's first NASbook - an all-flash NAS using M.2 SSDs - was introduced into the market last year. The TBS-464 remains a unique product in the market, but goes against the NAS concept of hot-swappable drives.


QNAP's First-Generation NASbook - the TBS-464

At the time of its introduction, there was no industry standard for hot-swappable NVMe flash drives suitable for the NASbook's form-factor. U.2 and U.3 drive slots with hot-swapping capabilities did exist in rackmount units meant for enterprises and datacenters. So, QNAP's NASbook was launched without hot-swapping support. Meanwhile, the industry was consolidating towards E1.S and E1.L as standard form-factors for hot-swappable NVMe storage.


(L to R) E1.S 5.9mm (courtesy of SMART Modular Systems); E1.S Symmetric Enclosure (courtesy of Intel); E1.S (courtesy of KIOXIA)

QNAP's 2023 NASbook - the TBS-574X - will be the first QNAP NAS to support E1.S hot-swappable SSDs (up to 15mm in thickness). In order to increase drive compatibility, QNAP will also be bundling M.2 adapters attached to each drive bay. This will allow end-users to use M.2 SSDs in the NASbook while market availability of E1.S SSDs expands.

Specifications Summary

The TBS-574X uses the Intel Core i3-1220P (2P + 8E - 10C/12T) and includes 16GB of DDR4 RAM. Memory expansion support is not clear as yet (It is likely that these are DDR4 SO-DIMMs). There are five drive bays, and the NAS seems to be running QTS based on QNAP's model naming). The NASbook also sports 2.5 GbE and 10 GbE ports, two USB4 ports (likely Thunderbolt 4 sans certification, as QNAP claims 40 Gbps support, and ADL-P supports it natively), and 4K HDMI output. The NASbook also supports video transcoding with the integrated GPU in the Core i3-1220P. QNAP is primarily targeting collaborative video editing use-cases with the TBS-574X.

The TS-AI642 uses the RockChip RK3588 (4x CA-76 + 4x CA-55) app processor. The RAM specifications were not provided - SoC specs indicate LPDDR4, but we have reached out to QNAP for the exact amount . There are six drive bays. This is again interesting, since the SoC natively offers only up to 3 SATA ports. So, QNAP is either using a port multiplier or a separate SATA controller connected to the PCIe lanes for this purpose. The SoC's native network support is restricted to dual GbE ports, but QNAP is including 2.5 GbE as well as a PCIe Gen 3 slot for 10 GbE expansion. These are also bound to take up the limited number of PCIe lanes in the processor (which is 4x PCIe 3.0, configurable as 1 x4, or 2 x2, or 4 x1). Overall, the hardware is quite interesting in terms of how QNAP will be able to manage performance expectations with the SoC's capabilities. With a focus on surveillance deployments and cloud storage integration, the performance may be good enough even with port multipliers.

Concluding Remarks

Overall, QNAP's teaser of their two upcoming desktop NAS products has provided us with insights into where the NAS market for SOHOs / SMBs is headed in the near future. QNAP has never shied away from exploring new hardware options, unlike Synology, QSAN, Terramaster, and the like. While we are very bullish on E1.S support and hybrid processors in desktop NAS units, the appeal of the RockChip-based AI NAS may depend heavily on its price to capabilities / performance aspect.

CES 2023: Akasa Introduces Fanless Cases for Wall Street Canyon NUCs

Par : Ganesh T S

Akasa is one of the very few vendors to carry a portfolio of passively-cooled chassis solutions for the Intel NUCs. We had reviewed their Turing solution with the Bean Cayon NUC and the Newton TN with the Tiger Canyon NUC, and come away impressed with the performance of both cases. At CES 2023, the company is upgrading their portfolio of fanless NUC cases to support the mainstream NUC Pro using the 12th-Gen Core processors - the Wall Street Canyon.

Turing WS

The Turing WS builds upon the original Turing chassis to accommodate the updated I/Os of the Wall Street Canyon NUC.

The 2.7L chassis can be oriented either horizontally or vertically, and retains the ability to install a 2.5" SATA drive. Improvements over the previous generations include the inclusion of an updated thermal solution for the M.2 SSD.

The Turing WS retains all the I/Os of the regular Wall Street Canyon kits and also includes antenna holes for those requiring Wi-Fi connection in the system. The company does offer suggested complementary additions to the build for that purpose - a tri-band Wi-Fi antenna and corresponding pigtails. We would like to see these getting included by default for the DIY versions of the Turing WS that get sold in retail.

Newton WS

The Newton WS is a minor update to the Newton TN that we reviewed last year.

The key change is the removal of the serial cable and corresponding rear I/O cut-out. In fact, Akasa indicates that the Newton TN can also be used with the Wall Street Canyon for consumers requiring the serial I/O support.

The 1.9L volume, additional USB ports in the front I/O (that are not available in the regular Wall Street Canyon kits), and VESA mounting support are all retained in the Newton WS.

Plato WS

The Plato WS is a slim chassis (39mm in height) that builds upon user feedback for the previous Plato cases. The key update over the Plato TN is the integration of support for the front panel audio jack.

The Plato WS carries over all the other attractive aspects of the product family - VESA and rack mounting support, 2.5" drive installation support, serial port in the rear I/O, and additional USB 2.0 ports in the front panel.

In addition to the above three SKUs, Akasa also recently launched the Pascal TN, a passively-cooled IP65-rated case for the Tiger Canyon and Wall Street Canyon NUCs, making it suitable for outdoor installations.

Akasa's main competition comes from fanless system vendors like OnLogic and Cirrus7 who prefer to sell pre-built systems with higher margins. In the DIY space, we have offerings like the HDPLEX H1 V3 and HDPLEX H1 TODD which unfortunately do not have wide distribution channels like Akasa's products - as a result of lower volumes, the pricing is also a bit on the higher end. For Wall Street Canyon, Tranquil is also offering a DIY case in addition to their usual pre-built offerings. It remains to be seen whether the company remains committed to the DIY space.

Passively-cooled cases usually have a significant price premium that regular consumers usually don't want to pay. Vendors like Akasa are bringing about a change in this category by offering reasonably-priced, yet compelling products via e-tailers. Simultaneous focus on industrial deployments and OEM contracts as well as consumer retail has proved successful for Akasa, as evidenced by their continued commitment to thermal solutions for different NUC generations.

Source: Akasa, FanlessTech

CES 2023: IOGEAR Introduces USB-C Docking Solutions and Matrix KVM

Par : Ganesh T S

IOGEAR has been servicing the computer accessories market with docks and KVMs for more than a couple of decades now. In addition to the generic use-cases, the company creates products that target niche segments with feature sets that are not available in products from other vendors. At CES 2023, IOGEAR is taking the wraps off a number of USB-C docks slated to get introduced over the next couple of quarters.

Docking Solutions

The three new products in this category fall under two categories - the first two utilize Display Link chips along with traditional USB-C Alt Mode support, while the third one uses the Intel Goshen Ridge Thunderbolt controller for 8K support in addition to the usual array of ports found in regular Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 docks. The following table summarizes the essential aspects of the three new products.

IOGEAR USB-C Docking Solutions @ CES 2023 (Dock Pro Series)
  Universal Dual View Docking Station Duo USB-C Docking Station USB4 8K Triple View
Model Name GUD3C4K2TAA GUD3CDHTAA GUD4C8K3
Upstream Port USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (Dual Host Support) USB4 Type-C (40 Gbps)
Audio 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack 1x Mic In
1x Speaker Out
1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack
USB-A 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1
1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (12W charging)
2x USB 2.0
2x USB 3.2 Gen 2
2x USB 3.2 Gen 2
1x USB 3.2 Gen 1
USB-C 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2
2x USB4 (40Gbps with DP Alt Mode up to 8Kp30) downstream
Networking 1x GbE RJ-45 1x GbE RJ-45 1x 2.5 GbE RJ-45
Card Reader - - 1x SDXC UHS-II
1x microSDXC UHS-II
Display Outputs 2x HDMI 2.0a
2x Display Port 1.2a
(All via DisplayLink Chipset)
(Max. of 2x 4Kp60 Outputs)
2x Display Port 1.2a (4Kp60) (via DisplayLink Chipset)
1x HDMI 1.4a (4Kp30) (via DP Alt Mode)
2x HDMI 2.1 (up to 8Kp30)
2x Display Port 2.1 (up to 8Kp30)
(All via DP Alt Mode)
Host Power Delivery USB PD 3.0 (up to 100W) Up to 100W per host (total 200W) USB PD 3.0 (up to 96W)
Power Supply External 150W @ 20V/7.5A External 230W External 150W @ 20V/7.5A
Dimensions 91mm x 70mm x 17mm 219mm x 88mm x 32mm 225mm x 85mm x 18mm
Launch Date March 2023 June 2023 March 2023
MSRP $250 $300 $300

The Dock Pro Universal Dual View Docking Station is a premium DisplayLink-based dock capable of driving up to two 4Kp60 displays, with a choice of HDMI or DisplayPort for each.

The dock also includes host power delivery support, and the distribution of ports is presented above.

The Dock Pro Duo USB-C Docking Station is ostensibly a USB-C dock, but it incorporates features typically found in KVMs. It allows two systems to be simultaneously connected to the dock, and a push button in front to cycle between one of four display modes as show in the picture below.

The push button configures one of the two hosts to the DisplayLink chain (that is behind the two DisplayPort outputs). All the peripheral ports are seen by the host connected to that chain. At the same time, the HDMI port is kept active using the Alt Mode display output from the other host. Hot keys are available to cycle through the display modes to enable easy multi-tasking. This is an innovative combination of docking and KVM that I haven't seen from other vendors yet.

Finally, we have the flagship USB4 / Thunderbolt 4 dock - the Dock Pro USB4 8K Triple View. It incorporates all the bells and whistles one might want from a TB4 dock, including downstream USB4 ports and 8K support.

Surprisingly, the pricing is quite reasonable at $300 - possibly kept that way by avoiding Thunderbolt certification. This product could appeal to a different audience compared to the Plugable TBT4-UDZ despite similar pricing, thanks to the availability of downstream ports. However, the product is slated to ship only towards the end of the quarter.

KVM Solutions

IOGEAR is also announcing the GCMS1922 2-port 4K Dual View DisplayPort Matrix KVMP with USB 3.0 Hub and Audio. Such KVMs with 4Kp60 support have typically been priced upwards of $500. This is no exception with a $530 MSRP. However, for this pricing, IOGEAR is incorporating a number of interesting features. The KVM can operate in either matrix or extension mode, with one computer driving both display outputs in the latter, and each host driving one display in the former. In the matrix mode, the KVM also supports crossover switching via movement of the mouse pointer (in addition to the regular physical button on the KVM and hotkeys). Audio mixing support (i.e, keeping the audio output of a 'disconnected' host also active) is available too, allowing the monitoring of notifications from both computers without having to switch sources.

The KVM provides two USB 3.2 Gen 1 and two USB 2.0 Type-A ports for downstream peripherals in addition to separate audio jacks for the speaker and microphone. It must be noted that the display outputs are HDMI, while the inputs are DisplayPort. The KVM switch is slated to become available later this quarter.

In addition to these upcoming products, IOGEAR is also demonstrating the KeyMander Nexus Gaming KVM and the MECHLITE NANO compact USB / wireless keyboard at the show. These products were introduced into the market last year.

CES 2023: Plugable Introduces New Flagship Thunderbolt 4 Dock and USB-C Hub

Par : Ganesh T S

The Thunderbolt and USB ecosystems have seen rapid updates over the last couple of years. In 2022, we saw the announcement of the USB4 v2 standard and some details of Next Generation Thunderbolt with total bidirectional speeds of up to 160 Gbps (80 Gbps TX / RX with symmetric links, and 120 Gbps TX / 40 Gbps RX using asymmetric links from the host perspective). Product introductions have typically lagged behind the announcement of the standards by 18 - 24 months, and we are currently in the midst of the introduction of the second wave of Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 products.

At CES 2023, Plugable is introducing its first Thunderbolt 4 dock - the TBT4-UDZ. One of the key updates in Thunderbolt 4 was the bridging of features common in the USB world. Consequently, the first-generation products were focused on delivering the newly introduced hub functionality to users. Plugable had launched the highly appreciated TBT4-HUB3C back in September 2021 to cover that aspect. The TBT4-UDZ being announced today is a flagship dock equipped with the Intel Goshen Ridge controller. It provides 16 additional ports and host charging up to 100W. There are four additional display outputs (2x HDMI 2.0 + 2x Display Port 1.4), though the number of actual displays that can be driven depends on the host's capabilities.

The 2.5 Gbps NBASE-T port is a welcome addition to the feature set of Thunderbolt docks. It is something that we are seeing in most of the newly-launched Thunderbolt 4 docks from different vendors. Despite the presence of a large number of useful ports, a downstream Thunderbolt port is conspicuous by its absence. Though this dock can be connected to one of the Thunderbolt 4 ports in the TBT4-HUB3C, it might be interesting from a technical perspective to combine both hub and dock functionality into a single device.

Plugable is planning to start shipping the TBT4-UDZ on January 17th, with pre-orders for $299 already active on Amazon.

The USBC-11IN1E is Plugable's flagship USB-C hub, and a follow-up to the USBC-7IN1E introduced in 2020 and updated in 2021 with newer internals and I/Os. The additional ports do add to the price - the 11-port version is priced at $79, compared to the $40 of the 7-port version.

The hub requires the host's USB-C port to support MST on the DP Alt Mode output to enable both HDMI ports. Without MST, usage of the DP Alt Mode results in the mirroring of the display outputs. The hub retains the USB-C power input (to which the notebook's original charger can be connected for passthrough charging).

Plugable is also adding 1m (3.3ft) Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 passive cables to its product portfolio. The new cables support 40 Gbps speeds and 240W charging (Extended Power Range). The Thunderbolt-certified TBT4-240W-1M is priced at $29.25, while the USB-IF-certified USB4-240W-1M is priced at $25.95. The price difference seems solely due to the difference in certification costs - it is likely that the USB-IF certified cable will work just as well with Thunderbolt 4 setups.

Intel Teases NUC12 Extreme Dragon Canyon: Socketed Alder Lake and 10GbE in Q1 2022

Par : Ganesh T S

Intel provided a teaser of their upcoming NUC12 Extreme product at CES 2022. Complete specifications have been promised closer to launch, but the components layout in their virtual presentation points to a follow-up very similar to the Beast Canyon NUC in terms of form-factor and sizing.

The key update from the Beast Canyon seems to be the use of a socketed processor, which should allow for a wider range of processor choices for the end user. The vapor chamber / CPU blower continues to be the cooling system for the components in the Compute Element 'add-in card'. The allowed TDP range for the supported processors is something that would be interesting to note while building systems based on the Dragon Canyon platform. Other aspects such as the use of DDR4 SODIMMs and a separate front panel connector board seem to be similar to the Beast Canyon NUC platform introduced last year.

From the I/O perspective, we have Thunderbolt 4 (as expected with Alder Lake) and Wi-Fi 6E. Networking enthusiasts should be quite happy with Intel's promise of delivering 10GbE LAN in the product. The absence of USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 appears to be a slight dampener in what otherwise seems to be an exciting SFF platform expected to launch in the next few months.

CES 2022: ZOTAC Unveils ZBOX MAGNUS EN173080C mini-PC with Tiger Lake and Ampere

Par : Ganesh T S

ZOTAC, one of the major players in the SFF PC market, has two different mini-PC families equipped with discrete GPUs. The larger (~5L) one is equipped with desktop-class GPUs, while the compact version (sub-3L) comes with laptop-class GPUs. At the 2022 CES, the company is updating the latter lineup with Tiger Lake and Ampere.

The new barebones system comes in ZOTAC’s regular 2.65-liter ZBOX MAGNUS EN chassis, which is just 62.2 mm (2.45 inches) tall. The ZBOX MAGNUS EN173080C barebones is based on Intel’s octa-core Core i7-11800H processor (8C/16T, 2.30 GHz – 4.60 GHz, 45 W) accompanied by NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3080 notebook GPU with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and a rated operating power of 150W. The system can be equipped with up to 64 GB of DDR4-3200 memory, and comes with two M.2 slots (one of which supports both PCIe and SATA SSDs). A slot is also available for a 2.5" SATA drive. The CPU and GPU are not user-upgradeable.

On the connectivity front, the system includes a Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5 WLAN card complemented by a dual external antennae, two RJ-45 ports (2.5G + 1G), five USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (four in the rear, one in front), a Thunderbolt 4 port in the front, a SD card reader in the front, separate audio jacks for speakers and microphones in the front, and four display outputs in the rear (two HDMI and two DisplayPort).

ZOTAC ZBOX MAGNUS EN173080C
CPU Intel Core i7-11800H
8C/16T
2.3 GHz - 4.6 GHz
24 MB
45 W
GPU NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (Notebook-class / 150W)
Memory 2 × DDR4 SO-DIMM slots
up to 64 GB of DDR4-3200 memory
Storage M.2 M.2 2230/42/80 slot for PCIe x4/SATA SSD
M.2 2230/42/80 slot for PCIe x4 SSD
DFF 1 × 2.5" SSD/HDD
Card Reader SD
Wireless Killer 1650 802.11ax Wi-Fi + BT 5
Ethernet 1 × Gigabit Ethernet with RJ45
1 × 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet with RJ45
Display Outputs 2 × DisplayPort 1.4
2 × HDMI 2.0b
1 × USB-C (Thunderbolt 4)
Audio 3.5 mm audio-in
3.5 mm audio-out
USB 5 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A
1 x USB4 Type-C
Thunderbolt 4 Yes (on USB4 Type-C port)
PSU External
OS Barebones Model (No OS)
Windows 11 Home pre-installed on W4B / W5B models
Additional Details Link

In addition to the barebones version, ZOTAC is also planning to release EN173080C-W4B with Windows 11 Home pre-installed. This model comes with a 512GB M.2 SSD, a 1TB 2.5" SATA HDD, and a single 16GB DDR4 SO-DIMM stick.

The system is already listed on ZOTAC's website, so it is reasonable to expect it to become available shortly. As for pricing, while Zotac has not announced anything at this time.

CES 2022: Plugable Introduces UD-6950PDZ Triple 4K HDMI / DisplayPort Docking Station

Par : Ganesh T S

Plugable is introducing two new products at the 2022 CES - the UD-6950PDZ docking station, and the USB4-HUB3A USB4 hub. The docking station is technically the more interesting one, enabling three different 4K display outputs with a choice of either a HDMI connection or DisplayPort one on each.

The docking station has a Type-C port for uplink, providing up to 60W for host charging. It is bundled with a 110W power brick. On the downstream side, the UD-6950PDZ has 6 USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports (four in the rear, and two in front), a combo audio jack in front, and a gigabit Ethernet port. The key differentiating aspect of the product is that the docking station supports multiple display outputs even if the host system supports only one on the uplink Type-C port (The Apple M1-based systems are examples). The product uses a DisplayLink chipset (likely to the be the DL6950) internally along with the Alternate Mode stream to enable a total of three simultaneous display outputs. The docking station is priced at $249 and will be available for purchase later this quarter.

The USB4-HUB3A is a Goshen Ridge product following up on the footsteps of the TBT4-HUB3C introduced last year. It translates a single USB4 / Thunderbolt 4 port on the host system into three additional downstream USB4 / Thunderbolt 4 ports and a 10 Gbps Type-A port.

The new USB4-HUB3A carries over all the features and add-ons of the TBT4-HUB3C including the USBC-HDMI adapter cable and the 60W host charging feature. The sole difference is the addition of the USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port in the front. The hub is priced at $189 and is available for purchase today.

Source: Plugable #1, Plugable #2

CES 2022: Akasa Introduces Thermal Solutions for PCs and Industrial Applications

Par : Ganesh T S

Akasa is introducing four new products at the 2022 CES - two fan models under the OTTO series, a 185W TDP CPU cooler, and a fanless case for the NVIDIA Jetson Nano.

The OTTO series consists of IP68-rated fans - imagine applications involving rugged embedded systems requiring active cooling operating in harsh environments. The 120mm fans are ergonomically designed with emphasis on avoiding vibrations. The SC12 model has sickle flow blades for centralized pressure, making it a fit for heavy-duty heatsink and radiator applications. The SF12 model has a S-Flow blade design meant to optimize overall airflow, making it a fit for computing system enclosures.

The Alucia H4 premium CPU cooler is Akasa's solution for the 185W TDP Intel Core i9 and AMD Ryzen 9 processors. The fans are colored blue to complement any RGB lighting scheme used in the rest of the system. Akasa claims that the black fins and their dense packing helps achieve high cooling efficiency. Akasa is also bundling their high-performance AK-T656-5G thermal paste with the fan.

The heatsink also has a slanted design to allow for wider motherboard compatibility with respect to RAM placement.

On the fanless chassis front, Akasa is introducing an aluminum case for the NVIDIA Jetson Nano under the 'Machina' tag. The 'Machina N' is the first product in this series. The TDP handling requirements and the size of the board have allowed Akasa to adopt a minimalist-styled finned design. The rear I/O cutouts allow full access to all the I/O features of the Jetson Nano board.

The chassis of the Machina N appears to be based on the Newton lineup of fanless cases marketed by Akasa for the Intel NUCs. With the case already having proven its rated TDP-handling credentials over multiple NUC generations, the Machina N is likely to be a credible passive cooling solution for the NVIDIA Jetson Nano.

CES 2022: OWC Expands Atlas Series with CFexpress Offerings

Par : Ganesh T S

OWC is introducing a number of CFexpress products as part of their 2022 CES announcements today. The new Atlas Pro and Atlas Pro Ultra CFexpress cards join the Atlas FXR Thunderbolt / USB card reader to expand OWC's offerings in the media storage / card reader space. These products are CFexpress Type-B ones, and are backwards compatible with XQD.

The OWC Atlas series of media cards was augmented with the Atlas S Pro UHS-II V90 SDXC model recently. The differentiating aspect about these cards is that OWC advertises the use of pseudo-SLC (pSLC) flash with claims of 10x the endurance of other cards in the market. The claimed real-world speeds are also slightly higher than other V90 UHS-II cards - read/write rates of up to 290/276 MBps. Today's introductions expand the Atlas series into the CFexpress space.

The Atlas Pro cards come in capacities ranging from 256GB to 2TB. Peak read/write speeds are around 1700/1400 MBps, allowing them to be used for RAW footage capture. The Atlas Pro Ultra is available in two capacities - 320GB and 640GB. The key difference between the two families is the guaranteed sustained write rate of 1224 MBps for the latter, with peaks of 1500 MBps writes and 1700 MBps reads. This write rate allows for the usage of the card for 8K capture and high frame rate bust mode photo captures.

The Atlas FXR CFexpress Type-B card reader is a bus-powered pocket-sized device operating at speeds of up to 1500 MBps when used with Thunderbolt 3 / Thunderbolt 4 ports and up to 900 MBps with USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports. The plug-and-play reader is bundled with a Thunderbolt cable along with an attached USB-A adapter for compatibility with a wide range of systems.

OWC expects the CFexpress offerings to be available for purchase in early Q2 2022. Pricing for the new products was not officially specified, though some distributor documents from late 2021 indicate the planned pricing of the Atlas Pro 256GB to be at $159 and the Atlas Pro Ultra 320GB at $349.

CES 2022: MSI Launches Alder Lake Laptop Lineup

With the announcement of Intel’s Alder Lake H series of laptop processors, MSI is one of the first out of the gate to announce their refreshed gaming laptop series featuring the newest Intel processors. As one of the market leaders in gaming notebooks, MSI has some new tricks up its sleeves to boost performance even further.

New this year for MSI are some key software features to boost performance across the lineup, as well as functionality. As an example, MSI will offer a new Smart Auto Power system to adjust the laptop performance levels based on what application is running, rather than relying on the end user to configure the settings manually. For users that want to tweak their own system, the manual system will of course still be around, but the automatic mode should help consumers who are not as familiar with the product get the most out of it, or those who just don’t want to have to fiddle with things to get the best out of the laptop.

Also in line with power and performance, MSI has always offered a “Silent” mode on their laptops which has targeted keeping the fans at 15 dB to prevent unwanted noise intrusions while working. Their new software update will leverage the system microphone to measure the ambient noise level in the room, which will then let the Silent mode use more system cooling without being audible. Although this may not sound like much, MSI has found up to a 30% boost in performance in their Silent mode while still not being audible.

MSI will also include background noise cancellation on incoming audio calls, rather than just the outgoing audio stream, so if your co-worker has a noisy dog in the weekly team meeting, it at least won’t bother you anymore.

All three of these features will be available across the lineup. Let’s take a look at the refreshed products.

MSI Raider GE76/66

At the top of the product stack is the 17” Raider 76 series and 15” Raider 66 series, and the first change for those familiar with MSI’s lineup is the name itself. For 2022, MSI is reversing the name from GE76 Raider to Raider GE76, with the goal of dropping the code names from their products to simplify the shopping experience for their customers, which I think makes a lot of sense.

New for this year is a Phase Change thermal pad which is solid at room temperature, but when it reaches 58°C the pad melts and fills the spaces between the CPU and thermal block for a more efficient transfer of heat. MSI is claiming up to 10% more performance over traditional thermal pastes and liquid metals, without the crystallization issues that can occur. The new phase change thermal pad will be available on both the Raider and Stealth with Intel processors.

Speaking of Intel processors, the Raider lineup offers the latest Alder Lake H lineup, with the i7-12700H and i9-12900HK overclockable processor on tap. With the shortage of DDR5, MSI is unfortunately stuck with a situation where the memory available is not uniform across the range, but the Raider comes out in the best shape with only the lowest-tier GE76 model with a Core i7-12700H and RTX 3060 offering DDR4. The rest of the lineup is all DDR5-4800 memory, including all current models of the GE66 being announced.

On the graphics side, which is always critical in a gaming notebook, MSI is turning to the latest refreshed RTX cards from NVIDIA, up to the RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU which is the new king of the hill in terms of laptop graphics. The 3080Ti Laptop will be paired with 16 GB of GDDR6.

The display options are the same as the previous generation, with 1920x1080 144/360 Hz options, 2560x1440 240 Hz with P3 gamut support, and 3840x2160 120 Hz Adobe RGB.

The Raider GE76 and its smaller GE66 cousin have not changed on the chassis side. We just reviewed the latest 17.3-inch Raider laptop so for a feel for the chassis, please check out that review. It is very good, albeit a bit flashy, and being at the top of the MSI lineup (at least until they decide to bring back the Titan) it is very fast. MSI expects their Alder Lake models with their new cooling solutions to be the most performant of the current generation of gaming notebooks on the market.

For the 17-inch GE76, prices start at $1599 for the RTX 3060 model, $2249 for the RTX 3070, $2499 for the RTX 3070 Ti, and $3599 for the RTX 3080 Ti.

For the 15-inch GE66, prices start at $2249 for the RTX 3070 model, $2599 for the RTX 3070 Ti model, and $3499 for the RTX 3080 Ti.

MSI Stealth GS77

If you want performance, but want a bit less bling, MSI has you covered with their aptly named Stealth lineup. The chassis has been reworked to make it more durable, and it packs a lot of performance into a relatively small and light design.

MSI has moved the hinge to the middle of the notebook to increase its durability, and the notebook offers a CNC milled aluminum display cover. The notebook is all black to blend in for work and play.

MSI is offering a Full HD webcam, which helps with the business side of this device, as well as a hard switch for the webcam on the side of the device. Sadly, most notebooks still offer 1366x768 webcams still, or some gaming notebooks forego the webcam altogether, which seems like a mistake in 2022. MSI also includes a fingerprint reader for quick logons.

The keyboard has been revamped, and the keys are 8% larger than the previous generation. User feedback on the previous design was that the touchpad was not tall enough to move the cursor from the top of the display to the bottom in one stroke, so MSI has also make the touchpad taller to remedy this. MSI also moved the most important ports such as power and USB to the rear of the device to allow for better cable management.

On the performance side, the Alder Lake design offers options of the Core i7-12650H, Core i7-12700H, and Core i9-12900H processors and all feature DDR5-4800 memory, up to 32 GB dual-channel. On the graphics side, customers can choose from the RTX 3060L, RTX 3070L, RTX 3070L Ti, and RTX 3080L Ti.

The display options on this 17.3-inch notebook are the same are 1920x1080 360 Hz, 2560x1440 240 Hz P3, and 3840x2160 120 Hz Adobe RGB.

The Stealth is a thinner and lighter design, but still packs in plenty of performance. The 17-inch 5.7 lb laptop is over 3 lbs lighter than the Raider series, making it much more portable, and the 15-inch model is 4.63 lbs, which is about 2.5 lbs less than the 15-inch Raider.

For the 17-inch Stealth GS77, prices start at $1799 for the RTX 3060, $2399 for the RTX 3070, $2699 for the RTX 3070 Ti, and $3699 for the RTX 3080 Ti.

For the 15-inch Stealth GS66, prices start at $2499 for the RTX 3070 Ti, $3099 for the RTX 3080, and $3499 for the RTX 3080 Ti.

MSI Vector

If you like the bigger desktop replacement style devices but don’t like the RGB, MSI offers the Vector series as a more affordable Raider. The Vector lineup will also get the latest Alder Lake processors, from the Core i7-12700H to the Core i9-12900HK. Due to supply, the Vector will forego DDR5 and stick with DDR4, with up to 32 GB from MSI via two SODIMMs. On the graphics side, options are the RTX 3060L, RTX 3070L, RTX 3070L Ti, and RTX 3080L.

Prices start at $1899 for the RTX 3060, $2249 for the RTX 3070, $2549 for the RTX 3070 Ti, and $2799 for the RTX 3080 model.

MSI Crosshair 15 Special Edition Rainbox Six Extraction

Every year, MSI does a special edition laptop which is usually from the Raider series, but for 2022, MSI is using a mid-level gaming notebook to make it more affordable for more people. Themed for Ubisoft’s Rainbox Six Extraction, the laptop features a unique paint scheme and even comes with a copy of the game. It features a map of Los Angeles under the logo, and features laser engraving throughout the design. It comes with a matching mouse and mouse pad as well. The special edition laptop will be available for $1999 USD.

MSI’s new Alder Lake laptop lineup will be available for pre-order starting January 25th at 06:00 Pacific, with products available starting February 1st.

Netgear Expands Wi-Fi 6E Portfolio with Affordable Nighthawk RAXE300 Router

Par : Ganesh T S

Netgear introduced their first Wi-Fi 6E routers last year with the launch of the Nighthawk RAXE500 and the Orbi RBKE960. The addition of 6 GHz support makes it necessary to include more antennae and add more RF components to the board. As a result, the pricing of these routers tend to be high - the RAXE500 retails for $581 currently (launched with a MSRP of $600), while the basic Orbi RBKE962 (a router and a single satellite) had a launch MSRP of $1100.

As part of the 2022 CES launches, Netgear is introducing an affordable Wi-Fi 6E router in the form of the Nighthawk RAXE300. Affordable is a relative term here - the new router has a $400 price point. The cost-down has been achieved by adopting a 8-stream configuration - four in the 5 GHz band, and two each in 6 GHz and 2.4 GHz.

Similar to other Nighthawk routers, the RAXE300 also includes the NETGEAR Armor service support, along with a larger number of wired ports compared to mesh systems. A 1Gbps and a 2.5Gbps port are available for WAN connection (the unused one can be repurposed for LAN usage), and link aggregation support is also built in.

The USB 3.0 Type-A ports in the previous Nighthawks has now been replaced by a Type-C port. Netgear is also claiming better antenna placement for improved performance.

In addition to the RAXE300, the company is also launching the EAX50 6-stream AX5400 extender for $180 later this quarter.

Netgear's line of Nighthawk Pro routers has targeted gamers with their Game Booster feature. This allows gamers to restrict connections to geographically close-by servers (based on ping timings and geo-filters), while also providing fine-grained QoS settings to prioritize certain devices / applications over others. Netgear is now adding ad-blocking to the features list.

The service is also being rolled out to Orbi owners, with a 30-day free trial, and then billed annually at $50. In recent years, most hardware vendors have shifted to a service model to create a recurrent revenue stream. It is no surprise that Netgear is adding features to and trying to expand their offerings such as Game Booster and ARMOR.

Netgear Introduces Orbi Pro SXK50 AX5400 Mesh System for SMBs

Par : Ganesh T S

Netgear Business - the SMB-/SME-focused arm of Netgear - has been delivering mesh Wi-Fi systems to small businesses under the Orbi Pro lineup since 2017. The 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) version was followed up by the flagship AX6000 (Wi-Fi 6) Orbi Pro SXK80 models in late 2020. Last year, a cut-down dual-band AX1800 version - the Orbi Pro SXK30 - was introduced at $300. As part of the 2022 CES announcements, the company is introducing the mid-range Orbi Pro model - the SXK50 series.

The SXK50 series consists of AX5400 models, with both routers and satellites carrying four wired ports. Netgear is segmenting the models solely based on the hardware, and is keeping business features such as multiple networks, VLAN SSIDs and network isolation / segmentation, etc. consistent across the lineup.

The SXK50 (one router and one satellite) is priced at $450 - However, a 5-year Insight Remote Management subscription is included in the price. This tilts the value proposition in its favor despite the absence of the tri-band capabilities seen in the SXK80 series.

The Orbi Pro lineup is also getting a new software feature in the form of Insight Business VPN that allows multiple units to form a multi-site VPN connection complete with a common SSID. This allows seamless roaming across both office and home locations for employee devices.

In other new hardware announcements, Netgear is also introducing a fanless 2.5Gbps PoE++ switch - the MS108EUP - at $440. This Ultra60 PoE++ Multi-Gigabit Ethernet Plus Switch accommodates a power budget of up to 60W/port (PoE++) for four ports, and 30W/port (PoE+) for the other four, with the total budget not exceeding 230W. PoE++ switches with NBASE-T support are becoming increasingly popular in business circles, thanks to the new 802.11ax access points that have both high power usage and bandwidth capabilities. The recent uptick in PoE-powered business equipment such as IP cameras, speakers, and LED lights has also contributed to this demand.

The new MS108EUP switch complements the flagship WAX630 AX6000 access point introduced in mid-2021, enabling full-speed (2.5Gbps) operation with a single uplink cable. The Plus switches come with a simple web-page for configuration, allowing per-port PoE control.

Netgear's business arm has been on a roll lately, expanding their portfolio well beyond the switches they had been traditionally known for. Their business mesh systems, in-house access points, and complementary switch models, coupled with a unified cloud-based remote management product (Insight) are presenting SMBs with compelling choices in the market.

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