GoKawiil
Tech News
Tom's Hardware reviewed Kioxia's Exceria Pro G2, a PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD built on the Silicon Motion SM2508 controller and Kioxia's 218-layer BiCS8 TLC flash, tested here in its 2TB configuration. The drive posts sequential speeds up to roughly 14,900 MB/s read and 12,700 MB/s write, alongside strong sustained write performance, good power efficiency and low random read latency.
Sharge has unveiled the Disk Pro 2, a follow-up to its popular Disk Pro external SSD, this time allowing users to install their own M.2 drives up to 8TB in 2230, 2242, or 2280 sizes. The device comes in two variants: a Lite version with HDMI 2.0 output and a 5W minimum power draw, and an Ultra version with HDMI 2.1 supporting 4K@144Hz or 8K@30Hz, a faster card reader, and just 1.5W minimum power consumption. Both models include active cooling, magnetic attachment, and 80W passthrough charging.
Tom's Hardware reviewed Goodram's PX700, a budget-tier PCIe 4.0 SSD, finding it delivers solid speed, strong power efficiency, and cool single-sided operation. The drive, made by the established EU memory assembler Goodram, outperformed expectations against comparable drives using similar hardware in its price class.
Amazon has cut the price of Crucial's 4TB T705 SSD to $502.51, down from nearly $700 a few weeks ago and its lowest price since February. That makes it the most affordable PCIe Gen 5 drive currently available, undercutting the Samsung 990 Evo Plus by about $60 despite offering true four-lane Gen 5 performance.
Storage prices are climbing fast as AI data centers consume the supply of NAND flash and hard drive components once reserved for consumer products. A 2TB SSD that cost $120-$200 last year can now run close to $400, while even small 256GB drives have jumped several times over their previous $25 price point. Portable drives used for everyday backups have also nearly doubled in cost within months.
A shopper known as @whateversunnyfinds bought a $30 Asus Hyper M.2 x16 Gen 4 expansion card at Kuwait City's Souq-al-Juma flea market and discovered three 2TB Samsung 980 Pro SSDs concealed beneath its heatsink. Each drive currently retails for roughly $400-$500, meaning the find could be worth $1,300-$1,500 despite one of the card's four M.2 slots being empty.
Amazon is selling Samsung's new 990 PCIe 4.0 SSD in 2TB capacity for $339.99, a $190 cut from its $529.99 list price. The drive is a QLC variant of the 990 EVO Plus, built with Samsung's PiccoloQ controller and V9 QLC flash, offering full Gen 4 bandwidth. A 1TB version is also discounted, though the deal is time-limited.
The guide explains how Windows users can check the condition of their hard drives and SSDs using both built-in Windows tools and free third-party utilities that read SMART diagnostic data. It notes that failing drives can show signs like corrupted files, slow performance, frequent errors, or drives disappearing from the system, though SSDs lack the audible warning signs traditional hard drives can give before failure.
Mac storage failures can cause permanent data loss unlike hardware issues such as a broken screen or keyboard, making regular backups through Time Machine essential since iCloud alone doesn't fully back up a Mac's drive. Warning signs of drive trouble include corrupted or vanishing files, frozen applications, or direct macOS alerts that storage needs servicing, at which point users can turn to built-in diagnostic tools to assess the problem.
Windows includes a pre-installed Memory Diagnostic utility that checks whether a computer's RAM is reliably storing and retrieving data. It works by repeatedly writing information to memory and reading it back, flagging any mismatches that suggest faulty hardware. This can help explain symptoms like crashes, freezes, and the Blue Screen of Death without needing a technician.
A PostgreSQL performance researcher shared follow-up findings on the database's random_page_cost setting, which governs how the query planner estimates the cost of random versus sequential disk reads. New benchmark data from older rotational SATA drives showed an estimated cost around 125, far higher than the long-standing default of 4.0, while SSD-based tests land closer to that default only by coincidence.
Lexar unveiled the Muse Ultra-Slim Portable SSD, a drive just 3.8mm thick that tapers to 1mm at its edge, making it too slim to house a standard USB-C port. Instead it connects via SnapLink, a proprietary magnetic pogo-pin cable, and comes with a mounting sleeve designed to attach to MagSafe-compatible Apple devices. It will ship in 512GB and 1TB versions later this year, rated at up to 1,050 MB/s read and 1,000 MB/s write speeds.