➀ The ASRock B860I Lightning is a budget-friendly Mini-ITX motherboard offering robust power delivery and a variety of features for around $220.

➁ It boasts a PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket, integrated Thunderbolt 4, and improved audio, while still offering Wi-Fi 6E.

➂ Performance was average, but gaming performance was competent with default settings.

➀ NAND manufacturers are often overlooked in the AI boom despite their role in storage.

➁ The demand for DRAM, especially HBM, in AI computing far outstrips that for NAND, which is primarily used for secondary storage.

➂ The NAND market has experienced ups and downs, with a surge in demand for enterprise SSDs driven by AI servers and a decline in consumer demand.

➃ SanDisk's HBF technology offers a potential new direction for NAND, providing high bandwidth and capacity for AI inference applications.

➄ NAND manufacturers are exploring other avenues, such as increasing storage density and optimizing production capacity, to adapt to the AI market.

➀ The LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5 is the fastest external drive tested, with speeds near 7,000 MB/s on a Mac with Thunderbolt 5.

➁ It's not compatible with Windows 11 without Thunderbolt 5, and slower on USB 4/Thunderbolt 4.

➂ The drive is expensive and may not be the best choice for all users due to compatibility issues.

➀ MikroTik has introduced a new device, the RDS2216, which combines a U.2 NAS, a 100GbE, 25GbE, and 10GbE switch, and a lightweight Arm server into a single 1U machine.

➁ The device features 20x U.2 NVMe drives and a variety of networking options including 100GbE, 25GbE, and 10GbE ports.

➂ It is powered by a Marvell 98DX4310 chip and an Annapurna Labs (part of Amazon) 16-core Arm CPU.

➀ Lexar has launched the ARMOR 700 Portable SSD in India, designed for durability and performance.

➁ The SSD offers fast data transfer speeds up to 2000MB/s and supports Apple ProRes recording.

➂ It includes features such as IP66 water and dust resistance, 256-bit AES encryption, and a thermal control system to maintain performance.

➀ We found some great discounts on portable SSDs from brands like Crucial, Lexar, and Samsung, offering fast data transfer speeds.

➁ A 2TB Samsung T7 Portable SSD is on sale for $136.99 at Amazon, saving $133.

➂ The 4TB Lexar SL500 portable SSD is available for $279.99 at Amazon, saving $65.30.

➀ Researchers from the University of Chicago have developed a new storage technique using atom-sized crystal defects;

➁ This allows for a density of 'terabytes of bits within a small cube of material that's only a millimeter in size';

➂ The technique combines solid-state physics with quantum storage research.

➀ Micron has released its first Gen5 client SSD, targeting OEM system builders;

➁ The 4600 PCIe 5.0 SSD offers up to 14.5GB/s sequential speeds;

➂ Micron emphasizes the use of its 9th generation TLC NAND flash memory for performance.

➀ The Q1 NAND market remains over-supplied, leading to sustained price declines and financial strain for suppliers.

➁ Supply and demand are expected to be closer to balance in Q2, driven by production cuts, inventory reductions, and growing demand from AI and DeepSeek applications.

➂ China's trade-in subsidy policies have stimulated smartphone sales and accelerated depletion of NAND Flash inventory.

➀ SanDisk discusses its roadmap for upcoming UltraQLC-based 1PB SSDs.

➁ The UltraQLC platform uses Sandisk's BICS 8 QLC 3D NAND, a proprietary controller, and firmware to enable high-capacity SSDs.

➂ Sandisk addresses the AI memory crunch with potential solutions including 3D DRAM, but challenges remain.

➀ This mini-review discusses the Samsung Evo Select 1TB microSDXC card, highlighting its performance and features;

➁ The card is compared to other Samsung products and competitors in the market;

➂ The review includes an overview of the card's specifications and usability.

➀ This review focuses on the Lexar PLAY 2280 4TB NVMe SSD, examining its performance and specifications.

➁ The Lexar PLAY 2280 features a Maxio controller and YMTC NAND, offering high read and write speeds without DRAM cache.

➂ The drive is capable of 7400 MB/s read and 6500 MB/s write speeds, with an endurance rating of 3200 TBW for the 4TB model.

➀ Western Digital has outlined its future HDD technology roadmap and plans to adopt HAMR for its HDDs in late 2026.

➁ The first HAMR-based HDDs will have a 36TB capacity for CMR and a 44TB capacity for UltraSMR.

➂ Western Digital expects to start volume production in 2027 and reach 80TB-100TB HDDs by 2030.

➀ The Blackmagic Cloud Dock 2 is a dual 10GbE NAS with features that make it easy to use but also limit its potential for high-capacity storage solutions.

➁ It supports U.2 NVMe SSDs but lacks compatibility with larger capacity 15mm SSDs commonly used in data centers.

➂ The NAS offers interesting features such as switched 10GbE ports and Ethernet via USB, but it falls short in performance compared to other NAS solutions on the market.

Seagate's Ultra-Compact SSD offers a sleek, premium design with 1TB and 2TB options and three years of data recovery service. However, its performance lags behind faster alternatives and some competitors offer more for less.

The drive, while attractive and offering some convenient features, struggles to compete with more powerful options in the market.

Seagate's data recovery service is a standout feature, but it doesn't fully compensate for the slower performance and higher price of the drive.

➀ Crucial's X9 Pro 2TB external SSD is currently available for $119 on Amazon, offering fast and portable storage.

➁ The SSD features a compact design with read and write speeds up to 1050MB/s and is water and dust resistant with an IP55 rating.

➂ The product is ideal for gamers and professionals who need to move large files between devices.

➀ Lexar has launched India's first ultra-thin SL500 Portable SSD, which is among the world's slimmest external SSDs.

➁ The SSD features a durable aluminum unibody design, with read speeds up to 2000 MB/s and write speeds up to 1800 MB/s.

➂ It supports 4K ProRes video recording via Lexar’s magnetic kit and is compatible with various devices including Windows PCs, Macs, Android devices, gaming consoles, and cameras.