PNY announced today the launch of the X-PRO 90 line of UHS-II SD Flash Memory Cards featuring V90 Video Speed to the company's assortment of full-size SD cards. The new X-PRO 90 line of Flash Memory Cards leverage the latest in Ultra-High-Speed technology, UHS-II. These cards offer the performance needed for professional photographers and enthusiasts alike to capture high quality content seamlessly.

Specifications:

• Capacities: 64GB-256GB
• Format: SDXC
• Bus Interface: UHS-II
• Speed Class: Class 10, U3
• Video Speed Class: V90
• Read Performance: Up to 300MB/s
• Write Performance: Up to 280MB/s
• Compatibility: DSLR cameras, mirrorless cameras, advanced & professional HD-enabled video cameras, and more
• Available at https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1674172-REG/pny_technologies_p_sd256v90300xpro9_ge_256gb_x_pro_90_class.html

Harness the Power of UHS-II

The PNY X-PRO 90 UHS-II SD Flash Memory Cards have been designed to meet the needs of photo and video professionals by harnessing the power of UHS-II. The UHS-II bus holds distinct advantages over its predecessor, UHS-I, and was engineered to support the most demanding applications, with specific emphasis on write intensive applications such as 4K and 8K videography. These SD cards really shine where maximum bit rate and maximum frame rate are necessary to take full advantage of the capabilities of the host.

Designed for Dramatically Accelerated Workflow

UHS-II provides bus speeds of up to double those of UHS-I by employing two rows of pins for data transfer. When operating in Half Duplex mode, the UHS-II bus employs both rows to transfer data in the same direction, allowing the card to achieve transfers of up to 300MB/s3 sequential read and 280MB/s3 sequential write! This means that the user can shoot video at incredibly fast speeds. Alternatively, the UHS-II bus can also operate in Full Duplex mode (at half the speed of Half Duplex mode) whereby each row transfers data in the opposite direction at the same time, allowing for the movement of content from the host to the card and vice versa, simultaneously. This allows the user to execute two tasks at once, dramatically accelerating the speed at which they can execute post-production editing activities, translating into incredibly efficient workflows.5

Extreme Performance for the Most Demanding Applications

The PNY X-PRO 90 UHS-II SD Flash Memory Cards are the ideal solution to capture professional quality photo and video content with blazing fast performance of up to 300MB/s3 sequential read and up to 280MB/s3 sequential write. These speeds allow the user to power through even the most intense photo and video applications, from content capture with the newest DSLR & mirrorless cameras and advanced video cameras4, to footage transfer for photo and video editing.

Performance at the Maximum Thresholds of UHS-II with V90 Video Speed

The PNY X-PRO 90 SD cards push the limits of the UHS-II bus interface with V90 Video Speed, which ensures a minimum sustained read and write speed of 90MB/s, enabling extended lengths of cinema quality video capture in 8K resolution. This allows content creators to take advantage of the latest, high end host devices on the market, such as the Canon EOS R5 & R6, the Nikon Z7 II, and the Sony Alpha 7S III, as well as other DSLR, mirrorless, and advanced video cameras.4

The Ultimate Solution for Seamless Content Capture

The PNY X-PRO 90 UHS-II SD Flash Memory Cards are ideal for capturing sequential burst mode HD photos, 4K Ultra HD Video, and uninterrupted 8K Video at 7680 x 4320 seamlessly, with incredible detail. Shooting in 8K provides content creators with significant benefits, such as greater flexibility in post-production editing as well as sharper, more realistic imagery.

PNY's Commitment to Photographers and Videographers

PNY is committed to bringing the latest technology to its customers to address their ever-evolving photography and videography needs. The launch of the X-PRO 90 UHS-II SD Flash Memory Cards ensures that photo and video enthusiasts can benefit from technological advancements and get the most out of their new DSLR, mirrorless, and advanced video cameras.

Specs

• 160GB Storage Capacity
• NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 Bus
• Max Read Speed: 800 MB/s
• Max Write Speed: 700 MB/s
• Min Write Speed: 400 MB/s
• Records Raw 4K Video
• Records 8K, 6K, and 4K ProRes Video
• Metal Enclosure for Temperature Control
• Built-In Thermal Throttling
• Shock / Vibration / X-Ray Proof
• $313 at https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1661698-REG/prograde_digital_pgcfxa160gpbh_160gb_cfexpress_type_a_memory.html
• Dual pack at https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1661697-REG/prograde_digital_pgcfxa160gp2bh_160gb_cfexpress_type_a_memory.html

Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory solutions, is proud to announce the new Lexar® Professional CFexpress™ Type B USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Reader. The CFexpress™ Type B USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Reader is for creatives who demand blazing-fast transfer speeds even when on the go.

Designed for use with CFexpress™ Type B cards, the Lexar Professional CFexpress™ Type B USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Reader offloads a tremendous number of high-quality images and RAW 8K video from your CFexpress™ Type B card to your computer at USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 speeds, supercharging your workflow from location to post-production.

Key Features:

• Offers blazing-fast transfer speeds for stunning RAW 8K video and high-quality images
• Leveraging USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 technology to dramatically accelerate workflow
• Read speeds of up to 1700MB/s1
• Portable and compact design for photographers and videographers on the go
• Includes a 30cm 2-in-1 USB Type-C to USB Type-A cable and USB Type-C to USB Type-C
• Designed for use with CFexpress™ Type B cards
• Five-year limited warranty
• $69 at

This professional-level reader includes both a 2-in-1 USB Type-C to USB Type-A cable and USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable for seamless port-to-port connection with your laptop or PC, and its compact and portable design allows you to quickly slip the reader into your pocket and go. And, with simple plug-and-play functionality, you can easily offload content with blazing fast speeds wherever you are.

"We are excited to announce the new Lexar® Professional CFexpress™ Type B USB 3.2, Gen 2×2 Reader, to our family line of workflow solutions. Lexar has a long history of developing solutions to help professionals expedite their workflow from the field to post-production. The Professional CFexpress™ Type B USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Reader now allows photographers and videographers to take full advantage of their CFexpress Type B Cards at blazing-fast transfer speeds to get work done faster," said Joel Boquiren, General Manager of Lexar.

The Lexar® Professional CFexpress™ Type B USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Reader is available this month for purchase online at an MSRP of $69.99.

https://www.adorama.com/ilxrw550urnb.html

Specs

• 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB sizes
• UHS speed class 3
• Speed class 90
• Maximum read speed of 300MB / sec
• Maximum write speed of 260MB / sec
• Waterproof (IPX7 compliant)
• -25 to 85 degrees temperatures
• X-ray resistant

The SD Association announced today the SD 8.0 Specification for SD Express memory cards receives even faster transfer speeds by using the popular PCI Express® (PCIe®) 4.0 specification delivering a maximum of nearly 4 gigabytes per second (GB/s) data transfer rate. These full sized cards continue to use the NVMe Express™ (NVMe™) upper layer protocol enabling advanced memory access mechanism. As always SD Express memory cards using SD 8.0 specification maintain backward compatibility.

“SD Express’ use of even faster PCIe and NVMe architectures to deliver faster transfer speeds creates more opportunities for devices to use SD memory cards,” said Mats Larsson, Senior Market Analyst at Futuresource. “This combination of trusted and wellknown technologies makes it easier for future product designs to leverage the benefits of removable storage in new ways.”

SD Express gigabyte speeds bring new storage opportunities for devices with demanding performance levels, across a variety of industries. The cards can move large amounts of data generated by data-intense wireless or wired communication, superslow motion video, RAW continuous burst mode and 8K video capture and playback, 360 degree cameras/videos, speed hungry applications running on cards and mobile computing devices, ever evolving gaming systems, multi-channel IoT devices and automotive to name a few. SD Express will be offered on SDHC, SDXC and SDUC memory cards.

“By dramatically increasing the speeds for SD Express we’re giving device manufacturers and system developers more storage choices,” said Hiroyuki Sakamoto, SDA president. “SD 8.0 may open even more opportunities for extra high performance solutions using removable memory cards.” “PCI-SIG® is pleased to see that SDA is continuing to adopt even faster PCIe technology configurations using PCIe 4.0 interface and dual lanes for one of the top leading removable memory cards – SD,” said Al Yanes, PCI-SIG president and chairman. “PCIe specification conformance tests are available today by major test vendors, offering a significant advantage for any new PCIe technology adopter.”

“NVMe is the industry-recognized performance SSD interface from the client to the datacenter, shipping in millions of units,” said Amber Huffman, NVM Express™ Inc. president. “Consumers will benefit by SD Association continuing the adoption of the NVMe base specification for their latest SD Express cards.”

SD Express uses the well-known PCIe 4.0 specification and the latest NVMe specification (up to version 1.4) defined by PCI-SIG and NVM Express, respectively. SD 8.0 specification provides two transfer speed options for SD Express memory card. The two transfer speeds are accomplished by supporting either PCIe 3.0 x2 or PCIe 4.0 x1 architectures with up to ~2GB/s and with PCIe 4.0 x2 technology with up to 4GB/s. SD Express cards offering PCIe 4.0 x1 architecture use the same form factor as defined for SD 7.0 specification cards with a second row of pins to deliver transfer speeds up to 2 GB/s. SD Express cards supporting dual PCIe lanes (PCIe 3.0 x2 or PCIe 4.0 x2 technologies) have three rows of pins.

The SDA makes adoption of SD Express easy allowing companies to use existing test equipment and saving in product development costs. The SD 8.0 specification continues giving system developers access to PCIe and NVMe technologies, such as Bus Mastering, Multi Queue (without locking mechanism) and Host Memory Buffer.

http://blog.backblaze.com/2014/01/21/what-hard-drive-should-i-buy/

I've tried several designs, but came up with these as simple pucks to decouple the boxes from the desk:

Basically the web is printed in TPU/TPE and the thickness controls the compliance - thicker for heavier boxes.

The ring is printed in anything - PLA/PETG or whatever you have around.

Regards

Andy

Intel announced that it is discontinuing all of its Optane SSDs for the consumer market. What's more, the company said it will not be replaced by new consumer solutions using only Optane memory.

Intel has discontinued the Optane Memory M10, 800P, 900P and 905P, which represent the entire family of desktop SSDs using only Optane memory. The company noted, “Intel will not ship the new high-capacity Optane Memory SSDs as a product to the customer market segment. We will focus on the new Optane Memory H20 drives in this segment. ”

Intel Optane Memory for the consumer market is one of the fastest SSDs, outperforming competing NAND-based SSDs in many ways, but not in cost and capacity. But often not the best win, but rather good, but more affordable products. This is exactly what SSDs have become, built on flash memory with three or even four-level cells.

Thing is focused on enterprise and allow 100 times full disk rewrite per day.

Specs

• Quite low capacity- 250Gb, 500Gb and 1TB only
• 980 Pro moved to much cheaper 3D TLC like budget drives a Samsung management want to hike profits
• TBW dropped to 600 for 1TB model (one of the lowest among flagman SSDs)
• New Samsung Elis controller
• Read speeds up to 7000Mb/sec
• Write speeds up to 5000Mb/sec
• Random read/write IOPS - up to 1000K
• NVMe 1.3c
• PCIe 4.0
• Samsung will set new record margin - around 400%, but can't reach Apple margins on SSDs (>700%)
• Price and availability not yet announced

Seagate HDDs with SMR secret usage that is not indicated in docs or markeitng materials

• Barracuda ST2000DM008
• Barracuda ST4000DM004
• Barracuda ST8000DM004
• Desktop ST5000DM000

WD HDDs with same "feature"

• All latest WD Reds WDx0EFAX

SMR drives are very slow during recording, especially on full drive (up to 5 times slower, IOPS up to 10x worse).

It is very tempring to use such tech for companies as they can use lower quality platters or same platters but increase HDD capacity.
Using SMR (it adds 15-20% to drive capacity) adds around $0.2-0.5 to drive cost. Companies sell you SMR drive for exactly same cost, so all this avings go 100% to their profits.

This is second generation of PCIe 4.0 controller of Phison.

SD PRO Plus

The series is made for high-speed continuous shooting and 4K movie shooting because it has good speed - read maximum 100MB / sec, write maximum 90MB /sec ( for 32GB up to 60MB / sec), complies with UHS speed class 3 (U3).

SD EVO Plus

More budget cards. Maximum transfer speed of 100MB / sec. Write speed not specified. U3 compatible, 128GB and 256GB models can also shoot 4K high bitrate video.

Specs

• 7000MB/s read
• 5000MB/s write (SLC cache only!)
• 500Gb, 1TB and 2TB models
• Price from $150

WD Black AN1500

Specs

• PCIe 3.0 x8
• two SSDs in RAID 0
• 6500MB/sec read
• 4100MB/sec write
• 1TB, 2TB and 4TB sizes
• from $300

WD Black D50 Game Dock NVMe SSD

Specs

• Uses Thunderbolt 3
• $320 for empty one
• $500 with 500GB SSD

Full MLC SSD drive within USB flash stick, can be used for raw recording of BM cameras without issues. And for very fast transfers.

• 256GB for $58 minus coupons
• 128GB for $38 minus coupons

Get coupons at https://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/22452/new-aliexpress-august-sale-and-coupons-for-filmmakers#Item_8

Best product I got from ali for long time.

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/eVtran-Read460M-Write360M-USB3-0-128gb-256gb-CNC-metal-case-external-ssd-120g-240g-usb3-1/2842018_32977697862.html

Specs

• Original Samsung OEM model
• Sequential write speed - around 6000Mb/sec
• 256GB, 512GB and 1TB models. start from $42.5
  • MZVL21T0HCLR-00BL7 part number for 256GB
  • MZVL2512HCJQ-00BL7 part number for 512GB
  • MZVL2256HCHQ-00BL7 part number for 1TB
• PCIe 4.0 x4 interface

Sample specs

• 512GB Storage Capacity
• PCIe 3.0 x2 Bus
• Max Read Speed: 1700 MB/s
• Max Write Speed: 1500 MB/s
• $430 (note that PCIe 3D TLC 512GB drive is now from $40 to $90)
• All cards at https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?q=Angelbird%20CFexpress%20&filters=fct_brand_name%3Aangelbird

They also offer reader

Sample of "5400 class disk" being actually 7200rpm one (120Hz main tone)

And another similar drive

Thread on the topic in German https://www.hardwareluxx.de/community/threads/crystaldiskinfo-zeigt-fakewert-an-alle-wd-my-book-8tb-drehen-anscheind-mit-7-200rpm.1235655/

If you like good fast NVMe like speed for good external SSDs (1.7Gb per second) - 20Gbps adapter can be superb solution as it saves time.

get $10 coupon, so price will be $29,35

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001251687202.html

Specs

• Up to 700MB/s write speed and 800MB/s read speed
• Compact design and advanced functionality
• Effective heat dissipation design
• TOUGH specification construction ensures high durability and dust/water resistance
• Supported by File Scan Utility memory diagnostic software and Memory Card File Rescue data recovery software

Sony today announced a new generation of media - the world’s first CFexpress Type A memory cards, in both 80GB and 160GB, (CEA-G80T and CEA-G160T) as the most recent addition to Sony’s TOUGH specification cards. Delivering high transfer speed, durability and reliability, Sony’s new CFexpress Type A cards offer professional and stress-free performance for photographers and content creators.

High-speed Performance

Both the CEA-G80T (80GB) and CEA-G160T (160GB) use the latest flash memory control technology to achieve write speeds as high as 700MB/si and read speeds as high as 800MB/si, greatly reducing buffer clearing times for efficient, stress-free shooting. The CFexpress Type A cards are ideally suited for high-speed continuous shooting of more than 1,000 uncompressed RAW still images, as well as 4K 120p movie recording at high bit rates with the Slow & Quick Motion function[iii] when paired with new Alpha 7S III, which features two CFexpress Type A compatible media slots, that also support UHS-I and UHS-II SDXC/SDHC cards, for simultaneous media capture or extended continuous recording of even the highest bit rate data. Compliance with the VPG400 video performance guarantee profile specification ensures stable video recording at 400 MB/s—creating a smooth workflow for professional creators.

Effective Heat Dissipation Design

The new CFexpress Type A memory cards are equipped with a heat sink to transfer heat generated by the card to the exterior when transmitting large amounts of data at high speed, using Sony's original alloy with excellent thermal conductivity. This enables users to record for long periods of time[iv] even when recording 4K 120p video internally.

Tough Durability

Keeping up with Sony’s TOUGH specifications, the new CFexpress Type A memory cards feature bending and impact resistance to protect precious data, even when frequently changing cards in the harshest environments. They are up to five times more resistant to drop impact and up to ten times more resistant to bending, compared to CFexpress Type A requirement standards, for outstanding durability. In addition, thanks to a specialised internal structure, they achieve an IPX7 water ingress protection rating and an IP5X dust ingress protection rating (IP57) for enhanced durability.

Reliability

Accidents happen. Sony’s Memory Card File Rescue data recovery software allows users to recover accidently deleted RAW images and 4K video from memory cards. In addition, Sony’s Media Scan Utility media diagnostic software will be updated to support CFexpress Type A cards allowing users to diagnose and receive a warning before the number of read/write cycles approaches the card’s limit.

CFexpress Type A/SD Card Reader

Optimised for the new CFexpress Type A memory cards, the CFexpress Type A/SD card reader (MRW-G2) provides SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 2) transfer speed, via its USB Type-C® connector, allowing creators to establish an efficient workflow when dealing with high-resolution image files, 4K video and other types of high-volume data. When combined with a CFexpress Type A card, it allows users to transfer data approximately 2.8 times faster than with conventional media[vii]. The MRW-G2 card reader can be used with CFexpress Type A and SDXC/SDHC (UHS-I and UHS-II) memory cards.

**Pricing and Availability

CFexpress Type A memory cards and card reader will be available in Europe in September 2020. See below for suggested retail pricing:

• CEA-G80T: €230 / $199.99 USD (in foundation it has $25 SSD + 3D TLC in MLC mode drive)
  • Such strange size comes from 120*2/3=80, exactly 128GB drive with little spare and TLC run in MLC mode
• CEA-G160T: €440 / $399.99 USD (in foundation it has $35 SSD + 3D TLC in MLC mode drive))
  • Such strange size comes from 240*2/3=160, exactly 256GB drive with little spare and TLC run in MLC mode
• MRW-G2 Card Reader: €140 / $119.99 USD

This is using two differential pairs:

Let's check PCIe that Thunderbolt is using.

PCIe 2.0 standard doubles the transfer rate compared with PCIe 1.0 to 5 GT/s and the per-lane throughput rises from 250 MB/s to 500 MB/s.

PCI Express 3.0 carry a bit rate of 8 gigatransfers per second (GT/s), PCI Express 3.0 upgrades the encoding scheme to 128b/130b from the previous 8b/10b encoding, reducing the bandwidth overhead from 20% of PCI Express 2.0 to approximately 1.54%. PCI Express 3.0's 8 GT/s bit rate effectively delivers 985 MB/s per lane, nearly doubling the lane bandwidth relative to PCI Express 2.0

A x1 connection, the smallest PCIe connection, has one lane made up of four wires.

So, even years ago we had perfectly ready method to get 985 MB/s per lane, could even add internal switch for controller to go into PCIe mode using same wires.

So, decision to stop SATA development had been intentional and not based on any real limits for now, just wanted to drop compatibility layers and simplify interface.

Delkin Devices, a manufacturer of flash storage solutions and camera accessories, announced today the newest addition to their ever-growing line of memory-based products: CFexpress™ Type-B memory cards. The latest high-speed memory card format, Delkin CFexpress™ cards deliver unrivaled performance at speeds suitable for professional photographers and videographers, while meeting the extensive demands of today's broadcast, cinema and photography industries. Delkin now boasts a complete line of memory card choices for nearly every type of camera/camcorder in the market.

Utilizing a 3rd generation PCI Express interface (as well as supporting NVM Express), Delkin's CFexpress™ memory cards boast recording speeds surpassing 1430MB/s for flawless cinema-quality video capture, including 8K, 6K & 4K at high frame rates and bitrates. They also support RAW continuous-burst shooting without delay, never missing those precious split-second moments! This is especially valuable during special events like weddings, sporting events, concerts and other situations that can't be redone.

"4K is standard today, 6K is on the rise, and now we're making our way to 8K" says Jenn Sherry, Delkin's Retail Sales & Marketing Manager, "Technology is constantly evolving and as cameras become more advanced, so will the storage solutions associated with them. The possibilities of what CFexpress™ can offer are exciting, and we're looking forward to see what our cards will enable both photographers and videographers to capture.

Each CFexpress™ card has undergone extensive testing to ensure full functionality and performance in today's high-end cinematic hosts, including ones from Canon (C500 Mark II & 1D X Mark III), Nikon (Z6 & Z7), and Panasonic (Lumix DC-S1 & S1R). Testing is currently ongoing in the Canon C300 Mark III & R5, as well as the Nikon D6. Data-intensive capture modes, such as Raw video, would require memory cards like CFexpress™ in order to guarantee continuous recording and safe storage. It is important to note though that CFexpress™ cards are not backwards compatible with either CompactFlash or CFast 2.0 hosts.

As a bonus, every CFexpress™ card is serialized, like your camera, and backed by Delkin's "48-Hour Replacement Guarantee" policy for the ultimate coverage. Not offered anywhere else in the world, Delkin will replace any non-working CFexpress™ card within 48 hours or less (not including weekends), prior to receiving the non-working card. Cards can also be replaced over-the-counter at any authorized Delkin CFexpress™ reseller.

Delkin CFexpress™ Type-B memory cards have the most extensive capacity coverage, ranging from 64GB to 2TB, and are sold through authorized camera stores worldwide. For more information on Delkin CFexpress™ or other memory products, please visit www.delkindevices.com.

Specs

• Samsung MKX controller
• 3D QLC NAND
• 1-8Gb DRAM cache
• Average resource until death is 360 disk size writes (if you have enough free space, individual cell can do 15-50 writes).
• 1,2,4,8TB models
• $130, $250, $500, $100 price (same or higher than competion TLC drives with 5-10x of resource)

Very good card for video editors, PCIe 3.0 x8 interafce that can be found on most even cheap MBs.

Price is unfortunately unknown for now. But won't be too cheap, but still cheap enought to be nice upgrade and add useful features to existing system.

Specs

• Read/Write speeds of up to 1050MB/s
• Supports CFexpress Type B cards (64GB to 512GB)
• USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds
• Includes a USB Type-C to USB Type-A cable
• Five-year limited warranty
• 5.6cm x 4.7cm x 1.3cm
• $50 at
  • https://www.dpreview.com/news/5853668961/lexar-launches-50-usb-type-c-cfexpress-card-reader-with-speeds-up-to-1-050mb-s
  • https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1536471-REG/lexar_lrwcfxrbna_cfexpress_reader_usb_3_1.html