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Monday, May 22nd, 2017
- EVGA X99 FTW K Motherboard
- EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G3
- Toshiba Demonstrates NVMe SSD With 64-Layer BiCS3 3D NAND
- Intel Announces New DC P4500 And P4600 Datacenter SSDs
- NGD Launches Catalina: a 24 TB PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD with 3D TLC NAND
- Micron 2017 Roadmap Detailed: 64-layer 3D NAND, GDDR6 Getting Closer, & CEO Retiring
- Mushkin Announces Helix SSDs: 2.5 GB/s, 3D MLC NAND, SM2260, 2 TB Capacity
- NZXT S340 Elite Case (Black)
- Kraken X42 Closed Loop Liquid Cooler
- Lian Li Launches ASUS ROG-Inspired PC-O11WGX Case: Two Chambers, E-ATX, USB-C
- Lian Li PC-Q37 Announced: Two-Stage Mini-ITX Chassis with Tempered Glass
- Gigabyte Expands Xtreme Gaming Lineup with XC700W and XC300W Chassis
- The Corsair Carbide 600Q Case Review: Upside Down But Right On
- The BitFenix Pandora ATX Case Review
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| 8:00a | AT20 Giveaway Day 19: EVGA Is Never Board with Power
Good morning everyone. The AT20 giveaway series is nearly at an end. With today being day 19 of our 20 day giveaway celebration of AnandTech’s 20th anniversary, that means we only have 3 giveaways left! So let’s get down to business. For this morning’s giveaways, we have a pair of prizes from the always-excellent EVGA. The company is admittedly known best for their NVIDIA video cards, but for a number of years now the company has bene offering other products as part of a general effort to broaden their market, and those efforts are increasingly gaining traction. So for today’s giveaway we have an EVGA X99 FTW K motherboard, along with their SuperNOVA 850W G3 power supply. The AnandTech 20th Anniversary Celebration – EVGA Giveaway EVGA X99 FTW K MotherboardLeading the pack of today’s prizes is EVGA’s X99 FTW K motherboard. The hefty E-ATX LGA 2011-3 board sports a whopping 5 CPU-fed PCIe x16 slots, a lone PCIe x1 slot, and a single full-feature M.2 slot. In terms of third party controllers, we’re looking at a Realtek ALC 1150 for audio, and an Intel i218-V and an E2400 for dual GigE LAN functionality, and an ASMedia ASM1142 for a pair of USB 3.1 (Gen 2) ports.
Meanwhile in terms of construction, the overclocking-centric board uses an 8 phase power delivery system for the CPU, an 8 layer PCB, and an on-board CPU temperature monitor. On the software side of matters, it features EVGA’s feature-packed UEFI firmware, along with dual BIOS support thanks to a selector switch. EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G3 Power Supply
Our second prize of the day is EVGA’s SuperNOVA 850 G3 power supply. This 850W PSU is fully modular, offering a sizable selection of ports and cables to work with. From a power delivery standpoint is can deliver 850W over its sole 12v rail, reaching 80Plus Gold levels of efficiency. Finally, cooling is provided by a hydraulic dynamic bearing 130mm fan, which offers support for EVGA’s “Eco Mode” technology for fanless operation when temperatures allow. Finally, as with our other giveaways, today’s giveaway is only open for 48 hours, so be sure to enter soon. However please note that for legal reasons, we’re only able to open these giveaways to residents of the United States. Good luck to everyone! And be sure to check in this afternoon for our next giveaway. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8:30a | Western Digital Launches HGST Ultrastar SS300 SSDs: 3D NAND for Data Centers
Western Digital has officially introduced its first data center-class SSDs using 3D NAND flash. The new HGST Ultrastar SS300 SSDs are designed for SAS applications with mixed workloads that demand drives with endurance but are not the highest performance possible. The new drives were co-developed with Intel, so they do not have various proprietary SanDisk technologies, such as the Guardian (as some previous-gen Ultrastar SS), but support numerous new features instead. The Ultrastar SS300 drives use Western Digital’s 64-layer 512/384 Gb 3D TLC/MLC NAND memory as well as a proprietary controller that was presumably co-designed with Intel. HGST does not disclose many details regarding the chip, but it might be the same controller that powers the recently launched Intel SSD DC P4500 and P4600 drives, albeit featuring a different configuration and a different firmware. From the feature set, the Ultrastar SS300 controller supports extended error correction code (ECC with a 1x10^-17 bit error rate) to enable higher performance and data integrity, exclusive-OR (XOR) parity (in case a whole NAND die fails) as well as parity-checked internal data paths. In addition, the Ultrastar SS300 complies with the T10 Data Integrity Field (DIF) standard, which requires all interconnect buses to have parity protection (on the system level), as well as a special power loss data management feature that does not use supercapacitors. Western Digital will offer various Ultrastar SS300 models with features like TCG encryption, TCG+FIPS, and instant secure erase to comply with different security requirements. The HGST Ultrastar SS300 SSDs are aimed at various market segments, including financial transactions, e-commerce, virtualization, database analytics, etc. that generate read-intensive and mixed-use workloads and thus need both performance and reliability. The new SSDs come in a 2.5”/15 mm form-factor with SAS 12 Gb/s interface and are drop-in compatible with existing servers. Meanwhile, when compared to direct predecessors, the Ultrastar SS200, the new SS300 offer similar capacities — from 400 GB to 7.68 TB, but the new drives excel the ancestors in most possible metrics (endurance, performance, power, etc.). When it comes to performance, the HGST Ultrastar SS300 features sequential read speeds of up to 2100 MB/s (+20% vs. the SS200) as well as sequential write speeds of up to 2050 MB/s (3D MLC, +105%) or 1250 MB/s (3D TLC, +25%). Random read performance of the Ultrastar SS300 is up to 400K (+60%), while random write performance is rated at 170-200K for 3D MLC-based performance/endurance-optimized models as well as 115K-130K for capacity-optimized 3D TLC-powered drives. Interestingly, in addition to 9 W and 11 W power envelopes supported by the predecessor, the SS300 also supports a 14 W mode that unlocks “additional performance capabilities” (i.e., IOPS) as well as an ultra-low power setting.
As for endurance, various versions of the HGST Ultrastar SS300 support 0.5, 1, 3 or 10 writes per day, thus extending addressable markets of the Ultrastar SS-series to applications that require extra endurance at 10 DPWD. All the Ultrastar SS300 SSDs are rated for 2.5 million hours MTBF and are covered with a five-year limited warranty (or the max PB written, whichever occurs first). Western Digital has already started to ship its SS300 SSDs to select OEM partners, including Oracle. The company does not announce pricing of the drives since they depend on configurations, volume purchasing and other factors. Gallery: HGST Ultrastar SS300 Data Sheet
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| 11:00a | WD Adds Helium-Filled 10 TB NAS HDDs to WD Red, WD Red Pro Lineups
Western Digital has announced two new helium-filled hard drives targeting consumer and business NAS applications. The new WD Red and WD Red Pro HDDs increase capacity of WD’s NAS drives to 10 TB, boost their performance and also reduce their power consumption. Therefore, the new drives enable makers of NAS units to increase capacities of their products to 80 TB (or 160TB) while increasing speeds and cutting down power. After introducing its first hermetically sealed helium-filled NAS and video-surveillance HDDs with 8 TB capacity and six platters last year, Western Digital is refreshing its Red and Purple lineups with more advanced drives offering 10 TB capacity and using seven 1.42 TB platters. The new WD Red and WD Red Pro with 10 TB capacity are based on revamped 5400 RPM and 7200 RPM HelioSeal platforms that can support a higher number of platters. The drives also feature increased areal density and 256 MB of cache, enabling ~17% higher sequential read/write performance compared to its predecessors, as well as a lower power consumption compared to previous-gen helium WD Red hard drives. Other than that, Western Digital does not really disclose the feature set of its platform for helium-filled HDDs for NAS applications. The WD Pro 10 TB drive is engineered for personal or small business NAS systems with up to eight bays, is optimized for mixed workloads and has a 5400 RPM spindle speed. By contrast, the WD Red Pro 10 TB is aimed at medium business and enterprise-class NAS systems up to 16 bays, which is why the HDD features additional protection against vibrations as well as improved random read performance due to both 7200 RPM spindle speed and firmware tuning. Just like their predecessors, the new WD Red/WD Red Pro hard drives come with SATA 6 Gbps interface.
It is interesting to note that WD has improved the power consumption of the 10TB drives over the older 8TB drives. We are asking how exactly WD is doing that, as details were not given with the press release. The 10TB WD Red and 10TB WD Red Pro are available in the U.S. from select retailers and distributors. The WD Red 10 TB is covered by a three-year warranty and has a price tag of $494. The more advanced WD Red Pro 10 TB features a five-year warranty and has a $533 MSRP. Related Reading: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2:00p | AT20 Giveaway Day 19.5: NZXT Pumps It Up
Taking us into our final AT20 afternoon giveaway is NZXT. The case, cooling, and peripherals company has made a name for themselves with their high-end gear, and this afternoon we’ll be giving some of it away. Altogether we have two prizes: the company’s S340 Elite case, and their 140mm Kraken X42 closed loop liquid cooler. The AnandTech 20th Anniversary Celebration – NZXT Giveaway NZXT S340 Elite Case
Starting things off for this afternoon, we have NZXT’s S340 Elite case. The ATX mid-tower case is 18.7 inches tall and boasts a couple of novel features, including a front-panel HDMI connector specifically for easy VR access, and a tempered glass side panel window. The roomy case can hold a video card up to 14.3 inches and contains a separate shroud just for the PSU. Internally, the case offers mounting points for up to three 2.5 inch drives and another two 3.5 drives, meanwhile there are no external 5.25 inch drive bays to speak of. Finally cooling is provided by a pair of 120mm fans – one at the top and one at the rear – while an additional two fans (or a 280mm radiator) can be installed in the front. Kraken X42 Closed Loop Liquid Cooler
Our other prize of the afternoon is NZXT’s Kraken X42 closed loop liquid cooler. The 140mm radiator pushes the envelope for a single fan radiator design, tapping a 98 CFM NZXT Aer P140 fan to do the hard work. Meanwhile the 80mm x 80mm pump block works with all of the major sockets, and like so many other devices these days, includes a programmable full RGB lighting system. Finally, as with our other giveaways, today’s giveaway is only open for 48 hours, so be sure to enter soon. However please note that for legal reasons, we’re only able to open these giveaways to residents of the United States. Good luck to everyone! And be sure to check in tomorrow for our last giveaway. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4:30p | Lian Li Launches PC-O12 Mid-Tower: Three Chambers, E-ATX, LCS-Focused
Lian Li has started to sell its new PC-O12 chassis for high-performance gaming desktops. The new mid-tower computer case from the company has an unorthodox construction that allows fitting in motherboards that are in the E-ATX form-factor, as well as two vertically mounted graphics cards and up to eight storage devices in a 2.5-inch form-factor. Despite the focus on the premium aspect of the design, a peculiarity of the PC-O12 case design is that liquid cooling is designed to only be used on the CPU, and it supports no more than two add-in cards. Following the latest trends in PC building, the Lian Li PC-O12 has multiple compartments for different kinds of components as well as multiple windows made of tempered glass for everyone to see what is inside. With its new chassis, Lian Li decided to go above and beyond with the number of chambers: one houses the motherboard, another accommodates up to two vertically mounted graphics cards and the third one is where the PSU (up to 230 mm) and up to eight storage devices live. Three compartments in case of the Lian Li PC-O12 help to spread out multiple heat sources across the chassis, which somewhat simplifies cooling. What is important is that despite the triple-chamber design, the mid-tower case is not too wide for tall CPU coolers.
Like many contemporary PC cases, the PC-O12 can accommodate motherboards in the Micro-ATX, ATX and E-ATX form-factors. Meanwhile, graphics cards have to be installed vertically using riser cables into a different compartment simply because there is no space for add-in boards in the primary one. A good news is that length of the graphics cards does not matter for the PC-O12 — everything up to 340 mm (and possibly longer) is supported, but this configuration naturally poses a challenge for users who use add-in cards besides graphics adapters. Moreover, if two video cards are used, it is impossible to install a high-end audio board or any other card - only two AIBs can be installed into the PC-O12.
Yet another challenge presented by the relatively thin dual/triple-compartment design is cooling. The maximum height of the CPU cooler supported by the Lian Li PC-O12 is 75 mm, which means that for CPUs from the higher end of the product stack only liquid cooling can be used since all advanced air coolers are higher than 100 mm (Scythe’s Big Shuriken 2 is an exception, but it is unclear how well it is going to handle chips with TDP of well over 100 W). Meanwhile, there is a special compartment for a 360-mm LCS radiator on top of the chassis (which can also be used to install three 120-mm fans) as well as frames to install two 120-/140-mm fans for air intake on the front panel.
As the PC-O12 case from Lian Li belongs to its premium O-series family, the PSU and HDD/SSD mounts are equipped with rubber vibration dampers to reduce vibration and noise, whereas the bottom panel features removable mesh dust filters. The Lian Li PC-O12 is destined for Newegg, at $399.99. Going forward, the computer case will be available in other stores in different regions, but exact MSRPs are unknown.
Gallery: Lian Li PC-O12
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