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ADATA Launches XPG SX9000: 2.8 GB/s Seq. Read, Marvell Controller, Up to 1 TB of MLC
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ADATA Launches XPG SX9000: 2.8 GB/s Seq. Read, Marvell Controller, Up to 1 TB of MLC

ADATA has announced its new SSD aimed at the very high end of the market. The new flagship XPG SX9000 drives are based on the Marvell 88SS1093 BTB2 controller and are paired with Toshiba’s 2D MLC NAND flash memory. Later on, the company plans to switch to Toshiba’s 3D MLC NAND for a product that will succeed the SX9000 SSD series.

The ADATA XPG SX9000 SSDs use the Marvell 88SS1093 BTB2 controller, which sports three processor cores and 8 NAND channels, with 4 banks per channel for 32 targets in total. The IC is an improved version of the 88SS1093 with higher frequencies and performance to boost speeds of higher-end SSDs. The 88SS1093 BTB2 supports a Marvell’s third-generation ECC technology based on the LDPC algorithm and uses PCIe 3.0 x4 interface.

The new XPG SX9000 drives are to be available in 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB configurations in the M.2-2280 form-factor. The SSDs use DRAM buffers for additional performance, and come with a very basic heat spreader to further prop up performance in systems that provide adequate cooling. Speaking of performance, ADATA promises up to 2.8 GB/s sequential read speed as well as up to 1.45 GB/s sequential write speed for the top-of-the-range 1 TB model. As for random read/write performance, ADATA lists 310K/240K IOPS for the most advanced model.

Reliability is another thing that ADATA is taking serious when it comes to the XPG SX9000. The drives are rated for up to 1 PBW (terabytes to be written) and two million hours MTBF, which in turn is coupled with a five-year warranty.

ADATA XPG SX9000 Specifications
Capacity 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB
Model Number ASX9000NP-256GM-C ASX9000NP-512GM-C ASX9000NP-1TM-C
Controller Marvell 88SS1093 BTB2
NAND Flash 2D MLC NAND
Form-Factor, Interface M.2-2280, PCIe 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.2
Sequential Read 2700 MB/s 2800 MB/s
Sequential Write 990 MB/s 1450 MB/s
Random Read IOPS 200K IOPS 300K IOPS 310K IOPS
Random Write IOPS 220K IOPS 220K IOPS 240K IOPS
Pseudo-SLC Caching Supported
DRAM Buffer Yes, capacity unknown
TCG Opal Encryption No
Power Management DevSleep, Slumber
Warranty 5 years
MTBF 2,000,000 hours
TBW 250 TB 500 TB 1000 TB

ADATA has not set recommended prices of the XPG SX9000 series just yet. What we do know is that the drives are hitting the shelves in the coming weeks and expect their prices to be competitive against the obvious rivals — the Samsung 960 Pro and the Samsung 960 Evo families of SSDs.

Otherwise, as previously stated, ADATA is also looking at releasing 3D NAND versions of the drive farther down the line. 3D NAND has a number of advantages over 2D NAND, but it’s not ideal for all possible applications at the moment, particularly due to its high density, which conflicts with the need for multiple NAND packages to maximize parallelism and performance on high-end SSDs. All things considered, this is why ADATA decided to go with a new Marvell controller as well as Toshiba’s 2D MLC NAND for the XPG SX9000 SSD. Eventually, the company promises to use the same controller for a high-end 3D NAND-powered drive, but that is something that is going to happen towards the end of the year at best.

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AnandTech Parent Company Employee Killed in Terrorist Attack
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AnandTech Parent Company Employee Killed in Terrorist Attack

We lost a friend and a colleague to terrorism yesterday (Aug. 17).

Bruno Gulotta, 35, an employee of Tom’s Hardware Italy — a brand owned by AnandTech parent company Purch — was on holiday in Barcelona, Spain, strolling along Las Ramblas with his partner and two young children, when he was struck and killed by a van that also took the lives of 13 others and injured more than 100.

When he was hit by the van, Bruno was holding his 5-year-old son Alessandro’s hand. His son was yanked away to safety by his mother, who had their 7-month-old daughter, Aria, strapped to her chest when the van struck.

The terrorist group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, and authorities have arrested at least four suspects as the investigation continues, according to the Associated Press.

“It is with great sadness that I must report that one of our team members was killed in the attack in Barcelona yesterday,” Purch CEO Greg Mason announced in an email to the company.

“While many of our offices are no stranger to the realities of terrorism, it is particularly sobering when tragedy takes one of our own. Please keep Bruno and his family in your thoughts and prayers as well as our EU team members who are dealing with the very real existence of danger and loss in their daily lives,” Mason said.

Bruno was mourned and remembered by his friend and colleague Roberto Buonanno, the country manager for Tom’s Hardware Italy, in a story we have translated and reposted below. If you would like to donate to Bruno’s family, contributions are being collected through a PayPal account Buonanno set up for this purpose: paypal.me/famigliabrunogulotta.

From Tom’s Hardware Italy, translated:

Today is a day of mourning for us. We all come together with affection for his companion, Martina, and his two small children. Here are our memories of Bruno, as written by the country manager of Tom’s Hardware for Italy, Roberto Buonanno.

The news came to us suddenly yesterday evening during the laid-back week of Ferragosto [a holiday celebrated in Italy]. Our colleague and friend Bruno Gulotta was run over and killed by a terrorist in the heart of Barcelona. Here was there on vacation with his companion and his two kids. He was posting on Facebook, and everything seemed like a typical vacation: a photo from Cannes, one from Las Ramblas in Barcelona. And then something that no one expects: the death of a young man, father and partner of the mother of his two children.

We spent the evening and night trying to stay lucid, and communicate the news to our colleagues and close friends; many wondered if this was a macabre joke or reality. And then we started to read online publications, competing to collect as much news, photos and videos of this young Italian, dead in a terrorist attack in Barcelona.

It is a tragedy that strikes us in so many ways, one more dramatic than the other. We are thinking of his companion, Martina, who, with the strength of a young mother, must now face something nobody should have to. We put ourselves in the shoes of little Alessandro, who is preparing to start elementary school, knowing that his life and family will no longer be the same. And then we think of little Aria, who will not remember the horrible scene, but will never know her dad.

Bruno was a point of reference, a central figure for all those who knew him. For us at Tom’s Hardware, he was an important pillar who helped hold us up.

Anyone who worked with him — whether it was customers, suppliers or web stars — was impressed by his kindness and professionalism. He had an insatiable hunger for knowledge, and he was a real enthusiast — one of us — even though he later decided to move full time to marketing and sales. And in that role, I have never known a more capable person. He loved to study every aspect of his profession. He was an insatiable reader and avidly searched for perfection.

We talked for hours and hours about our productivity and our personnel development systems, and exchanged many letters seeking guidance. Anyone who had a problem with a computer, software or web platform could ask and find a solution by coming to Bruno, even if they didn’t work with him. That’s because Bruno was a truly generous and heartfelt person. He was able to lead a rich family life and a brilliant professional career with a balance that I will always admire.

Personally, Bruno helped keep my feet on the ground. Every time we had a problem or a question that required my approval, I talked with him. And this went beyond just business. We talked about the education of children, vaccines, alternative medicine, diet and physical fitness. I don’t know how I will be able to endure, seeing his empty desk in our office across from where I work, and I think about how much I will miss his company. And then I realized that it is a selfish thought, because everything that counts now, and that’s important, is giving maximum support to his family, to whom we will always be available.

Rest in peace, Bruno. We will always remember you. Considering that you have always been a life force, I swear to you, even through your last act on Earth, you have taught me a profound lesson. You will always be in my thoughts every time that I feel the need for a voice of a friend, as if you would always be there, as you have always been, at every hour of the day and in any moment.

Unannounced 8th Generation Core 15W U-Series CPUs Appear on Intel’s Public Price List
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Unannounced 8th Generation Core 15W U-Series CPUs Appear on Intel’s Public Price List

More news from Intel this morning, this time published directly on their website. With the upcoming announcement of the 8th Generation Core next week to which Intel has already posted teasers to the media, it would seem that someone at Intel decided to add processor details and pricing into Intel’s official Price List today.

New to the document are four CPUs, all in the U-series range, which usually indicates TDPs of 15W for non-Iris products. However, the big jump to note will be in the core counts. U-series processors, including the Core i7 parts, have historically been only dual-core with Hyper-Threading, similar to the Core i5 parts (with the Core i7 being better for voltage/frequency curves and overall performance). The Price List shows that both the new Core i7-8000 and Core i5-8000 parts will move up to four cores, and both will feature Hyper-Threading, giving a total of eight threads.

Specifications of Intel Core i5/i7 U-series CPUs
7th Generation 8th Generation
  Cores Freq +
Turbo		 L3 Price   Cores Freq +
Turbo		 L3 Price
i7-7660U 2/4 2.5 GHz 4 MB $415 i7-8650U 4/8 1.9/? GHz 8 MB $409
i7-7560U 2.4 GHz $415 i7-8550U 1.8/4.0 GHz $409
i5-7360U 2/4 2.3 GHz 3 MB $304 i5-8350U 4/8 1.7/? GHz 6 MB $297
i5-7260U 2.2 GHz $304 i5-8250U 1.6/3.4 GHz $297

The Price List also states their L3 cache sizes, which is consistent with previous Core i7/i5 positioning. The base frequencies are to note, which are lower than previous generations. Other information shows the pricing is about the same, and the that these are on 14nm. It doesn’t state which 14nm process these parts are on, but it confirms that 10nm isn’t ready as of today to go into the list. The list also doesn’t state the CPUs’ turbo frequencies.


Click to Zoom

One thing that might have users disappointed is that there is no update on any desktop parts in the price list. The list has the new U-series CPUs as having an official price from August 21st, which would also follow some of the laptop designs that have been leaked by retailers featuring these new parts. The image at the top is of the Acer Swift 3 SF314-52G-55XD, which is one of those devices.

Update: 8/18, 2pm ET

HP seems to have published information about its new HP Envy 13 laptop, with additional information on turbo speeds for the i5-8250U and i7-8550U.

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Intel Provides Partners Preliminary 8th Gen Desktop Details: Core i7-8700K to Core i3-8100
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Intel Provides Partners Preliminary 8th Gen Desktop Details: Core i7-8700K to Core i3-8100

At a closed-session partner in China, Intel revealed a number of preliminary details about its upcoming 8th generation Core processors for desktops. As expected, Intel is telling its business customers that is increasing core count of its CPUs for mainstream PCs in a bid to drive performance, catalyze upgrades and better compete against its rival.

Intel has previously unveiled that they’re working on what will be their 8th Generation Core processors. What has been rumored for a while (and what Intel yet has to publicly confirm) is increased core counts for the 8th Gen desktop parts. This week Chiphell, a China-based website, published a picture taken from a partner briefing event, which briefly describes the advantages of Intel’s 8th gen Core CPUs vs the company’s 7th gen Core chips.

According to two separate external sources with knowledge of the matter, the slide is up-to-date and genuine.

Intel is stating that the increased number of cores and enlarged caches will be the key improvements of the 8th Gen desktop parts, compared to their direct predecessors. In particular, the event speaker explained that the next-gen Core i7-8000 series CPUs will gain two additional cores to give six cores with Hyper-Threading. At the top end, it was stated that these will be at 95W and 65W TDPs for unlocked and regular SKUs respectively. The Core i5 series will also get two additional cores, but no Hyper-Threading. As for the Core i3 parts, these parts will lose Hyper-Threading, but instead move into the traditional i5 space, giving four cores only. Intel stated that they will also continue to offer unlocked CPUs within its i7, i5 and i3 families, and such processors will feature higher frequencies and a 95 W TDP (compared to the 65 W thermal envelope for their regular parts).

Basic Specifications of Intel Core i5/i7 Desktop CPUs
7th Generation 8th Generation
  Cores Freq.
(Base)		 L3 TDP   Cores Freq.
(Base)		 L3 TDP
i7-7700K 4/8 4.2GHz 8 MB 91W i7-8700K 6/12 3.8GHz 12MB 95W
i7-7700 3.6GHz 65W i7-8700 ? 65W
i5-7600K 4/4 3.8GHz 6 MB 91W i5-8600K 6/6 ? 9 MB 95W
i5-7400 3.0GHz 65W i5-8400 2.8GHz 65W
i3-7350K 2/4 4.2GHz 4 MB 60W i3-8350K 4/4 4.0GHz 6MB 95W
i5-7100 3.9GHz 51W i3-8100 3.8GHz 65W

As it stands, three things remain unclear about the 8th generation Core processors for desktops. The first one is the integrated graphics configuration of the company’s upcoming parts, as it may be important if Intel increases their GPU core counts to keep performance growing. The second one is the CPU core configuration of the future Pentium SKUs. In the case of Kaby Lake-based Pentiums, Intel enabled Hyper-Threading technology to match the Core i3 parts, blurring the line between the i3-7000 and the Pentium G4600-series parts. Third is if there are any adjustments to the pricing structure.

What will be interesting is the fact that Intel has lost the 4C/8T level of hardware. By moving the Core i5 to a six-core, any 4C/8T component has the potential to surpass a 6C/6T in certain tests. 

Intel did not supply us with this information. Intel traditionally does not comment on information it reveals to partners behind closed doors. More importantly, the information should be considered as preliminary as the company has been known to change product specifications close to launch, even on final engineering samples to retail. Even though the 8th generation Core processors would already need to be in production in order to meet Intel’s 2017 goals, last minute changes are always on the table. Similarly, Intel has a lot of latitude in deciding when to actually launch their parts, particularly lower-volume desktop parts.

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