Edge Memory Announces Video Speed Class SD Cards`

As part of our CES 2017 vendor visits, we talked to Mushkin and Edge Memory about their upcoming products. For those unaware, both Mushkin and Edge Memory are brands of Avant Technology. Both brands share a number of products, with Edge Memory focusing more on the enterprise and SMB / SME market segment. Mushkin’s CES 2017 announcements have already been covered last week. The external direct-attached storage products are being currently prepared for sale under the Edge Memory brand.

The most interesting of all the new products are the VSC SD cards (Video Speed Class). While the SD Association recently announced the A1 application-performance class for use in general computing environments, the Video Speed Class rating is meant for cards used in video recording environments – including, but not restricted to, products like action cameras, dashcams, IP cameras, and the like. The key here is that the card must be able to guarantee a minimum sustained write speed to qualify for one of the VSC classes.

Image Courtesy: SD Association

In Spring 2017, Edge Memory plans to launch a suite of SDXC (16-256 GB) and micro-SDXC (16 – 128 GB) cards with operating temperature range between -25C and 85C. This makes them suitable for industrial use-cases also.

The cards are expected to come in a range of VSC ratings. Claimed performance numbers indicate 225 MBps reads and 195 MBps writes. However, what really matters is the VSC rating that reflects the sustained write speeds that decide the suitability of these cards for a particular application.

Edge Memory also announced a number of other products – a bus-powered USB 3.0 enclosure for M.2 SATA SSDs (using ASMedia ASM1153E for the micro-B version, and the ASM1351/1542 for the Type-C version), a USB OTG-compatible flash drive with both Type-C and Type-A interfaces, and new members in the diskGO Secure Ultra USB Storage lineup which has a keypad / physical PIN support to enable hardware encryption of the contents.

Gallery: Edge Memory Direct-Attached Storage Products at CES 2017

Avant Technologies seems to be sharing the required R&D for flash-based product lines between Mushkin and Edge Memory. In bringing the products to the market, it is clear that Mushkin is targeting the average consumer / gamer, while Edge Memory targets business and industrial use-cases. The DAS ineup from Edge Memory for the first half of 2017 appears to tap into that market quite well.

Gallery: Edge Memory Announces Video Speed Class SD Cards`

Intel Officially Launches Baby Canyon NUCs with Kaby Lake: Thunderbolt Makes a Re-entry

The Baby Canyon NUCs were leaked in July 2016, and Intel officially launched the units at CES 2017. The first-generation NUCs based on Ivy Bridge had a SKU with Thunderbolt support. However, Thunderbolt went missing till it came back in the Skull Canyon NUC (NUC6i7KYK) last year. The Alpine Ridge controller for Thunderbolt 3 also integrates a USB 3.1 Gen 2 controller, making the Type-C Thunderbolt 3 port quite versatile. The Baby Canyon NUCs bring Thunderbolt back into the UCFF NUC form-factor. All the Baby Canyon NUCs have the Alpine Ridge controller. However, the i3 model is limited by firmware, allowing the Type-C port to support only USB 3.1 Gen 2 and Display Port 1.2. The i7 and i5 models have full Thunderbolt 3 support.

The leaked specifications we wrote about in July were more or less accurate, and the official specifications allow us to fill in some of the missing blanks. The updated table is presented below. SKUs ending with K are units that do not support a 2.5″ drive (only M.2 SSDs are supported).

In terms of appearance, the chassis sides now have a shade of gray to provide a better look when seen along with the black lid. We have a micro-SDXC slot on the side (a full-sized SDXC slot couldn’t apparently work with their thermal design). In terms of performance, Kaby Lake should provide the claimed 7 – 11% improvement over the corresponding Skylake products. The new NUCs are also Optane-ready – allowing Optane M.2 SSDs to work seamlessly in conjunction with 2.5″ hard drives in the future (when the Optane SSDs come into the market). One important thing to note here is that the i7 model uses a 28W TDP SKU (the Core i7-7567U), compared to the 15W TDP SKUs used in the i3 and i5 models. The i7 and i5 models have Iris Plus graphics with 64MB of eDRAM. None of the Baby Canyon NUCs support vPro. HDMI 2.0 with HDCP 2.2 is supported, thanks to the inclusion of a LSPCon in the BOM. This should make the units into perfect HTPCs with Netflix 4K capability. Compared to the NUCs from the last few generations, these units are not a big upgrade in terms of unique features for other use-cases. Generally speaking, we are not convinced that the Optane-ready feature is a big enough reason to upgrade to the Baby Canyon NUCs. That said, the i7 model should prove pretty interesting to compare against the Broadwell-U Iris NUC.

The NUC7i3BNH with the neutered Alpine Ridge Controller
(Note that the Type-C port only carries the SS10 / DP logos)

Intel indicated that the kits are slated to come into the market over the next few months at price points similar to the current Skylake versions. While official MSRPs were not provided, we see the NUC7i7BNH for pre-order at $700, the NUC7i5BNH at $610, and the NUC7i3BNH at $496.

Zotac Updates ZBOX mini-PCs with Kaby Lake: vPro, Thunderbolt, and More

As part of their pre-CES teaser, Zotac had talked about their mini-ITX GTX 1080 and their external Thunderbolt 3 graphics dock. They had also hinted about some updates to the ZBOX lineup, with some details about the ZBOX CI549 nano, a vPro-enabled passively cooled UCFF (ultra-compact form factor) PC with Thunderbolt 3 support. However, at their suite, we found that many of their existing ZBOX models will be getting a Kaby Lake update. Since Kaby Lake is a minor update in terms of features to Skylake, the Zotac really doesn’t have much to work with compared to the Skylake models. Despite that, Zotac has introduced some new features into the ZBOX series – including vPro and Thunderbolt 3 support – that are not present in the Skylake versions.

Gallery: Zotac @ CES 2017 – Suite Visit – mini-PC Segment

Zotac markets their mini-PCs in multiple market segments – the E-series for gaming, the C-series for users interested in passively cooled systems, the M-series for certain PCs with active cooling in multiple form factors, the VR-series for virtual reality use-cases, the P-series for pocket-sized computers, and so on. The Kaby Lake updates are coming to the C-series, M-series, and E-series. While the C-series units come with the nano tag (with a 5in x 5in x 1.78in form-factor), the M-series come in either the regular ZBOX size (7.4in x 7.4in x 1.78in) or the nano size.

The three tables below summarize the specifications of the Kaby Lake mini-PCs announced by Zotac at CES 2017.

The most interesting one in the above table is obviously the Zotac ZBOX CI549 nano / MI549 nano. From the perspective of a home consumer, the most important update when compared with the Skylake-U C Series models is the availability of a Thunderbolt 3 port. Thunderbolt 3 brings a host of exciting expansion possibilities. In addition, Zotac seems to have retained the two USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C from the ASMedia ASM1142 controller.

The other important aspect of the ZBOX CI549 nano and the MI549 nano is that the Core i5-7300U is a vPro SKU, making it more suitable for use in business environments. Intel’s UNITE technology is also supported for secure workplace conferencing. AMT is also available for IT administrators to remotely repair and maintain the systems. The vPro designation makes it necessary for one of the two LAN ports to be an Intel-branded one. The other mini-PCs being updated with Kaby Lake in the above table all use two Realtek adapters.

Gallery: Zotac ZBOX CI527 nano

Gallery: Zotac ZBOX CI547 nano

Gallery: Zotac ZBOX CI549 nano

Gallery: Zotac ZBOX MI527 nano

Gallery: Zotac ZBOX MI547 nano

Gallery: Zotac ZBOX MI549 nano

The interesting ZBOX here is the MI572, with the 35W TDP LGA processor – the Core i7-7700T. Using a desktop PCH allows Zotac to include Thunderbolt 3 as well as a rich set of I/Os compared to the others launched at CES.

Gallery: Zotac ZBOX MI526

Gallery: Zotac ZBOX MI548

Gallery: Zotac ZBOX MI572

In the E-series, Zotac has only one updated SKU – the EN1070K, a Kaby Lake version of the EN1070. We would have liked them to move the MAGNUS EN1080 to Kaby Lake, given the pin compatibility between Skylake and Kaby Lake, and the fact that the PCH used for the Skylake board could work with Kaby Lake too.

Gallery: Zotac ZBOX MAGNUS EN1070K

Given the nature of the mini-PC market, and the updates offered by Kaby Lake, we believe Zotac is doing the right thing by not going in for a complete overhaul of their Skylake-based offerings in this space. It is great to see dual LAN ports spread to more models, though we would prefer Intel adapters to the Realtek ones that are currently in the units. Zotac must also be appreciated for adding the LSPCon to the BOM to enable HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2 capabilities. The Thunderbolt 3 feature, as well as the vPro capabilities, will definitely expand the target market for these systems. That said, some of the shortcomings such as the thermal design of the C-series (which is the same as that of the Skylake C-series) and the placement of the USB ports in the chassis (that we pointed out in our review of the Zotac ZBOX CI523 nano) don’t seem to have been addressed. Hopefully, Zotac can tweak a few things before the final market release.

Related Reading:

• MSI Cubi 2 Kaby Lake UCFF PC Review
• Calyos NSG Cube: Passively Cooled SFF PC with Intel Core and GeForce GTX 1060
• Zotac ZBOX MAGNUS EN1080 SFF PC Review: A Premium Gaming Powerhouse