Thread: Anandtech News

At a laptop vendor, Huawei is entering its fourth year. Relying on x86 silicon and a GPU here and there, one thing Huawei does well is the quality of the design. The company has transferred the knowhow developed over a decade of smartphones into something bigger, with a keyboard, running Windows. The latest MateBook X Pro 2021 edition we’re testing today equips an Intel 11^th Gen Core i7 with one of the physically largest displays you can fit into a 14-inch device, and a brushed aluminium chassis that’s very smooth to the touch and an Emerald Green finish that really stands out.

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Western Digital's Red series of drives for network-attached storage systems has a significant share in various NAS market segments. The series started off with a focus on hard drives, and more recently WD Red SSDs were introduced in Q4 2019, a few years after the SanDisk acquisition. These SATA SSDs (in both 2.5" and M.2 form-factors) were based on Marvell 88SS1074 controllers and targeted caching applications.
The increasing popularity of tiered storage, coupled with the deployment of NVMe (in the form of add-in cards, and now, natively in NAS boards) has prompted Western Digital to create a new member in the WD Red family. The new WD Red SN700 comes in 5 capacities ranging from 250GB to 4TB.

WD Red SN700 NVMe SSDs for NAS
Capacity		250 GB	500 GB	1 TB	2 TB	4 TB
Model Number		WDS250G1R0C	WDS500G1R0C	WDS100T1R0C	WDS200T1R0C	WDS400T1R0C
Controller		SanDisk In-House?
NAND Flash		3D TLC NAND
Form-Factor Interface		M.2-2280, PCIe 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3
Single-Sided (22.15mm x 80.15mm x 2.38mm)				Double-Sided (22.15mm x 80.15mm x 3.58mm)
Seq. Read Max (128KB @ QD32)		3100 MBps	3430 MBps		3400 MBps
Seq. Write Max (128KB @ QD32)		1600 MBps	2600 MBps	3000 MBps	2900 MBps	3100 MBps
Rand. Read IOPS (4KB @ QD32)		220K	420K	515K	480K	550K
Rand. Write IOPS (4KB @ QD32)		180K	380K	560K	540K	520K
SLC Caching		Yes
DRAM Buffer		?	?	?	?	?
Opal Encryption		?
Power	Peak	9.24 W
PS3 (LP)	70 mW		100 mW
PS4 (Sleep)	3.5 mW			5 mW
Warranty		5 years
MTBF		1.75 million hours
TBW		500	1000	2000	2500	5100
DWPD		1			0.7
Addl. Info.		Link
MSRP		$65	$80	$145	$290	$650

A PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe drive can provide a quantum leap in I/O performance, especially over pure HDD-based systems. NAS units are fast becoming hyperconverged application servers, and NVMe drives can improve user experience with both storage tasks as well as application tasks. In particular, tasks related to workloads like virtualization, multi-user collaborative editing and other similar applications. The benefits for traditional enterprise workloads such as intensive databases are also evident, even when the NVMe drive is used purely as a caching drive. Interestingly, the 1TB and lower capacity models have a 1 DWPD rating, while the 2TB and 4TB ones have a 0.7 DWPD endurance number.
It must be noted that Seagate has already released two generations of NVMe drives for the NAS market in their IronWolf series. WD is playing a bit of a catch-up in this particular market segment, but its SanDisk heritage and vertical integration can possibly give the WD Red SN700 an edge over the IronWolf series.



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Rapid advancements in flash technology and continued improvements in high-speed interfaces have driven the growth of small, bus-powered portable SSDs. Kingston introduced the DataTraveler Max in August 2021 as a USB-C flash drive capable (UFD) of hitting 1GBps speeds. Its uniqueness lies in the form-factor. In fact, it is the first device in a thumb drive form-factor to hit such performance numbers. These numbers are achieved while keeping the UFD light enough to sport an integrated USB-C male connector. Read on for our analysis of the drive's performance and a detailed look at the technology enabling this unique product.

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We’ve been keeping light tabs on Intel’s Neuromorphic efforts ever since it launched its first dedicated 14nm silicon for Neuromorphic Computing, called Loihi, back in early 2018. In an interview with Intel Lab’s Director Dr. Richard Uhlig back in March 2021, I asked about the development of the hardware, and when we might see a second generation. Today is that day, and the group is announcing Loihi 2, a substantial upgrade over the first generation that addresses a lot of the low-hanging fruit from the first design. What is perhaps just as interesting is the process node used: Intel is communicating that Loihi 2 is being built, in silicon today, using a pre-production version of Intel’s first EUV process node, Intel 4.

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As part of the launch of the new Loihi 2 chip, built on a pre-production version of Intel’s 4 process node, the Intel Labs team behind its Neuromorphic efforts reached out for a chance to speak to Mike Davies, the Director of the project. Now it is perhaps no shock that Intel’s neuromorphic efforts have been on my radar for a number of years – as a new paradigm of computing compared to the traditional von Neumann architecture, and one that is meant to mimic brains and take advantages of such designs, if it works well then it has the potential to shake up specific areas of the industry, as well as Intel’s bottom line. Also, given that we’ve never really covered Neuromorphic computing in any serious detail here on AnandTech, it would be a great opportunity to get details on this area of research, as well as the newest hardware, direct from the source.

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Ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) machines have been one of the major drivers in the resurgence of the PC market. The trend was kickstarted by Intel's NUCs in the early 2010s. These PCs have usually relied on low-power processors with compelling performance per watt metrics. AMD was largely absent in this market till the introduction of the Ryzen processors. While ASRock Industrial was one of the first to release a UCFF mini-PC based on the first-generation Ryzen embedded processors, multiple OEMs have lined up to utilize the second-generation AMD processors in their own high-performance mini-PC lineups. Today, we are looking at the performance and value proposition of the ASUS PN50 - a high-end UCFF system based on the AMD Ryzen 7 4800U SoC.

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Western Digital is unveiling its latest addition to the WD Blue family today - the SN570 NVMe SSD. A DRAM-less PCIe 3.0 x4 drive, it brings in performance improvements over the current lead product in the line - the SN550. In order to better appeal to the content creators market, WD is also bundling a free month of membership to Adobe Creative Cloud.
Similar to the SN550, the SN570 is also available in three capacities - 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB. All drives are single-sided, come with a 5-year warranty, and carry a 0.3 DWPD rating. The key performance improvement over the SN550 is the increase in sequential read speeds from 2400 MBps to 3500 MBps. Though Western Digital wouldn't officially confirm, we believe this is likely due to the move from BiCS 4 96L 3D TLC to BiCS 5 112L 3D TLC. We did obtain confirmation that these drives are set to be equipped with 3D TLC over their complete lifetime, and will not move to QLC.

Western Digital SN570 SSD Specifications
Capacity	250 GB	500 GB	1 TB
Controller	WD In-House?
NAND Flash	Western Digital / Kioxia BiCS 5 112L 3D TLC NAND?
Form-Factor, Interface	Single-Sided M.2-2280, PCIe 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.4
Sequential Read	? MB/s	3500 MB/s
Sequential Write	? MB/s	? MB/s	? MB/s
Random Read IOPS	?	?	?
Random Write IOPS	?	?	?
SLC Caching	Yes
TCG Opal Encryption	No
Warranty	5 years
Write Endurance	150 TBW 0.3 DWPD	300 TBW 0.3 DWPD	600 TBW 0.3 DWPD
MSRP	$50 (20¢/GB)	$? (?¢/GB)	$? (?¢/GB)

The WD Blue series started getting credible competition in the entry-level DRAM-less NVMe SSD space recently from Samsung's 980 series. Using 128L V-NAND technology with higher flash speeds, Samsung was able to advertise better sequential performance numbers that the WD Blue. Our review did find the original SN550 holding up better for heavier workloads, but the advertised numbers are hard to dismiss for the average consumer. The new SN570 should solve that problem for WD. On the other hand, Samsung enables TCG Opal support in the 980, while WD opts not to enable it for the Blue series.
In terms of pricing, the SN570 matches the 980 (at least at the 250GB capacity point). Assuming that the SN570 can match the SN550's performance for real-world workloads, the Adobe Creative Cloud value-add might just tilt the choice in its favor - at least for the content creators market. We are yet to receive the final datasheet, and the table above will be updated once we have additional details.

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In preparation for our full iPhone device review, we’re having a dedicated look at the new A15 SoC from Apple – following quite vague performance claims, how does the new chip stand up against its predecessor & competition?

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ASRock Rack has listed a new motherboard on its website supporting AMD's latest Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3000WX series of processors. The ASRock Rack WRX80D8-2T is currently under 'preliminary' status and features eight memory slots, seven full-length PCIe 4.0 x16 slots, as well as twelve SATA ports and support for two PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 drives. It also includes dual 10 GbE and is supported by an ASPEED BMC controller with a dedicated management LAN port and D-sub video output.
In terms of design, the ASRock Rack WRX80D8-2T follows a basic green design with blue memory slots and black PCIe slots, and power connectors. Surrounding a transposed sTRX4 (WRX80) socket is eight memory slots with support up to 2TB of capacity, with ECC and non-ECC UDIMM, RDIMM, LRDIMM, and RDIMM3DS memory types supported. Providing power to the motherboard is a 24-pin 12 V ATX power input, while CPU power comes from a pair of 8-pin 12 V ATX CPU power inputs, all of which are located in the top right-hand corner.

Dominating the lower half of the board are seven full-length PCIe 4.0 x16 slots, which are designed to maximize 112 of the supported 120 PCIe lanes from the Zen 2 based Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3000WX processors. Focusing on storage, the WRX80D8-2T has support for twelve SATA ports from the WRX80 chipset with two OCuLink ports, including four regular 7-pin SATA ports. Users can add U.2 storage with two OCuLink ports at PCIe 4.0 x4 or use these for an additional four SATA ports apiece. Other storage options include two PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots with support for form factors up to 22110 M.2. Cooling options consist of seven 6-pin fan headers.

On the rear panel are two USB 3.2 G1 Type-A ports, with a dedicated Realtek RTL8211E Gigabit management LAN port and D-Sub video output powered by an ASPEED AST2500 BMC controller, which adds IPMI support. Users looking to add more USB ports can do so via front panel headers, including one USB 3.2 G2 Type-C header and one USB 3.2 G1 Type-A header for an additional two ports. Networking includes two RJ45 ports, which an Intel X550-AT2 10 GbE controller powers. Finishing off the rear panel is a Serial port, and a small UID identification LED button.
At the time of writing, we don't have any information on either the pricing or availability of the ASRock Rack WRX80D8-2T.
Source: ASRock Rack
Gallery: ASRock Rack Lists WRX80D8-2T For Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3000WX Processors


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Tomorrow, Microsoft is officially launching Windows 11, the next installment of their operating system which underpins the majority of PCs in use today. Windows 10 has an install base of over 1 billion devices, and Windows 11 comes into existence in a much different place than its predecessor. After the much-maligned Windows 8 there was a sense of urgency and necessity which ushered Windows 10 into the world. Windows 11, on the other hand, comes into a market where most people are happy with Windows 10. So it raises the question: Why now?

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