Thread: Anandtech News

On Tuesday, Noctua introduced its second-generation NH-D15 cooler, which offers refined performance and formally supports Intel's next-generation Arrow Lake-S processors in LGA1851 packaging. Alongside its NH-D15 G2 CPU cooler, Noctua also introduced its NF-A14x25r G2 140mm fans.
The Noctua NH-D15 G2 is an enhanced version of the popular NH-D15 cooler with eight heat pipes, two asymmetrical fin-stack and two speed-offset 140-mm PWM fans (to avoid acoustic interaction phenomena such as periodic humming or intermittent vibrations). According to the manufacturer, these key components are tailored to work efficiently together to deliver superior quiet cooling performance, rivalling many all-in-one water cooling systems and pushing the boundaries of air cooling efficiency.
Noctua offers the NH-D15 G2 in three versions to address the specific requirements of modern CPUs. The regular version is versatile and can be used for AMD's AM5 processors and Intel's LGA1700 CPUs with included mounting accessories. The HBC (High Base Convexity) variant is tailored for LGA1700 processors, especially those subjected to full ILM pressure or those that have deformed over time, ensuring excellent contact quality despite the concave shape of the CPU. Finally, the LBC (Low Base Convexity) version is tailored for flat rectangular CPUs, providing optimal contact on AMD's AM5 and other similar processors.

While there are three versions of NH-D15 G2 aimed at different processors, they are all said to be compatible with a wide range of motherboards and other hardware. The new coolers' offset construction ensures clearance for the top PCIe x16 slot on most current motherboards. Additionally, they feature the upgraded Torx-based SecuFirm2+ multi-socket mounting system and come with Noctua's NT-H2 thermal compound.

For those looking to upgrade existing coolers like the NH-D15, NH-D15S, or NH-U14S series, Noctua is also releasing the NF-A14x25r G2 fans separately. These round-frame fans are fine-tuned in single and dual fan packages to minimize noise levels while offering decent cooling performance.
Finally, Noctua is also prepping a square-frame version of the NF-A14x25 G2 fan for release in September. This variant targets water-cooling radiators and case-cooling applications and promises to extend the versatility of Noctua's cooling solutions further.
All versions of Noctua's NH-D15 G2 coolers cost $149.90/€149.90. One NF-A14x25 G2 fan costs $39.90/€39.90, whereas a package of two fans costs $79.80/€79.80. The cooler is backed with a six-year warranty.



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Lian Li Industrial Co., Ltd., established in 1983, is a Taiwanese company specializing in the manufacture of computer cases, power supplies, and accessories. They are one of the oldest players in the PC market and are known for their focus on aluminum-based designs. Lian Li produces a range of products aimed at both consumer and industrial markets, with the company's offerings including mid-tower and full-tower cases and more compact cases for smaller builds. Amongst consumers and PC enthusiasts, Lian Li's products are recognized for their build quality, modularity, and innovative features, catering to a diverse set of needs in the PC building community.
This review focuses on the latest addition to Lian Li's PSU lineup: the EG1000 Platinum ATX 3.1 PSU. This power supply unit partially complies with the ATX 3.1 design guide (the paragraphs related to electrical quality and performance). It is designed to meet the demanding requirements of modern gaming PCs, with its specifications indicating good efficiency and robust power delivery. Featuring fully modular cables with individually sleeved wires, dynamic fan control for optimal cooling, and advanced internal topologies, the EG1000 Platinum aims to provide both reliability and performance. However, behind its long list of features, the highlight of the EG1000 Platinum is the shape of the chassis itself, which forgoes the ATX cuboid shape and standard length.


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This week, Kioxia introduced its new 3D QLC NAND devices aimed at high-performance, high-capacity drives that could redefine what we typically expect from QLC-based SSDs. The components are 1 Tb and 2 Tb 3D QLC NAND ICs with a 3600 MT/s interface speed that could enable M.2-2230 SSDs with a 4 TB capacity and decent performance.
Kioxia's 1 Tb (128 MB) and 2 Tb (256 TB) 3D QLC NAND devices are made on the company's BICS 8 process technology and feature 238 active layers as well as CMOS directly Bonded to Array (CBA) design, which implies that CMOS (including interface and buffers circuitry) is built on a specialized node and bonded to the memory array. Such a manufacturing process enabled Kioxia (and its manufacturing partner Western Digital) to achieve a particularly high interface speed of 3600 MT/s.
In addition to being one of the industry's first 2 Tb QLC NAND devices, the component features a 70% higher write power efficiency compared to Kioxia's BICS 5 3D QLC NAND devices, which is a bit vague statement as the new ICs have higher capacity and performance in general. This feature will be valuable for data centre applications, though I do not expect someone to use 3D QLC memory for write-intensive applications in general. Yet, these devices will be just what the doctor ordered for AI: read-intensive, content distribution, and backup storage.
It is interesting to note that Kioxia's 1 Tb 3D QLC NAND, optimized for performance, has a 30% faster sequential write performance and a 15% lower read latency than the 2 Tb 3D QLC component. These qualities (alongside a 3600 MT/s interface) promise to make Kioxia's 1 Tb 3D QLC competitive even for higher-end PCIe Gen5 x4 SSDs, which currently exclusively use 3D TLC memory.
The remarkable storage density of Kioxia's 2Tb 3D QLC NAND devices will allow customers to create high-capacity SSDs in compact form factors. For instance, a 16-Hi stacked package (measuring 11.5 mm × 13.5 mm × 1.5 mm) can be used to build a 4TB M.2-2230 drive or a 16TB M.2-2280 drive. Even a single 16-Hi package could be enough to build a particularly fast client SSD.
Kioxia is now sampling its 2 Tb 3D QLC NAND BiCS 8 memory with customers, such as Pure Storage.
"We have a long-standing relationship with Kioxia and are delighted to incorporate their eighth-generation BiCS Flash 2Tb QLC flash memory products to enhance the performance and efficiency of our all-flash storage solutions," said Charles Giancarlo, CEO of Pure Storage. "Pure's unified all-flash data storage platform is able to meet the demanding needs of artificial intelligence as well as the aggressive costs of backup storage. Backed by Kioxia technology, Pure Storage will continue to offer unmatched performance, power efficiency, and reliability, delivering exceptional value to our customers."
"We are pleased to be shipping samples of our new 2Tb QLC with the new eighth-generation BiCS flash technology," said Hideshi Miyajima, CTO of Kioxia. "With its industry-leading high bit density, high speed data transfer, and superior power efficiency, the 2Tb QLC product will offer new value for rapidly emerging AI applications and large storage applications demanding power and space savings."
There is no word on when the 1 Tb 3D QLC BiCS 8 memory will be sampled or released to the market.



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Multiple companies offer high-capacity SSDs, but until recently, only two companies offered high-performance 60 TB-class drives with a PCIe interface: Solidigm and Western Digital. As our colleagues from Blocks & Files discovered, Samsung quietly rolled out its BM1743 61.44 TB solid-state drive in mid-June and now envisions 120 TB-class SSDs based on the same platform.
Samsung's BM1743 61.44 TB features a proprietary controller and relies on Samsung's 7^th Generation V-NAND (3D NAND) QLC memory. Moreover, Samsung believes that its 7^th Gen V-NAND 'has the potential to accommodate up to 122.88 TB,'
Samsung plans to offer the BM1743 in two form factors: U.2 for PCIe 4.0 x4 to address traditional servers and E3.S for PCIe 5.0 x4 interfaces to address machines designed to offer maximum storage density. BM1743 can address various applications, including AI training and inference, content delivery networks, and read-intensive workloads. To that end, its write endurance is 0.26 drive writes per day (DWPD) over five years.
Regarding performance, Samsung's BM1743 is hardly a champion compared to high-end drives for gaming machines and workstations. The drive can sustainably achieve sequential read speeds of 7,200 MB/s and write speeds of 2,000 MB/s. It can handle up to 1.6 million 4K random reads and 110,000 4K random writes for random operations.
Power consumption details for the BM1743 have not been disclosed, though it is expected to be high. Meanwhile, the drive's key selling point is its massive storage density, which likely outweighs concerns over its absolute power efficiency for intended applications, as a 60 TB SSD still consumes less than multiple storage devices offering similar capacity and performance.
As noted above, Samsung's BM1743 61.44 TB faces limited competition in the market, so its price will be quite high. For example, Solidigm's D5-P5336 61.44 TB SSD costs $6,905. Other companies, such as Kioxia, Micron, and SK Hynix, have not yet introduced their 60TB-class SSDs, which gives Samsung and Solidigm an edge for now.



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