ssd News - Page 4 of 10 - CNX Software

January 13, 2023January 13, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

QNAP preps Rockchip RK3588 AI NAS and Intel NAS with hot-swappable E1.S SSDs

QNAP has been teasing two potentially interesting NAS coming up soon: the TS-AI642 AI NAS leveraging the 6 TOPS NPU in Rockchip RK3588 Arm processor for image and facial recognition, and the TBS-574X NAS powered by an Intel Core i3-1220P Alder Lake CPU and taking up to five hot-swappable E1.S NVMe PCIe SSDs. Details are limited since neither device is available yet, but both NAS are equipped with relatively powerful Arm and Intel processors and offer some innovative features. QNAP TBS-574X NAS with Rockchip RK3588 Preliminary specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588 octa-core 64-bit Arm processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ 2.2 GHz, 4x Cortex-A55 cores @ 1.8 GHz, 6 TOPS NPU Storage – 6x SATA III bays Video Output – 2x HDMI 2.1 ports Networking – Built-in 2.5GbE, PCIe Gen 3 slot for 10GbE module The main highlight is the 6 TOPS AI accelerator that boosts the performance of the […]

September 10, 2022September 14, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 27 Comments

$60 Raspberry Pi Mini Tower NAS kit takes one M.2 SATA SSD

Last year, Michael Klements made a nice-looking DIY Raspberry Pi 4 mini server with an OLED information display and a 52Pi UPS Plus module with 18650 batteries. It also included the company’s Ice Tower module for cooling, but if you wanted one you had to make your own with a 3D printer and a laser cutter. 52Pi appears to have noticed and liked the design, as they created something similar with the Raspberry Pi Mini Tower NAS kit taking one M.2 SATA SSD instead of using the UPS module. There are also a few tweaks to the mechanical design with the OLED display at an angle for easier reading. 52Pi Raspberry Pi Mini Tower NAS kit features and content: Designed for Raspberry Pi 4 SBC (not included) 3D printed case plus acrylic covers for each side 52Pi Ice Tower for cooling 2x 0.96-inch 128×64 I2C OLED displays (but only one […]

July 4, 2022February 12, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 29 Comments

Mini review of ORICO “USB 4.0” M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure

Orico USB 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure review

ORICO has sent me a sample of a USB 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure for review, which was timely as I did not have a fast USB storage option for testing. In this post, I’ll check out the hardware, show how to install an NVMe SSD, and test performance in UP Xtreme i11 mini PC since it happens to come with a USB4 port. ORICO USB 4.0 M.2 SSD enclosure specs and unboxing The exact model I received is the ORICO M234C3-U4 with a Rose Gold aluminum enclosure (107x50x17mm), supporting M.2 M-Key and B+M Key 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 SSDs (more on that later), and offering up to 40 Gbps through its USB 4.0 port. The device ships with a USB Type-C to USB Type-C/Type-A cable, a thermal pad, a heatsink, two screws, and a multilingual user manual. There’s only one USB Type-C port one the device. M.2 NVMe SSD […]

June 5, 2022April 2, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 33 Comments

NanoPi R5S preview – Part 2: Ubuntu 20.04 (FriendlyCore)

I started the NanoPi R5S review with an unboxing, a teardown, a quick try of the pre-installed OpenWrt-based FriendlyWrt, and some iperf3 benchmarks on the 2.5GbE interfaces that were rather disappointing. I test further I switched to the Ubuntu 20.04-based FriendlyCore image since I’m more familiar with Debian-based operating systems, and some tools will not run on OpenWrt. Note the performance is still not quite optimal, and that’s why I call this a preview since numbers should improve in the next few months as more people tweak the software. OpenWrt optimizations? But before jumping to Ubuntu, I gave an updated version of FriendlyWrt a try as FriendElec told me they had added some optimizations: We have made some optimizations on the new image, such as NIC interrupt settings, and offload support… So I downloaded “rk3568-eflasher-friendlywrt-20220526.img.gz” found on Google Drive, flashed it to a microSD card with USBImager, and booted it […]

February 4, 2022 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 5 Comments

Beelink GTi11 modding – PCIe Gen 4.0 M.2 slot, tweaking power limits, and eGPU

Previously I reviewed Beelink’s new GTi11 Intel Tiger Lake mini PC running Windows 11 and Ubuntu 20.04, so in this final part of the review, I’ll cover in more detail some of the features only briefly highlighted before. Specifically, I’m going to look at the PCIe Gen 4.0 M.2 slot, dabble in ‘overclocking’ and explore eGPU options. Hardware Recap The GTi11 is a 168 x 120 x 39mm (6.61 x 4.72 x 1.54 inches) actively cooled mini PC and the review model has an i5-1135G7 Intel Tiger Lake quad-core 8-thread 2.50 GHz Core processor boosting to 4.20 GHz with Intel’s Xe Graphics. The review model also included a 500GB M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe Gen 3.0 SSD drive with Windows 10 Pro installed, two sticks of 8GB DDR4 3200 MHz memory, a soldered WiFi 6 (or 802.11ax) Intel AX201 chip, and dual 2.5Gb Ethernet ports. Interestingly there are another two key […]

March 14, 2021March 14, 2021 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 16 Comments

Using an eGPU with a mini PC

Mini PCs have grown in popularity in part due to their small form-factor offering low-powered basic computing with sufficient ports for connectivity. As such they are useful both in commercial settings such as digital signage as well as with consumers needing a small-footprint or VESA-mounted low-cost computer. However, one drawback is their limited graphical performance due to using CPUs with integrated graphics which results in the options for playing games being somewhat restricted and ‘AAA’ titles typically being unplayable. Lower-priced laptops often share the same drawback and one of the ways that users have addressed their graphical need is by utilizing an external GPU (eGPU) however the commercially available ones are both expensive and require connecting via a Thunderbolt 3 port. Unfortunately, not many Chinese-made mini PCs currently include a Thunderbolt 3 port however now that they have started to include M.2 NVMe ports this has created the possibility of […]

December 19, 2020December 19, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

TerraPi modular case system for Raspberry Pi supports multiple SSD’s, DIN rail, horizontal & vertical mounts

TerraPi modular mounting system Raspberry Pi

We already have many cases for Raspberry Pi SBC’s. Besides the official one, we already have third-party enclosures such as a KKSB compact fanless metal case for Raspberry Pi 4, Argon One enclosure brings all ports from the SBC to the side, as well as a variant for M.2 SSD’s, and even DIN rail enclosures. But here are more options as INUX3D, a design studio and 3D printing facility based in Slovakia, decided to create its own 3D printed modular case system for Raspberry Pi. The TerraPi module enclosure system supports passive and active cooling, up to two 2.5-inch SSD’s or HDD’s, as well as horizontal or vertical mounting, and there’s also a DIN rail option. Apart from the fanless model targeting uniquely the Raspberry Pi 4 SBC, all TerraPi enclosures also work with Raspberry Pi 3 B/B+ models and are especially suited for people wanting to use the board […]

August 4, 2020February 20, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

MINIX Unveils USB-C Hub with 960GB SSD, 100W USB Charger

MINIX USB-C Hub with 480GB SSD, 100W USB Charger

MINIX, the Hong Kong company, is well-known for its Android media hubs and Windows 10 mini PC‘s but in recent years they’ve started designing accessories for Windows & Mac computers and laptops. In the past, we’ve checked out MINIX NEO C Plus USB-C Adapter, an M.2 SSD card pre-loaded Windows 10 Pro for N42C-4 Mini PC, and another USB-C hub with integrated 120 or 240GB SSD. The company has now unveiled four new accessories with three USB-C hubs, including one with a 480GB or 960GB SSD, and one compact 100W USB charger using the latest Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology. This morning, I received two pairs of USB-C hubs with different colors and two 100W USB chargers. The model I did not get – MINIX NEO Storage Pro – is specifically made for Apple MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with built-in SSD storage, HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60 Hz, […]