2,100 MB/s is now the mainstream? Yes, that is the world we live in today. Adata used the massive Computex trade show to announce the SX7100 NVMe SSD. The drive uses the new Realtek RTS5760 DRAM-less controller that supports NVMe 1.3 and Host Memory Buffer (HMB).
HMB technology removes the expensive DRAM chip from the SSD and replaces its function with a small amount of system memory you already have. The result is a lower cost NVMe SSD with almost the same performance as a drive with a local DRAM package used to cache the flash translation layer map.
The new SX7100 replaces the SX7000 in Adata's product stack, but we don't have any pricing or availability details at this time. The SX7000 256GB sells on Amazon for $130 with a five-year warranty. It's not a great value and has largely flown under the radar with Adata's upper tier models, such as the SX8200, getting most of the headlines.
Adata also showed us a prototype RGB, SSD, disk-less, something-or-other. It's called the Tornado and it's the "World's First RGB PCIe Cooler".
The only one in the world was in the system running a demo, so we were not able to see what the Tornado was all about. We were told under the cooler was two NVMe and two SATA M.2 drives, but the specification car says one NVMe and one SATA SSD. The disco adapter uses a PCIe 3.0 x4 connector to the host system but we also spotted what looks like a SATA cable attached as well. It's difficult to see the SATA cable because you are mesmerized by the RGB lighting that works with Adata's XPG RGB SYNC App to control the six "RGB bulbs".
The fan, which we never did get to see, has five speeds that are user adjustable. There wasn't a lot of substance with this developing product but everything after RGB is just a footnote anyhow in 2018.
