Product updates and refreshes dominated Mushkin's CES lineup, the least of which was a slight design change to its memory covers (AKA heat spreaders). The memory within follows previous Redline and Blackline model specifications, with a variety of products representing the most popular frequency and timing ranges of the computing enthusiast market (such as DDR3-1600 CAS 8 and DDR3-2400 CAS 10).
Perhaps most significant to the firm was its adoption of LSI's SF-3700 controller for its top SSDs. Dubbed Scorpion II Deluxe, the PCIe x4 version will be available within the next few weeks supporting NVME protocol with reads topping 1800 MB/s, capacities up to 2 TB, and optional "Data Hardening" capacitor buffers for the controller's integrated cache on enterprise versions.
Users without the space for an x4 card might instead find interest in Mushkin's Helix. Available in extended lengths up to 1 TB and shown in the 80mm 512 GB version, Mushkin is promising both SATA-based and PCIe x2-based versions of this M.2 drive.
Users lacking the room for even an 80mm m.2 card can always try external mounting. Mushkin's Ventura Ultra places the same hardware in an oversized "thumb drive" enclosure and adds a USB 3.0 interface for transfers of around 450 MB/s.
