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SSD's are finally getting a firm grip within the market, helped in part by dropping prices and increasing capacities. If you have been holding off on upgrading then perhaps today we can change your mind. We would go so far as to say that from our experience, adding an SSD as a boot drive to a system is one of the best upgrades you could make.
SSD drives are all based around the controllers with makers such as Intel, Samsung, JMicron and Indilinx leading the way. This makes the drive on test today especially interesting, as it uses a controller from Toshiba.
Kingston are probably best known for their entry level drives which are firmly targeted at mainstream users. They combine decent performance with ultimate value and have proved to be a big seller – Kingston have developed a second generation drive which offers Windows 7 TRIM support and is available in sizes up to 512GB.
On our test bench today is the 128GB version of the drive which should prove to be the most popular, combining a competitive price point (around £250) with decent capacity for a Windows boot OS drive.
Features and Specifications:
Sequential Speed: 230MB/s read and 180MB/s write
Key points: Runs silent and cool with no moving parts
Shock Resistant: no moving mechnical parts means the SSD handles rougher conditions (ideal for portability)
Components: MLC NAND Flash Memory
Interface: Sata 1.5GB/s and 3.0GB/s
Support: Fully S.M.A.R.T. compliant, self monitoring, analysis and reporting technology
Capacity: 64, 128, 256, 512GB
Operating Temperatures: 0c to 70c
Dimensions: 69.85mm x 100mm x 9.5mm
Weight: 84 grams
Vibration operating: 2.17G
Vibration non operating: 20G
Operation shock: 1500G
Power Specifications: 2.6W Active, 0.15W idle
Life expectancy: 1,000,000 hours HTBF
Wow thats a wicked bundle. love the little chassis idea for USB on the move.
Weird performance with that one benchmark, might just be a glitch with the app actually
Z how do you keep churning out these quality reviews, thats like 10 in a week. Take a break ! great review btw, drive looks good.
The intel drive is amazing, when you look at those figures, which are amazing already for the other drives, and it just canes them.
Nah, im not sold, I dont like kingston products generally. OCZ for me if I was buying one of these. How the hell is that macintosh booting up so fast btw?
I need to get an SSD, but ill probably opt for a value series, they are still too much money for me. id just like to try one as a boot drive.
I think SSds make more sense in laptops. no moving parts, lower power consumption. not saying they arent great performers, but mechanical drives in Raid 0 still hold up well and cost much less.
Its still £250, the writer makes it sound like its a £20 outlay. hey, its great getting this shit to review for nothing, but £250 pays my mortgage for a month ! wait until they drop to 100 quid then ill get excited!
Almost bought one of these last week then changed my mind. Just changed it again and bought one. thanks
Its nice to see these drives performing so well in the real world. the boot times make me want one, but its a lot of dosh. Maybe next month.
Thats a lovely bundle isnt it ? the caddy and cables etc. I remember the last SSD I bought last year, I had to run out when I realised it didnt even come with a friggin SATA CABLE! kingston needs to get some credit for this really.
SSD rock, but I just had a kid, so out of my price point right now, id be looking a cheap laptop for that price !
I had issues with Kingston in the past, im sure this is a great drive, but their name doesn’t give me a great sense of purchasing confidence. Corsair would be my choice, even though it seems a bit slower overall.
Fab review. I didnt know those applications existed. Just downloaded them and tried my own raptor. embarassing, i need to get a few SSds and raid em up. tried two of this in raid 0 yet zardon?