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Kingston has recently refreshed their SSD lineup with two new series, which includes the SSDNow V+ 100 and SSDNow V 100 ranges. Today we have the 256GB models from each range and will be comparing them to a number of mid-range and high-end SSDs...
Since purchasing my first SSD (Solid-State Drive) back in 2008 every computer system I have built for myself since then has used the technology. The first SSD that I purchased was the Intel X25M 80GB, as it was really the best offering at the time providing excellent performance coupled with high reliability.
Over the next two years a number of different SSDs have been used in my office and gaming computers, some have cost a little over $100 US while others have cost considerably more at well over $500 US. Initially I found that there was quite a noticeable difference in performance between various SSDs, though today it is becoming increasingly difficult to tell them apart. In fact right now my office computer, which I am writing this review on, uses a 128GB version of the Kingston SNV425-S2 which currently costs just $205 US. The reason why I chose the Kingston SSDNow V Series is because it offers impressive performance at an affordable price tag. Admittedly things have changed since it was first released, as drives such as the Crucial RealSSD C300 and Samsung 470 Series make very compelling arguments at roughly the same price. However the point I am slowly making my way towards is that I have spent a lot of time using affordable SSDs, such as the Kingston SNV425-S2 128GB, while I also have a lot of experience with extreme products such as the OCZ RevoDrive X2 240GB PCI Express SSD. Whereas the SNV425-S2 128GB costs $205 US, the RevoDrive X2 240GB is fetching over three times that amount. Something I have noticed when comparing SSDs, even those at opposite ends of the spectrum, is that for general use they are very much the same. Take the SNV425-S2 128GB vs. RevoDrive X2 240GB comparison. When loading Windows 7 both drives do so in exactly the same time, while I have also found their multi-tasking performance to be identical as well. Furthermore, gamers can also expect these SSDs to load levels at about the same speed as well. Where the ultra expensive RevoDrive X2 240GB does shine is moving large volumes of data across the disk and when doing so it is many times faster. The problem with this being that most of us don’t do a whole lot of this and when we do the 70MB/s+ that the Kingston SNV425-S2 128GB can sustain is usually enough to get the job done in a timely manner. Rather, I have found myself becoming more concerned with storage capacity and reliability rather than performance. The 240GB version of the RevoDrive X2 240GB does almost twice the capacity of my Kingston SNV425-S2 128GB, which makes the pricing seem a little less ridiculous. So then for those shopping for larger 200GB+ SSDs, what are the options? Well, Kingston has a few new models that they are trying to tempt you with. These models are members of the new SSDNow V 100 and SSDNow V+ 100 series, and we will be checking out the 256GB versions of each series. Although they feature similar names, these SSDs utilize considerably different hardware and as a result the SSDNow V+ 100 256GB drive costs around $150 more... |
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ProX |
Posted on: 01/12/2011 10:45 AM
The Kingston SSDNow V 100 looks like a nice buy. I wouldn't mind checking out the 128GB version since it should perform exactly the same. |
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cisco |
Posted on: 01/12/2011 10:02 PM
Nice review thanks for the read. I still cannot believe the cost per gigabyte of these things. The 512GB price tag is incredible. Still I have an 80GB X25M G1 drive in my laptop and the improvements are huge! |
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AdamC |
Posted on: 01/13/2011 08:32 AM
Hi, don't forget that V+ has something no other tested drive has: super effecient, OS independent garbage collection - try running your WinXP system for a year on C300! |
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ProX |
Posted on: 01/13/2011 08:40 AM
Good point AdamC. But you got me thinking, who is going to spend so much on ultra fast storage and then not run the latest OS? WinXP is not even supported by Microsoft anymore. |
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Steven Walton Posts: 104 Joined: 2010-02-08 |
Posted on: 01/13/2011 08:42 AM
Thanks for all the feedback guys! |
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tecra |
Posted on: 01/18/2011 03:47 PM
The hardware implemented garbage collector might also be interesting for Mac OS or Windows Vista users. I miss this statement in the review. |
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Hannibal |
Posted on: 01/18/2011 09:55 PM
Nah Vista or Mac OS are not interesting to anyone here I would assume. Mac OS users are on the wrong site for a start and Vista users should have taken Microsoft up on their cheap upgrade offer  Thanks for the review guys I am looking at getting the 128GB version of the standard V 100 now. |
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Calle2003 Posts: 16 Joined: 2010-04-27 |
Posted on: 03/04/2011 11:20 AM
Great review, very happy that I bought the Kingston V100 256GB after reading the review about the Windows 7 Boot Time, I shut down my computer every night to save electricity and the environment. Benchmarks: Real-World Applications is the best part, most sites doesn't review this even though it's what has the most impact for a single user (not running a Database etc). It would be even more awesome if you update the chart with Intel G2, Intel 510 and OCZ Vertex 3 when available. |
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Steven Walton Posts: 104 Joined: 2010-02-08 |
Posted on: 03/06/2011 06:33 AM
Thanks Calle2003, I will add those new SSD's as soon as I can get my hands on them. |
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Calle2003 Posts: 16 Joined: 2010-04-27 |
Posted on: 04/09/2011 07:40 AM
You're welcome Steve, I appreciate your work. To all Kingston SSDNOW V100 users, there is a important firmware update for V100 available: http://www.kingston.com/support/ssdnow/v100_firmware.asp |