Model: Kingston SSDNow V300 120GB Solid State Drive
Manufacturer: Kingston
Provided By: Kingston

As the world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products, Kingston Technology doesn't need much of an introduction. The company got its start in 1987, when the computer industry was suffering from a severe shortage of surface-mount memory chips. To provide a solution, Kingston's founders designed a new Single In-Line Memory Module (SIMM) that used readily available, older technology through-hole components. Today, Kingston offers more than 2,000 memory products for everything from computers, servers and printers to MP3 players, digital cameras and cell phones.

Like many other manufacturers, Kingston has set its sights on the growing solid-state drive (SSD) market. This winter, the company launched the next generation of its SSDNow V Series SSD, the V300. Designed for cost-conscious consumers looking to upgrade their existing desktop or notebook PC, the V300 is 10x faster than a 7200RPM hard-disk drive. It is powered by an LSI SandForce Flash Storage Processor (FSP) solution customized for Kingston, and optimized for industry-leading 19nm NAND flash memory to deliver sequential read and write speeds of up to 450MB/s.

The SSDNow V300 is available in 60GB, 120GB and 240GB capacities as either a stand-alone drive or as an upgrade kit containing cloning software and other accessories for a desktop and/or notebook system. For this review, Kingston sent us the 120GB desktop upgrade kit. The 120GB version of the V300 is capable of reading and writing at 450MB/s and delivering up to 85,000 random read and 55,000 random write IOPS.

 Kingston SSDNow V300 120GB Solid State Drive
General Specifications
Part Numbers SV300S37A/120G (Standalone SSD)
SV300S3D7/120G (Desktop Upgrade Kit)
SV300S3N7A/120G (Notebook Upgrade Kit)
SV300S3B7A/120G (Upgrade Kit)
Capacity 120GB
Flash Type Toshiba 19nm Toggle Mode NAND
Controller SandForce SF-2281
Form Factor 2.5-inch
Interface SATA III 6Gb/s

Performance
Sequential Read 450 MB/s Max
Sequential Write 450 MB/s Max
Maximum 4K Random Read 85,000 IOPS
Maximum 4K Random Write 55,000 IOPS

Reliability
MTBF 1 million hours
Total Bytes Written (TBW) 64TB

Power Consumption
Read 1.423 Watts
Write 2.052 Watts
Idle 0.640 Watts

Environmental
Operating Temperature 0 ºC to 70 ºC
Storage Temperature -40 ºC to 85 ºC
Vibration Operating 2.17G Peak (7–800Hz)
Vibration Non-Operating 20G Peak (10–2000Hz)

Dimensions and Weight
Dimensions 69.8 x 100.1 x 7 mm
Weight 86g

Other Features
Upgrade kits available with USB enclosure, 3.5" bracket, SATA cables, 9.5mm adapter and cloning software
Three year warranty

With store shelves already full of "SandForce Driven" SSDs with similar specs and features, the V300 is up against some stiff competition. To give you an idea of what to expect, we'll take a closer look at Kingston's new SSD and then put it through its paces to see how it performs. Does the V300 have what it takes? Can it deliver the value and performance we've come to expect from Kingston? Keep reading as we find out.


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