Kingston SSDNow V300 (120GB & 240GB) Review
by Kristian Vättö on April 30, 2013 12:30 PM ESTFinal Words
I have one issue with the V300: There's nothing particular in it that would differentiate it from the other SandForce based SSDs. While Kingston said they did lots of customization and worked closely with SandForce/LSI, at least in our testing there aren't any striking differences. It's possible that the tweaks Kingston applied are at a such low level that they won't really impact the end-user experience but that raises a question if the tweaks are needed at all as you'll get the same performance with the stock firmware. Kingston may of course be using slower or lower endurance NAND that required customization but as it stands, this is all just speculation. I'm still a bit disappointed that Kingston couldn't give us more details about their customizations because it would really be great to know how much SandForce allows customization and what the customization can do.
| Price Comparison (4/30/2013) | |||||
| 60/64GB | 120/128GB | 240/256GB | |||
| Kingston SSDNow V300 | $70 | $110 | $200 | ||
| Kingston HyperX 3K | N/A | $120 | $230 | ||
| Corsair Neutron GTX | N/A | $125 | $220 | ||
| Corsair Neutron | N/A | $120 | $200 | ||
| Corsair Force GS | N/A | $130 | $210 | ||
| Plextor M5 Pro | N/A | $130 | $230 | ||
| Plextor M5S | N/A | $110 | $190 | ||
| Crucial m4 | $80 | $130 | $200 | ||
| Intel SSD 520 | $100 | $145 | $270 | ||
| Intel SSD 330 | $90 | N/A | $220 | ||
| Samsung SSD 840 Pro | N/A | $150 | N/A | ||
| Samsung SSD 840 | N/A | $110 | $190 | ||
| OCZ Vector | N/A | $140 | $270 | ||
| Mushkin Chronos Deluxe | N/A | $130 | $185 | ||
Because the V300 doesn't bring anything special to the market, pricing is more important than ever. The V300 is affordable but not exceptionally cheap. Right now you can find Plextor M5S and Samsung SSD 840 for the same price or even for slightly less, and I would rather pick one of them instead of the V300. However, I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the prices quoted in the table because pricing fluctuates and NewEgg is just one reseller. If you're buying an SSD, I suggest that you follow the prices for a few days and try to catch a hot sale.
In general I think Kingston should differentiate their SSDs more because the V300 and HyperX 3K are too similar. For example giving the HyperX 3K a 5-year warranty would help justify its high-end positioning and a higher price too, but currently Kingston is selling two very similar products at nearly identical price points. That's not the ideal way to do business, especially when one of the products is supposed to be a budget mainstream drive while the other is aimed towards enthusiasts.
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Kristian Vättö - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - link
At least for me they are working fine at the moment (tested on my desktop and laptop). Can you try a different browser? We had some issues with our image server earlier today, although it should be fixed now.Intel RST drivers provide a bit better performance and are hence recommended when using an SSD.
mike55 - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - link
Cool, thanks! And the images are working for me now on all browsers.Diagrafeas - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - link
Don't the latest drivers get installed with INTEL Inf Update Utility?Do i have to download something else?
noblemo - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - link
Images not loading in Windows Chrome v26.0.1410.64m or IE9. Hitting "Click for full size" produces the error: "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage... Diagnose connection problems"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXREEVpjloo
Kristian Vättö - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - link
Yeah, not loading for me either. Anand is on it.GuMeshow - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - link
I was about to post about that too ... Firefox doesn't load images from images.anandtech.com either.Slash3 - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - link
I'm enjoying the new Imagination Viewing mode on AT, I get to create all sorts of great article pictures in my head. :)omarccx - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - link
Pictures aren't working for me, either. :(HisDivineOrder - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - link
Sandforce drives are boring.Could have summed this up with, "If it's a Sandforce drive and it's by someone other than Intel, look at any other Sandforce drive's review and consider a 5% variance up or down. The end."
See, I can review any Sandforce drive by doing this. Where's my checks, Anandtech? This was hard reviewing I just did here. I reviewed every Sandforce drive based on SF-2281 on the market in the last six months. That's a lot of checks I'm owed there. You feel free to swap out the brands and models on the drives and what not so they all fit.
Also feel free to pay me in Samsung SSD's. You know. Actually interesting SSD's.
Johny12 - Thursday, May 2, 2013 - link
Just dont go by the branding. Kingston uses SandForce controllers - SF-2281 which are very proming & thats why Intel is bundling their SSDs with SandForce controllers & believe they are amazingly solid in terms of performance & reliability. Initially most of the SSD makers had issues with the controller maker - SandForce due to firmware compatibities which are now totally resolved.