Kingston HyperX 240GB SATA 3 SSD Review – Kingston Hits The Mark Dead On With SandForce

Our review today examines the Kingston HyperX 240GB SATA 3 SSD.  The HyperX is Kingstons first offering of a SATA 3 SSD and their first partnership with SandForce through use of their SF-2281 6Gbps processor, a processor which has taken the SSD community by storm.

With full intention of their HyperX line being the absolute best, Kingston has included all the bells and whistles and taken their time in producing a very attractive total package.  The performance lies at the heart of the beast, however, and performance would tell the tale of the tape.

KINGSTON’S SPECS

The Kingston HyperX SSD is available in capacities of 120 and 240GB and the SSD can be purchased alone or with a migration kit, the latter of which was sent to us for our review.  Its specifications list 525MB/s read and 480MB/s are seen directly on the face of the box with up to 95,000 IOPS at 4k aligned write disk access.  We will demonstrate that this is just a bit conservative which is always appealing.  The HyperX carries a three year warranty, 24/7 technical support and our initial check showed pricing at $269 (120GB) and $499 (240GB) for the drives alone and $299 and $549 with the complete migration kit.

EXTERIOR PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

As mentioned, our retail version of the HyperX SSD included the migration kit and the exterior container was one in which the top was pulled off of the box itself.  We have been pretty vocal, as of late, in our thoughts regarding exterior design and content, as we all know that even package appearance is a huge factor in purchase.

The front of the package clearly shows the SSD, its capacity, performance, the 3 year warranty as well as displaying that there is 24/7 support should the user have any concerns with migration.   It also lists the ‘SandForce Driven’ logo which gives that ‘little bit extra’ to help the consumer.  The exterior back describes and shows the contents of the kit and has a promotional statement in more languages than we care to count.

The sides of the case once again provide promotional material as well as product numbers and a statement that identifies the final capacity of the formatted drive as being less than the listed capacity. For those new to this thought, this is the same with any SSD that uses SandForces controllers and we will get to reasoning for such in the following para’s.

Once we lift off the case top, we get our first real look at the HyperX as it is situated within the first level of protective foam.  Beneath that lies the next layer which contains a very attractive HyperX Tool and the 2.5″ USB enclosure which will be used during system migration.

Underneath the enclosure we find a USB connector and SATA cable and, as can be seen by the picture on the right, there is also a 2.5″ to 3.5″ adapter and DVD with Acronis True Image Migration Software included within.

HYPERX EXTERIOR

This is without a doubt a very eye catching design and great color choice.  The SSD printed circuit board (PCB) is protected by a two piece metal and plastic case.  The case can be opened by removal of the 4 security screws on the back but, be warned, this will void your warranty.  The screws are an abnormal Torx design which are NOT included in the Tool and the security sticker cannot be removed without damage.

INDEX

INTRODUCTION AND EXTERIOR PACKAGING

INTERIOR COMPONENTS AND TEST PROTOCOL

CRYSTAL DISKMARK, AS SSD AND ANVIL STORAGE UTILITIES

HDTUNE PRO BENCHMARKS

PCMARK VANTAGE TESTING AND THE SATA 3 HIERARCHY

THE VERDICT

FOLLOW THE DISCUSSION