Kingston’s HyperX Solid State Drive is now more affordable than ever. Want SATA 3 6GBps but on a budget? Look no further!
Product on Review: HyperX 3K SSD
Manufacturer and Sponsor: Kingston
Street Price: Approx. £115 inc. VAT GBP (At time of review
Kingston are a keen advocate within the storage sector and having had lots of success with their HyperX SSD last year, are back again with a much more affordable variant.
The HyperX 3K SSD was announced last week at the Gadget Show Live 2012. SteelSeries were in fact using these new drives in their gaming systems – available for free-play to the public. The real difference between the original HyperX SSD and the new HyperX 3K version are the amount of toggle NAND used. The original features 5K whilst (as you might have guessed) this version we are looking at today – 3K. What this translates to in the real-world is slightly lower performance results compared to the 5K version but at a much lower price-point. The 3K is aimed at budget-minded enthusiasts and general users who want to experience SATA 3 6Gbps performance but simply cannot afford the higher prices of a big chunk of SSDs currently available.
So the HyperX 3K SSD is available in four different size capacities – 90GB, 120GB, 240GB and 480GB. Both using the Sandforce SF-2281 Controller, something used in an assortment of popular SSDs such as the OCZ Vertex 3, Patriot Pyro and Corsair Force 3 series. So the real question is, will this compromise with less toggle NAND affect performance? Let’s find out!
Kingston on HyperX 3K
Budget-minded gamers and enthusiasts will benefit from the lower price of Kingston’s new HyperX 3K SSD. This solid-state drive combines premium 3000 program-erase cycle Toggle NAND with the second-generation SandForce controller. Its lower price means more users can experience ultra-responsive gaming, multitasking and multimedia computing power. 3K loads games and applications faster, increases frames per second (FPS) for an improved gaming experience and allows for quick transfers and edits of large media files. HyperX 3K provides high-speed SATA Rev. 3.0 (6Gb/s) performance and blazing fast random and sequential read/write speeds. SandForce DuraClass™ technology provides the latest data integrity protection for ultimate endurance over the entire life of the drive. HyperX 3K SSD comes in a sleek, black and aluminium case design, accentuating the look of any power user’s system. For added peace of mind, HyperX 3K SSD is backed by a three-year warranty and legendary Kingston reliability.
Features & Specifications
• SandForce controller technology
• High-speed SATA Rev 3.0 (6Gb/s) transfer speeds
• Advanced Wear-Leveling Technology
• User-Configurable Over Provisioning4
• Performance — incredible speeds for enhanced productivity
• Reliable — much less likely to fail than a standard hard drive
• Shock-Proof — dropping your notebook no longer means losing your data
• Cool & Quiet — runs silent and with no moving mechanical parts to generate heat
• Innovative — uses NAND Flash memory components
• Supports TRIM3 — enhances device wear leveling by eliminating merge operation for all deleted data blocks
• Supports S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology)
• Guaranteed — three-year Kingston® warranty, 24/7 tech support
Specifications
• Capacities1: 90GB, 120GB, 240GB, 480GB
• Sequential reads2: SATA Rev. 3.0
• 90GB / 120GB / 240GB – 555MB/s
• 480GB – 540MB/s
• Sequential writes2: SATA Rev. 3.0
• 90GB / 120GB / 240GB – 510MB/s
• 480GB – 450MB/s
Closer Look
The HyperX is presented in a graphically pleasing box. You are left in no doubt as to what’s inside or the features this SSD comes with. The sides have some details about features whilst the back has a depiction of what to expect in the bundle.
Enticing packaging draws in attention
Opening the box up we have a feature-packed bundle that leaves you equipped for getting the most out of your HyperX. The contents consist of:
• HyperX SSD
• SSD USB Enclosure – including USB to mini-USB cable
• 2.5” fitting tray – including screws
• SATA3 – 6Gbps cable
• Hardware installation tool
• CD – installation guide and Acronis HD cloning software
The bundle is full of useful items
Observing the actual SSD, we can see the HyperX has a brushed aluminium plate in the shape of an “X” with the HyperX and respective Kingston insignia’s in either corner. The HyperX logo is etched with a cut aluminium feel to it.
A brushed aluminium plate in the shape of an “X”
Turning our attention to the rear of the SSD there are the usual mounting holes for positioning this either in the provided bracket plate or within your computer case. There is a label on the back of the SSD with serial number, standards and capacity size. Of course being SATA3 we still use the same SATA connector as we would for SATA2 and again for the SATA power also.
The back of the HyperX
The HyperX 3K makes use of the SandForce 2281 controller – the same controller used for the 5K version of HyperX. MLC NAND flash chips are used throughout.
SandForce driven HyperX 3K
Testing Methodologies
Our SSDs have recently been moved to a new test system as the Intel P67 setup has been decommissioned for the newer Intel Z77. As a result, the database whilst still having a reasonable number of test subjects to compare against isn’t as extensive as we would like so keep a look out over the coming weeks for more additions!
The system is formatted and a fresh version of Windows is installed with just drives in place – no additional applications. Windows is then updated to the latest release and the drivers are installed. Included in the list of benchmarks are the following applications:
ATTO Disk Benchmark v2.46
AS SSD
CrystalDiskMark 3.0
Iometer
SiSoftware SANDRA 2012
Windows 7 Boot Time Test
Test system
CPU Intel Core i5 2500K
Motherboard MSI Z77A-GD65
Graphics MSI R7970 Black Edition
Memory 8GB Corsair Vengeance 2133MHz
HDD
– Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB (Sata Gbps)
– Kingston HyperX 240GB (Sata 6Gbps)
– ADATA S510 120GB (Sata 6Gbps)
– Intel 520 480GB (Sata 6Gbps)
– Samsung 830 Series 256GB (Sata 6Gbps)
– Samsung HD103SJ 1TB (Sata 3Gbps)
PSU OCZ 750W Fatal1ty
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit
Benchmarks: ATTO Disk Benchmark v2.46
The ATTO Disk Benchmark performance measurement tool is compatible with Microsoft Windows. Measure your storage systems performance with various transfer sizes and test lengths for reads and writes. Several options are available to customize your performance measurement including queue depth, overlapped I/O and even a comparison mode with the option to run continuously. Use ATTO Disk Benchmark to test any manufacturers RAID controllers, storage controllers, host adapters, hard drives and SSD drives and notice that ATTO products will consistently provide the highest level of performance to your storage.
Benchmarks: AS SSD
AS SSD Benchmark is a straightforward tool for measuring the speed of your SSD drive.
Simply launch the program, choose your drive, click Start, and it’ll test your SSD’s read and write speed in a variety of ways, delivering a score for each when it’s done. And if that’s not enough, there are also additional file copy and compression-related benchmarks available from the Tools menu. (The author’s support page is German only, but if you need further English explanations then there’s a thread on the program at the OCZ Technology forum.).
Simply launch the program, choose your drive, click Start, and it’ll test your SSD’s read and write speed in a variety of ways, delivering a score for each when it’s done. And if that’s not enough, there are also additional file copy and compression-related benchmarks available from the Tools menu. (The author’s support page is German only, but if you need further English explanations then there’s a thread on the program at the OCZ Technology forum.).
Benchmarks: CrystalDiskMark 3.0
CrystalDiskMark is a disk benchmark software that analyses different types of hard drive. Giving sequential benchmark write and read statistics in MB/s. A simple program that is very useful.
Benchmarks: IOMeter
Iometer is based on a client–server model, where one instance of the Iometer graphical user interface is managing multiple ‘workers’ (each one representing a separate Dynamo.exe process) which are doing the I/O. Iometer performs Asynchronous I/O – accessing files or block devices (later one allowing to bypass the file system buffers).
Iometer allows the configuration of disk parameters such as the ‘Maximum Disk Size’, ‘Starting Disk Sector’ and ‘# of Outstanding I/Os’. This allows a user to configure a test file upon which the ‘Access Specifications’ configure the I/O types to the file.
Iometer allows the configuration of disk parameters such as the ‘Maximum Disk Size’, ‘Starting Disk Sector’ and ‘# of Outstanding I/Os’. This allows a user to configure a test file upon which the ‘Access Specifications’ configure the I/O types to the file.
For the purpose of this test. The 4K 50%/50% read/write file will be under the examination with 100% Random Distribution – reporting back on IOPS and MBs per Second.
Benchmarks: SiSoftware SANDRA 2012
SiSoftware Sandra (the System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is an information & diagnostic utility. It should provide most of the information (including undocumented) you need to know about your hardware, software and other devices whether hardware or software.
Sandra is a (girl) name of Greek origin that means “defender”, “helper of mankind”. We think that’s quite fitting.
It works along the lines of other Windows utilities, however it tries to go beyond them and show you more of what’s really going on. Giving the user the ability to draw comparisons at both a high and low-level. You can get information about the CPU, chipset, video adapter, ports, printers, sound card, memory, network, Windows internals, AGP, PCI, PCI-X, PCIe (PCI Express), database, USB, USB2, 1394/Firewire, etc.
Sandra is a (girl) name of Greek origin that means “defender”, “helper of mankind”. We think that’s quite fitting.
It works along the lines of other Windows utilities, however it tries to go beyond them and show you more of what’s really going on. Giving the user the ability to draw comparisons at both a high and low-level. You can get information about the CPU, chipset, video adapter, ports, printers, sound card, memory, network, Windows internals, AGP, PCI, PCI-X, PCIe (PCI Express), database, USB, USB2, 1394/Firewire, etc.
Benchmarks: Windows 7 Boot
Synthetic testing is valuable in the examination of Solid State Drives. But some of the tests may not mean all that much to some readers so the final test in this review is a real world test showing the Windows 7 boot time.
In order to perform this test (and indeed all other benchmarks), a fresh install of Windows 7 Professional was installed on the HyperX 3K – the image of this install with no additional applications or drivers was exported for importing onto each drive at the time of testing. This will provide a clean and fair environment for comparing the boot times on each of the drives. The times were monitored using a stopwatch.
In order to perform this test (and indeed all other benchmarks), a fresh install of Windows 7 Professional was installed on the HyperX 3K – the image of this install with no additional applications or drivers was exported for importing onto each drive at the time of testing. This will provide a clean and fair environment for comparing the boot times on each of the drives. The times were monitored using a stopwatch.
Conclusion
Whilst there are obvious performance benefits to upgrading to a 6Gbps SSD many enthusiasts still struggle with the matter of pricing – but thanks to Kingston this no longer needs to be an issue.
Kingston have taken their popular HyperX performance SSD and integrated 3K toggle NAND as opposed to the 5K toggle NAND found on the original HyperX SSD. In simple terms this means that the end-user can benefit from lower cost whilst still reaping high-end performance.
Performance in our range of benchmarks revealed that the 3K version of Kingston’s HyperX whilst being behind the 5K version still maintained excellent results. Write performance was behind in some of the benchmarks but users generally read a considerably more than write so the compromise for price to performance is a fair trade-off.
Priced at £119 inc VAT – this 120GB SSD is just under £1 per GB making it an attractive investment for many wanting to jump onto the SSD bandwagon. For those who have been reluctant due to soaring prices, they needn’t worry – never has there been a better time to invest in a 6Gbps SSD.
Kingston’s HyperX 3K SSD is a top performer and can be had for less than £1 per GB – we predict lots of sales for this new drive and it comes highly recommended by Vortez, winning both amazing value and silver awards!
Pros
+ Great overall performance
+ Good quality asthetics
+ Affordable to the masses
+ 3 years warranty
Cons
– Write performance suffers in some benchmarks
+ Great overall performance
+ Good quality asthetics
+ Affordable to the masses
+ 3 years warranty
Cons
– Write performance suffers in some benchmarks
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
