Kingston V100 128GB SSD – Value & Performance

Kingston’s SSDNow series of solid state drives have done very well in the marketplace due to their range of value to performance oriented drives which covers the needs of just about any user. Available since the end of 2010, the V100 series lands in the middle of the SSDNow lineup with excellent performance without needing a second mortgage to finance the purchase.

Priced at $240 for the drive and desktop upgrade kit, it falls in the middle of the pack in terms of price in comparison to its peers. It’s available in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacities with notebook and desktop upgrade kits available for all three sized drives as well. The 128GB desktop bundle version we received offers read speeds topping out at 250MB/s and writes at up to 230MB/s and is covered by a three year warranty.

Kingston SSDNow V100 Features:

• Performance — enhances productivity; makes users more efficient
• Innovative — 2.5″ form factor; uses NAND Flash memory components
• Silent — runs silent and cool with no moving mechanical parts
• Reliable — less likely to fail than a standard hard drive
• Shock-Resistant — no moving mechanical parts so the SSD handles rougher conditions
• Supports TRIM** — ensures maximum performance on compatible operating systems
• Supports S.M.A.R.T.
• Guaranteed — three-year warranty, 24/7 tech support

Kingston SSDNow V100 Specifications:

• Form factor — 2.5″
• Interface — SATA 1.5 Gb/sec. and 3.0 Gb/sec.
• Capacities* — 64GB, 128GB, 256GB
• Dimensions — 69.85mm x 100mm x 9.5mm
• Weight — 78 grams
• Storage Temperatures — -40°C to 85°C
• Operating Temperatures — 0°C to 70°C
• Vibration Operating — 2.17G
• Vibration Non-Operation — 20G
• Sequential read throughput —

• 256GB – 250MB/sec. read
• 128GB – 250MB/sec. read
• 64GB – 250MB/sec. read

Sequential write throughput —

• 256GB – 230MB/sec write
• 128GB – 230MB/sec write
• 64GB – 145MB/sec write

PCMARK® Vantage HDD Suite Score+ —

• 64GB – 19,932
• 128GB – 20,571
• 256GB – 19,910

Power Specs — 6.4 W (TYP) Active / 1.0W (TYP) Idle

MTBF — 1,000,000 Hrs

The desktop upgrade bundle comes with 2.5″ to 3.5″ drive rail adapters, a SATA power and data cable and hard drive cloning software on CD with installation guide. This is a nice little package of goods that makes upgrading easy, especially since most cases don’t yet have bays for 2.5″ drives.

The aluminum shell is typical of all the Kingston drives we’ve seen and the drive interface is of the SATA 3Gbps variety. Now that the outside is covered, let’s have a look on the inside.