Conclusion

With its SandForce SF-2281 based HyperX 3K SSD, Kingston doesn't reach the performance values they advertise in the specifications by a small margin. We measured the following peaks: 512 MByte were possible when writing 128 KByte blocks randomly and 539 MByte/s were reached when reading 128 KByte blocks sequentially. Still, on average the 120 GByte HyperX 3K SSD is a very quick drive, especially compared to the other 120 Gigabyte drives available on the market. At this point we have to mention that 240 GByte drives in general are faster than smaller 120 GByte or even 60 GByte drives which is because of the wear levelling algorithm that works more efficient the bigger the drive is. 

If we take a closer look at IOPS performance Kingston promises sustained values of 60'000 IOPS for 4k writes and 20'000 IOPS for 4k reads. During our tests we measured almost 70'000 IOPS regarding random writes. Concerning random reads you get as near as makes no difference 26'000 IOPS. These values are significantly higher then the numbers advertised.

We very much liked the delivery the Kingston HyperX 3K 120 GByte SSD comes with. You'll find for example a 2.5 inch to 3.5 inch adapter included. There even is an external case in the delivery and a copy of Acronis Disk image. Therefore Kingston made a possible transition from an HDD to an SSD much easier. Furthermore the HyperX 3K got a very nice casing and it's a pity that, once in a computer, you wont be able to see the drive anymore. 

If you should be looking for a well performing 120 GByte SSD which comes with a lot of accessories then the Kingston HyperX 120 GByte SSD will be the right choice for you.
The Kingston HyperX 3K SSD gets five out of five stars. The reason for this can be found in the superb delivery as well as in the performance.

All the four models can be bought at Digitec:

• CHF 141.- Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 90GB, SATA-3, 2.5 Zoll
• CHF 165.- Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 120GB, SATA-3, 2.5 Zoll
• CHF 332.- Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 240GB, SATA-3, 2.5 Zoll
• CHF 681.- Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 480GB, SATA-3, 2.5 Zoll

All Kingston HyperX SSD are also available at Steg Computer & Electronics, Brack Electronics AG and ARP.

Page 1 - Introduction / Specs / Delivery	Page 7 - Random read KByte/s
Page 2 - Impressions	Page 8 - Sequential write ops
Page 3 - How do we test?	Page 9 - Sequential read ops
Page 4 - Sequential write KByte/s	Page 10 - Random write ops
Page 5 - Sequential read KByte/s	Page 11 - Random read ops
Page 6 - Random write KByte/s	Page 12 - Conclusion

Discuss this article in the forum

Authors: m.buechel@ocaholic.ch