Kingston SSD Now V+ 256GB Review

Introduction

So you've won the lottery and aren't too sure what to spend your money on. We're here to help.

Solid State Drives are something all of us should have by now, or at least be at the top of our wish-list, in some form of another. Even the bottom end models with tiny capacity are still a league ahead of the old mechanical models and just perfect for an Operating System.

But what if you want more? If there is one problem with a pure OS-sized SSD it's that the speed becomes addictive. Having your games and applications on your old drive definitely lessens the benefits and can feel like loading them off of a C90 in comparison to the SSD.

So what do you do? How can we combine the size of a mechanical with the speed of a Solid State? Why a high-capacity Solid State Drive of course.

Although for the true lottery winners it's possible to buy 1TB SSDs now, today we're looking at a big version of a drive we've reviewed before, the Kingston SSD Now V+. When we first reviewed it in 64GB guise we found it to be a very consistent performer at a reasonable price-point.

Being 256GB certainly puts it out of the range of a spur-of-the-moment purchase, but doesn't put it out of the range of a well-thought out upgrade. So, does the extra capacity over it's 64GB sibling help or hinder?

Features

Innovative – Uses MLC NAND flash memory components.
Silent – Runs silent and cool with no moving mechanical parts.
Shock Proof – No moving mechanical parts so the SSD handles rougher conditions.
Supports TRIM – Enhances device wear leveling by eliminating merge operation for all deleted data blocks
Supports S.M.A.R.T. functions
Guaranteed – 3 year legendary Kingston warranty, 24/7 tech support
Cache – 128MB on-board cache
Garbage collection feature – Enables high SSD write performance even when operating system does not support TRIM

Specifications

Capacity – 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
Storage temperatures – -40 - 85°C
Operating temperatures – 0 - 70°C
Dimensions – 69.85 x 100 x 9.5 mm
Weight – 84 grams
Vibration operating – 2.7G (7-800Hz)
Vibration non-operating – 20G (20-2000Hz)
Sequential Read Throughput – 230MB/s
Sequential Write Throughput – 180MB/s
Form Factor – 2.5"
Interface – 3.0 Gb/sec (Compatible with SATA 1.5 Gb/sec)
Power specs – 3.5 W - 4.2 W - active / 0.065 W - 0.075 W Idle
Life expectancy** – 1,000,000 Hrs mean time before failure
Operating shock – 1500G