Page 10 - Conclusion
The Kingston HyperX 120GB is the first solid state drive we have tested using a SandForce SF-2281 controller in conjunction with Intel's 29F64G08ACME2 25nm NAND flash memory. Promising performance that exceeds that of the OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS, did Kingston's HyperX SSD deliver as promised? Well, according to our tests, it is a both 'yes' and 'no'. 'Yes', as in, it did meet and even exceed manufacturer's specifications. This is not to mention being a 120GB drive and all, its performance actually got dangerously intimate against the OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 240GB on more than a few occasions -- and we know 120GB drives don't perform as well as 240GB drives. In fact, in Crystal Disk Mark's QD32 write test, pulling 90,000 IOPS is just no joke to laugh at; the Kingston HyperX 120GB is simply the fastest drive we have tested in that regard. On the other hand, the 'no' comes in at times where the Kingston HyperX 120GB did not perform quite as well as we would expect. In fact, it scored dead last of any SF-2281 drives in our PCMark Vantage results, and this does not make a lot of sense, because everyone else seems to post significantly better results than us. Either way, if we look at the big picture, I think it is unquestionable that the SSD we have today is, for a lack of a fancy term, fast. Combined with the convenience offered in such a comprehensive upgrade kit, and slick looks to boot, is this the drive to buy? For around $240 at press time (About $5-10 premium over the bare drive), the HyperX Upgrade Kit makes a lot of sense if you compare it to the bare drive. The thing is, with the OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 120GB at $210 after rebate and the non-MI version at $170 also after rebate, Kingston is asking for quite a bit, even if it is pretty darn awesome.
Kingston provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
Since April 30, 2007, Number Ratings have been dropped for all CPUs, motherboards, RAM, SSD/HDDs, and graphics cards. This is to ensure the most appropriate ratings are reflected without the inherent limits of using numbers. Everything else will continue using the Number Rating System.
More information in our Review Focus.
The renowned Kingston HyperX brand is no longer just about awesome RAM for the enthusiast -- the Kingston HyperX 120GB Upgrade Kit shows that the company is serious about SSDs, too.
Do you have any comments or questions about the Kingston HyperX 120GB Upgrade Kit? Drop by our Forums. Registration is free, and it only takes a minute!
Page Index
1. Introduction and Specifications
2. A Closer Look, Installation, Test System
3. Benchmark: AIDA64 Disk Benchmark
4. Benchmark: ATTO Disk Benchmark
5. Benchmark: Crystal Disk Mark 3.0
6. Benchmark: HD Tach 3.0.1.0
7. Benchmark: HD Tune Pro 4.60
8. Benchmark: PassMark PerformanceTest 7.0
9. Benchmark: PCMark Vantage
10. Conclusion
