[Hardware] Kingston KC3000 Review

[Mr.ShoK]

link: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-ssds,3891.html

SPECIFICATIONS
Capacities: 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TBForm Factor: M.2 2280 Double-sidedTransfer Interface/Protocol: PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4Sequential Reads/Writes: 7,000 MBps / 7,000 MBpsWarranty/Endurance: 5 Years / Up to 3,200 TBW

REASONS TO BUY
+Fast PCIe 4.0 performance and cool operation
+Attractive design
+5-year warranty and high-endurance ratings
REASONS TO AVOID
-Costly
-High power use
-Lacks AES hardware encryption

 

If you’re looking for the fastest SSD on the market, Kingston’s KC3000 fills that role, especially now that Intel has stopped producing its Optane products. The KC3000 is a  high-performance PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD that radishes out bleeding-edge speeds of up to 7 GBps of read and write throughput, along with up to one million IOPS. 

Similar to the Seagate FireCuda 530 and Corsair MP600 Pro XT, the Kingston KC3000 is powered by the Phison PS5018-E18 and comes paired with Micron’s 176-Layer TLC flash. However, the KC3000’s flash is faster at 1,600 MTps than the MP600’s 1,200 MTps, giving it a tactical advantage. 

The 2TB Kingston KC3000’s endurance and performance comes out on top of the Samsung 980 Pro, but that comes at the cost of efficiency. That translates to shorter battery life for laptop applications. The KC3000 also doesn’t come with OPAL-compliant AES hardware encryption and comes in a double-sided form factor at higher capacities. That means the KC3000 may not be the best pick for your mobile device, but is a fantastic SSD for those building a high-end desktop for gaming or workstation for productivity.