Kingston has launched a bunch of SSDs over the last few years, but it has focused on the budget and mid-range segments. Now that Kingston is taking the enthusiast brand HyperX to SSDs things change. With a SF-2281 SSD controller the units offer up to 95,000 IOPS and 525 MB/s.
Kingston HyperX SSD series is based on the same SSD controller found in OCZ Vertex 3 and Corsair Force 3. SandForce supplies the controller and in the HyperX series it is all about the SATA 6.0 Gbps SF-2281. This also marks the first step in the cooperation between Kingston and SandForce, something we’ve heard rumors about since last Winter.
Kingston has also contracted Intel for deliveries of 25nm Compute NAND flash chips with lifespan of 5000 cycles, together with advanced wear-leveling technology for a long and healthy life. Besides TRIM and SATA 6.0 Gbps Kingston also allows users to ste the amount of storage the SandForce controller will use for overprovisioning, which requires third-party software and is done on your own risk.
The specifications are as follows;
| SSD | Kingston HyperX 120GB | Kingston HyperX 240GB | Corsair F3 120GB | OCZ Vertex 3 IOPS 120 |
| Controller | SF-2281 | SF-2281 | SF-2281 | SF-2281 |
| NAND flash | 25nm Intel | 25nm | 25nm | 25nm Micron |
| Interface | SATA 6.0 Gbps | SATA 6.0 Gbps | SATA 6.0 Gbps | SATA 6.0 Gbps |
| Capacity | 120 GB | 240 GB | 120 GB | 120GB |
| Read speed |
525 MB/s | 525 MB/s | 550 MB/s | 550 MB/s |
| Write speed |
480 MB/s | 480 MB/s | 510 MB/s | 500 MB/s |
| 4K read speed |
95 000 IOPS | 95 000 IOPS | oklart | 35 000 IOPS |
| 4K write speed |
70 000 IOPS | 60 000 IOPS | 85 000 IOPS | 75 000 IOPS |
| MTBF | – | – | 1 500 000 hours | 2 000 000 hours |
We have no pricing information for Kingston’s new SSD, but it will be covered by 3 year warranty and comes with an upgrade kit for 3.5″, external USB hub, multi-head screwdriver, HyperX SATA cable and Acronis True Image HD migration software.
