Product on Review: HyperX 3K SSD
Manufacturer and Sponsor: Kingston
Street Price: Approx. £115 inc. VAT GBP (At time of review
Kingston are a keen advocate within the storage sector and having had lots of success with their HyperX SSD last year, are back again with a much more affordable variant.
The HyperX 3K SSD was announced last week at the Gadget Show Live 2012. SteelSeries were in fact using these new drives in their gaming systems – available for free-play to the public. The real difference between the original HyperX SSD and the new HyperX 3K version are the amount of toggle NAND used. The original features 5K whilst (as you might have guessed) this version we are looking at today – 3K. What this translates to in the real-world is slightly lower performance results compared to the 5K version but at a much lower price-point. The 3K is aimed at budget-minded enthusiasts and general users who want to experience SATA 3 6Gbps performance but simply cannot afford the higher prices of a big chunk of SSDs currently available.
So the HyperX 3K SSD is available in four different size capacities – 90GB, 120GB, 240GB and 480GB. Both using the Sandforce SF-2281 Controller, something used in an assortment of popular SSDs such as the OCZ Vertex 3, Patriot Pyro and Corsair Force 3 series. So the real question is, will this compromise with less toggle NAND affect performance? Let’s find out!
Kingston on HyperX 3K
Budget-minded gamers and enthusiasts will benefit from the lower price of Kingston's new HyperX 3K SSD. This solid-state drive combines premium 3000 program-erase cycle Toggle NAND with the second-generation SandForce controller. Its lower price means more users can experience ultra-responsive gaming, multitasking and multimedia computing power. 3K loads games and applications faster, increases frames per second (FPS) for an improved gaming experience and allows for quick transfers and edits of large media files. HyperX 3K provides high-speed SATA Rev. 3.0 (6Gb/s) performance and blazing fast random and sequential read/write speeds. SandForce DuraClass™ technology provides the latest data integrity protection for ultimate endurance over the entire life of the drive. HyperX 3K SSD comes in a sleek, black and aluminium case design, accentuating the look of any power user's system. For added peace of mind, HyperX 3K SSD is backed by a three-year warranty and legendary Kingston reliability.
