Kingston SSDNow V+200 120GB SSD Review

Final Thoughts & Conclusions

The Kingston SSDNow V+200 120GB drive is typical of the SandForce drives having 7% overprovisioning and leaving the user with 111GB (actually, this is measured in GiB) according to Windows. The spare area is utilized for drive maintenance for when blocks go bad and is important to the useful life of the drive in terms of writes. Write amplification is very good on SandForce drives due to their DuraWrite technology that leverages compression and cuts down considerably on the number or writes required.

Unlike many of the reviews we do for SSDs, we’re not so focused here on the high-end performance nature of the drive but rather performance consistency, features, and reliability. Those looking for top notch performance should look towards Kingston’s HyperX drive which really smokes. Since the SandForce SF-2281 controller performs hardware AES-256 encryption, it’s perfectly suited to enterprise applications where keeping sensitive data away from prying eyes is highly prized. This a much better solution than software encryption solutions which not only slow read/writes but adds unnecessary CPU overhead. Reliability is also bolstered with SandForce’s RAISE (Redundant Array of Independent Silicon Elements) technology that prevents data loss due to catastrophic flash block failure. Great for business and consumer users alike.

In terms of performance, we were able to best the rated specifications of 535MB/s reads and 480MB/s writes in the ATTO benchmark with 552MB/s reads and a hair under 515MB/s writes on the SATA III interface. This clearly shows that the drive is capable of impressive speeds given the right circumstances like sequential, compressible data. On the incompressible data benchmarks, things slowed considerably which is typical of SandForce drives and even more pronounced in drives featuring asynchronous NAND which is noticeably slower in many benchmarks. So why use it over the synchronous NAND? Price. Asynchronous NAND is more cost effective and allows Kingston to offer the drives at a more attractive price point. Kingston lists pricing for the non-bundle 120GB drive (part number SVP200S3/120) at $210 and an additional $15 for the bundled drive (part number SVP200S3B/120). Both can be found between $160 and $170 online retailers which is a very affordable $1.44 – $1.53 per usable GB. The bundle version is well worth the extra few dollars for just the external enclosure alone. Tossing in the Acronis True Image HD migration software, 3.5″ mounting rails and SATA power/data cables are just gravy on top.

The V+200 line comes with a three year warranty and 24/7 customer support which is just about the standard coverage these days for SSDs. They also offer a broad array of capacities from 60GB to 480GB to cover the needs of all but the most data hungry users. Kingston has informed us that they are running SandForce’s most recent firmware revision which contains all of the latest tweaks and fixes and we know the SF-2281 has a decent track record in terms of reliability of performance over time. Corporate users can also choose from their flagship enterprise KC100 drive which offers enhanced S.M.A.R.T. reporting capabilities, but most will find the V+200 to fit their needs more than adequately. This holds true for the average consumer user as well.

We certainly have no qualms about recommending the V+200 for business and consumer users alike and highly recommend going for the full bundle package which adds more more value than you’ll shell out for.

Legit Bottom Line: Though not the fastest drive Kingston offers, the performance of the SSDNow V+200 is commensurate with its reasonable pricing and for many users, the cost and reliability are king.