We’ll also throw in yesteryear’s high-end SATA drive in the form of a SandForce SF-2281, MLC-based Intel SSD. On the left is the CrystalDiskMark using random data (default setting), and on the right compressible (0Fill). Since Kingston is comparing this drive to a 7,200 rpm hard drive on the package, we will add one too. And as it happens, the drive has no problems meeting or exceeding these claims in our test system.
Kingston’s claimed performance figures for the 120GB model are up to 500MB/s read and 320MB/s write.
What can you expect in terms of performance from such a cheap drive? In this case, quite a lot actually.
So the warranty terms are more than acceptable considering the price bracket. It’s a relatively safe bet that the average user of this entry-level drive will never come close to this average. But over the warranty period of three years, this comes out as 36.5 GB of writes per day. And more importantly, it is a warranty limitation.Ĥ0TB for the 120GB Kingston A400 might not sound like much (and it is a lower rating than the popular Samsung 860 EVO). For the A400 series these are:Ī TBW rating is not equivalent to instant death once your drive reaches the threshold, but it’s an indication of the memory cells’ life span. While Kingston also includes the less-than-useful MTBF standard in the specs, what counts is the TBW (terabytes written) rating. This sounds plausible as this controller is aimed at DRAM-less, low-cost drives in particular.Īll of this might not matter to most buyers of the A400 series, but endurance is always important. Based on a few news posts that circulated at the drive’s launch, it is supposedly a Phison S11. The controller is only listed as ‘ 2ch‘ in Kingston’s official spec sheet. Only a few enthusiast-level SATA SSDs like the Samsung 860 PRO uses the more durable and faster alternative, MLC (multi-level cell) NAND. Unsurprisingly, the A400 uses TLC (triple-level cell) NAND memory chips, which is normal these days even in higher-end drives. It is also available in 240GB, 480GB, and even 960GB capacities, out of which the 240GB model comes out on top in the GB/$ calculation at the time of writing.Ĭheck prices on Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK Endurance and warranty You can often find the 120GB version that we’re testing here – a capacity fully adequate for installing and running any OS including Windows 10 – for well below the $48 MSRP online, which is fantastic even for a small and basic drive. What makes the Kingston A400 series interesting is the very attractive price point in relation to the manufacturer’s performance claims. This isn’t the most exciting SSD you can get your hands on for testing, and it certainly isn’t among the fastest. When using links on our site to make a purchase, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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