INTRODUCTION

   Just 2 days prior to getting into 2013 we had to sit down and pick the first product reviews which would get us into 2013 for good and since recently we promised to bridge the gap created in our SSD reviews section we decided to test yet another such product. Now if you read our Intel 335 SSD review you should be well aware that the performance factor regarding SATA III solid state drives hasn't really changed that much in 2012 (always compared to 2011) and so at least until the new controllers arrive in late Q1 (if all goes according to plan) we really can't expect to come across anything that will blow what we currently know out of the water. 2012 however did see a significant price drop in SSDs and so currently consumer models with capacities up to 240GB are surprisingly easy to acquire. Still there are some SSDs in the market with businesses as their target audience and the Kingston SSDNow KC100 240GB solid state drive we have here with us today is such a solution.

   Kingston Technology Company, Inc. is the world’s independent memory leader. Founded in 1987 with a single product offering, Kingston® now offers more than 2,000 memory products that support nearly every device that uses memory, from computers, servers and printers to MP3 players, digital cameras and mobile phones. In 2009, the company's sales reached $4.1 billion. With global headquarters in Fountain Valley, California, Kingston employs more than 4,000 people worldwide. Regarded as one of the “Best Companies to Work for in America” by Fortune magazine, Kingston’s tenets of respect, loyalty, flexibility and integrity create an exemplary corporate culture. Kingston believes that investing in its people is essential, and each employee is a vital part of Kingston’s success. Kingston serves an international network of distributors, resellers, retailers and OEM customers on six continents. The company also provides contract manufacturing and supply chain management services for semiconductor manufacturers and system OEMs.

   Business and Enterprise class products may have a heftier price tag compared to regular consumer products but almost always feature three very important additions. First and foremost such products are manufactured (and designed) with the highest available standards and best quality materials to ensure not only that they will withstand use under harsher environments but also that they will keep going long after their regular counterparts have stopped working. Secondly and in some cases equally important is the performance factor of such products which is usually quite a bit improved compared to regular models due to heavier data loads and more demanding applications (that also depends on the usage always). Finally last but certainly not least is that Business/Enterprise oriented products always come with excellent support and longer warranties something which matters a lot when you're making a living out of them. Now specs-wise the KC100 is not really that different from the HyperX Enthusiast SSD series by Kingston since they share the same controller and the same firmware (thus similar performance), however the KC100 also offers mission critical features such as reliability tracking, usage statistics, life remaining, wear leveling, temperature, drive life protection and is covered with a 5 year warranty with free technical support. These aside all that's left is to see just how well it does in the performance department always compared to other similar solutions such as the HyperX models.