CONCLUSION

   Not having tested the KC1000 model released last year puts us in a slight disadvantage since we can’t directly compare the new KC2000 to it. Still judging by the NAND flash controller used (8-channel Phison PS5007-E7) and also by what Kingston stated in its specifications table it’s clear that the KC2000 sports far better read and write performance numbers compared to its predecessor (2700 - 1600MB/s reported for the KC1000 and 3200 - 2200MB/s for the KC2000). Unfortunately, although the KC2000 is superior in terms of performance compared to its predecessor the KC1000 the same doesn’t apply for endurance since the KC1000 did offer higher TBW numbers (1000TB for the 960GB KC1000 and 600TB for the 1TB KC2000 – MTBF however has remained the same for both models at 2 million hours). Of course, this shouldn’t be much of a concern for gamers, enthusiasts and even most professionals but endurance/durability numbers do matter to some audiences. As for comparison with other models it’s quite clear that the ones using the new high-end E12 controller by Phison take the lead in most of our tests so you also need to take that into account before making your final decision.

   The KC2000 line of M.2 NVMe SSDs was officially announced by Kingston less than 4 days ago and so currently the 1TB model retails for 190.78Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which puts it well over other models like the P34A80 1TB model by Silicon Power and the MP510 960GB model by CORSAIR. Of course, both these models already count many months in the market so we do expect the price of the KC2000 model to also drop as time goes by and once availability becomes better but until then this is pretty much its sole drawback (and a big one at that). Still the KC2000 1TB M.2 NVMe did perform extremely well, sports several state-of-the-art technologies and is covered by a 5-year limited warranty so it certainly deserves our Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Performance (Up To 3200MB/s Read & 2200MB/s Write)
- Sustained Performance Levels (SNIA Tests)
- 5 Years Warranty
- Kingston SSD Manager Software

CONS

- Thermal Throttling (During Our SNIA Tests)
- Price (For Some)