INTRODUCTION

   With NAND flash prices at an all-time low SSD manufacturers are rushing to release affordable yet high-performance M.2 NVMe models for the masses. As mentioned in our previous reviews even though up until somewhat recently the word "affordable" was used to describe 2.5" and M.2 SATA based SSDs (up to 500-550MB/s read & write performance) now it also applies for some entry level M.2 PCIexpress (NVMe) models (with up to 1500-2500MB/s performance). Last year Kingston launched their very first affordable M.2 NVMe model called the A1000 which due to extreme competition at around the same price point didn't quite live up to their expectations. One month ago, Kingston released the A2000 M.2 NVMe model and although it did take a while for a sample to arrive at our doorstep it has and so today, we'll be testing the 1TB variant.

   Kingston Technology Company, Inc. is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products. Kingston designs, manufactures and distributes memory products for desktops, laptops, servers, printers, and Flash memory products for PDAs, mobile phones, digital cameras, and MP3 players. Through its global network of subsidiaries and affiliates, Kingston has manufacturing facilities in California, Taiwan, China and sales representatives in the United States, Europe, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Australia, India, Taiwan, China, and Latin America.

   For the brand new A2000 M.2 NVMe model (currently available in 250GB/500GB/1TB capacities) Kingston decided to pair the SM2263EN (SM2263ENG) quad channel high-performance PCIe Gen3 x4 controller (NVMe v1.3 protocol) by Silicon Motion along with Micron's latest 96-layer 3D TLC NAND and a single 1GB LPDDR3 RAM cache module by Kingston. Thanks to this combination the A2000 1TB variant here with us today can achieve sequential read and write numbers of up to 2200-2000 MB/s and random read and write IOPS of up to 250k-220K. The SM2263EN also supports several technologies including NANDXtend (error-correcting with data protection), end to end data protection with SRAM ECC, S.M.A.R.T, TRIM, NCQ, thermal-throttling, active garbage collection, DevSleep (device sleep), SLC write acceleration (algorithms for optimal sustained performance - depending on free space up to 100GB can be used as SLC cache), AES-256bit hardware encryption and TCG Opal (Microsoft's eDrive). In terms of endurance/durability Kingston reports an MTBF of 2 million hours and write endurance numbers of 150TBW for the 250GB model, 350TBW for the 500GB model and 600TBW for the 1TB model (the entire A2000 line is covered by a 5 year limited warranty).

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Just like with previous models we received the A2000 inside a blister package that allows you to see the drive from the front.

A few words about the product and its 5-year warranty are printed at the rear in several languages.

Along with the A2000 M.2 NVMe SSD Kingston bundles a license key for the Acronis True Image HD cloning software.

THE A2000 1TB

The A2000 solid state drive follows the typical M.2 2280 form factor.

On the top side of the PCB we find the SM2263EN NAND flash controller, 1GB DRAM cache module and 4 Micron 96-layer 3D TLC NAND flash modules (each 256GB in capacity).

The A2000 is a single side M.2 drive (thus ideal for use in laptops) so the other side is as expected empty.

SSD MANAGER

If you want to efficiently monitor the A2000 and its security features you should download the SSD manager software from Kingston.

The software automatically detects available firmware updates and also allows the end user to check the status of the drive and its partitions (including temperatures, power on time and recorded failures), access SMART information, check the current state of TCG Opal and IEEE-1667 (disabled by default) and read recorded logs.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   After over 10 years of testing solid state drives, we’ve concluded that it's almost impossible for any single benchmark suite to accurately measure their performance and that's why in certain benchmark suites we see amazing read/write performance numbers with some drives while in others things are quite different. The reason behind this is that some benchmarking suites are configured to read and write random chunks of data while others read and write constant (sequential) ones. So that's why i always use a very wide selection of benchmarking suites including AIDA64, HD Tach RW, HD Tune Pro, Crystal Disk Mark, Sisoftware Sandra Pro, AS SSD, IOmeter and ATTO. To get the most accurate results each test gets repeated a total of 6 times with the average performance numbers recorded into our charts*. Also, as of February 25th 2015 our results will also include the Storage Networking Industry Association’s (SNIA) IOMeter tests. These tests include a 12 Hour write test used to “simulate” performance degradation over time and a mixed workload test which basically shows what you can expect when using an SSD continuously for roughly two hours. Unfortunately, due to the time required for these tests we repeat them a total of 3 times and not 6 as the above.

   Many people have made inquiries about our charts in the past so once again please do keep in mind that the Charts have the average performance numbers of each drive recorded and not the peak (highest) ones. Also, although every single one of these programs can help potential buyers choose the right drive for their needs you should also remember that from any kind of benchmark up to real world usage the gap is not small (and usually most differences will go unnoticed by most people). All tests were performed in a fresh Windows 10 Pro x64 installation with every update installed up to the date of this review.

* Since November 2018 our SSD comparison charts have been divided to 2.5” and M.2 models to reduce their growing size.

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK X64

TEST RESULTS – AS SSD / IOMETER

TEST RESULTS – IOMETER SNIA

CONCLUSION

   When Kingston first announced their plans to release the A2000 line we all thought that they would in order to provide consumers on tight budgets with something better than the A1000 line and if that’s the case then today just by looking at our charts we think that they’ve achieved their goal. Still things are not far from black and white, yes the A2000 managed to achieve and even surpass its advertised read & write performance numbers of 2200-2000MB/s but the arrival of the even more affordable DRAM-less models like the recently reviewed Helix-L by Mushkin could “steal” a number of potential buyers (even though DRAM-less models are not nearly as efficient at heavy workloads and don’t sport the same MTBF times). Worth pointing out is that Kingston also makes available a a license key for the Acronis True Image HD cloning software and even though the provided version is not their latest one still it should come in handy for most people looking to clone their older drive onto the A2000.

   As mentioned earlier the A2000 M.2 NVMe line by Kingston was officially released just over a month ago and so the 1TB variant (SA2000M8/1000G) we reviewed today can be found for USD139.27 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 129.33Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). This price tag is actually very balanced for this specific SSD model and even though DRAM-less models may cost less let’s not forget that aside the performance and endurance differences Kingston also covers the A2000 line with a very generous 5 year limited warranty. Bottom line for a somewhat entry-level model the A2000 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD by Kingston seems to tick all boxes and because of that it certainly deserves our Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Performance (Up To 2200MB/s Read & 2000MB/s Write)
- Sustained Performance Levels (SNIA Tests)
- 5 Year Limited Warranty
- Kingston SSD Manager Software
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Current Availability (Should Change Soon)