CONCLUSION

   Although the Kingston KC100 Business class SSD performed very well against most of the competition the fact that it fell back from its HyperX siblings in our normal tests (not by much but it did) had us puzzled at first. Sure it comes with extra features for increased data safety that make it pretty much a one way for Businesses (always compared with the HyperX models) but we also expected that it would outperform its consumer oriented siblings with ease. If you really think about it however that's not really possible due to the performance limitations of the SandForce SF-2281 controller (I’m really looking forward for the SF-3xxx controller later this year) which have already been maxed out by the HyperX drives. However when we started digging a bit more and especially when we used IOmeter it became quite clear that the KC100 is a Business class product since it managed to get the 4th place in our database. Of course compared to enterprise class models that come with an over provisioning of up to around 28% the KC100 actually comes with almost 13% which naturally cuts down its performance. To all of you who are not aware of what over provisioning is let’s just say that the firmware hides a percentage of NAND memory (and thus unusable by you) which in turn uses for the creation of pre-erased blocks which can increase performance (especially IOPS). Some manufacturers currently allow you to change the percentage of over provisioning (Samsung is one) but if you don't know what you are doing i really suggest leaving such features alone.

   Both Enterprise and Business oriented products offer more than regular consumer products so it's quite natural that they also cost more and although the SSDNow KC100 240GB SSD Upgrade Kit is just that still it retails for just USD291.15 inside the USA (Provantage) and at around 250Euros inside the EU. You can save a few bucks if you opt for the normal SSD standalone version but the bundle really comes almost for free so i wouldn't suggest doing so. Bottom line although regular consumers may be better off with one of the HyperX drives the SSDNow KC100 240GB Business Class SSD by Kingston is a one way for Business clients not only because of its extensive error reporting fail safes but also because of its increased IOPS performance and because of that it receives our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (SF-2281/ Internal Thermal Pads/ Intel NAND)
- Business Class Features (SMART Error Reporting)
- Very Good Performance (4th in IOmeter)
- Capacity (240GB)
- Bundle (2.5" USB Enclosure/ 3.5" bracket/ SATA III Cable/ SATA Power Connector/ Cloning Software)
- 5 Year Warranty With Free Technical Support

CONS

- Price (For Consumers Not Business Users)
- SandForce SF-2281 Controller Is Getting Old