INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   When we first started testing NVMe M.2 Solid State Drives roughly two years ago we knew that this type would dominate the market in terms of read and write performance and as many of you are certainly aware we couldn't be more right (at least until something new comes along). Of course just like with SATA models not all NVMe M.2 SSDs are created equal and so there are many performance categories currently available for all pockets ranging from 1000MB/s and going all the way up to around 4000MB/s. Considering however that even 2.5" and SATA M.2 SSDs with read and write numbers at around 500-550MB/s are more than enough for the majority of the consumer base even entry-level NVMe M.2 models are in a whole different performance category/league. Kingston released their second consumer oriented NVMe M.2 SSD a few months back called the A1000 and today we'll be testing the 480GB capacity model.

       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 their entry-level A1000 NVMe M.2 PCIe Gen 3x2 SSD (M.2280 form factor currently available in 240/480/960GB capacities) SSD Kingston has paired the Phison PS5008-E8 quad-channel NAND flash controller with Toshiba's 64-layer 256Gb BiCS 3D TLC NAND flash memory and LPDDR3 RAM modules (either by Nanya or Micron). The PS5008-E8 NVMe v1.2 NAND flash controller supports several technologies including end-to-end data protection, SmartFlush (minimizes In-Flight data loss due to unexpected power loss), SmartECC (Strong ECC and RAID ECC), Smart Refresh, thermal-protection and self-encryption (supports AES, TCG-OPAL and TCG-Pyrite). In terms of performance Kingston states sequential read numbers of up to 1500MB/s for all models while write numbers vary according to capacity (800MB/s for the 240GB model, 900MB/s for the 480GB model and up to 1000MB/s for the 960GB model). As for durability/endurance Kingston reports 150TB for the 240GB model, 300TB for the 480GB model and 600TB for the 960GB model (all models are covered by a 5 year limited warranty).

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The A1000 480GB NVMe M.2 SSD arrived inside a small clamshell box.

 

 

 

Along with the A1000 NVMe M.2 SSD you'll also receive a getting started guide and an Acronis True Image HD Software Activation key.

 

 

THE A1000 480GB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The A1000 is a single side NVMe M.2 SSD model.

 

 

Just like every other M.2 model to pass from our lab the A1000 follows the standard 2280 form factor.

 

 

As usual a large sticker (not a copper one) placed at the top contains information like the drive capacity, serial and part numbers, barcodes, electrical requirements and several certification logos.

 

 

Since this is a single side model no modules are placed on the opposite side.

 

 

Removing the sticker reveals 4 Toshiba 3D TLC NAND flash modules (each 128GB in capacity), the Phison PS5008-E8 quad-channel controller and a 512MB LPDDR3 RAM module.

 

 

SSD MANAGER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more control over the drive you can download the SSD Manager software from the official Kingston support page.

 

 

From the Kingston SSD Manager you can check the health of the drive, its current temperatures, various health options, available capacity and partitions, installed firmware version and check for new firmware versions.

 

 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   After almost 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 November 11th 2018.

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Kingston lists the A1000 line of NVMe M.2 solid state drives as part of their entry level solutions and although they are still 2-3 times faster compared to regular SATA M.2 models in the NVMe market they are exactly that (for example their high-end KC1000 line – we should have a review up soon - is aimed towards professionals and demanding users). The performance of the Phison PS5008-E8 quad-channel NVMe NAND flash controller may not be stellar but it does offer performance levels of over 1600MB/s in read and 1000MB/s in write and several error correction features that boost its MTBF to 1 million hours with endurance numbers of up to 300TBW for the 480GB which we reviewed today. Unfortunately just like in every other M.2 drive we’ve reviewed to date thermal throttling was a very serious issue primarily during our SNIA testing suite so due to their very low cost we suggest grabbing an M.2 heatsink (EK Waterblocks, Alphacool and others make such solutions) to avoid ever encountering that issue.

   With a current price tag set at USD104.42 inside the USA (Amazon) and at 85Euros inside the EU (Amazon UK) the A1000 480GB NVMe M.2 SSD by Kingston costs roughly the same as your average SATA M.2 480GB drive. Granted it’s far from the fastest or most durable NVMe M.2 drive in the market today but if we’re being honest most consumers will never be able to tell it apart when compared with much faster models and that along with its very affordable price tag make the A1000 480GB NVMe M.2 SSD by Kingston well worth of our Golden Award.

PROS

- Good Overall Performance (1600MB/s Read & 1000MB/s Write)
- Endurance Numbers (300TBW / 1 Million Hours MTBF)
- Kingston SSD Manager Software
- 5 Years Warranty
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Thermal Throttling