SSD's are portable and reliable upgrades for any kind of system. They are also ideal for backup solution. When it comes to performance, SSD's are the best upgrade but also they are costly at the same time. We will test today Kingston SSDNOW KC380 60GB SSD Internal Hard Drive. Featuring small case form factor, this drive is specifically designed for laptops and netbooks. A 60GB SSD upgrade for your old laptop can be enough to boost its output. Kingston SSDNOW KC380 falls in the Business Drive series by Kingston. Kingston also offers 4 separate series which are Consumer, Enterprise, System Builders and Enthusiasts. The Business series provides features like long lifecycle; good data read and write speed. It is for improving the system output more and offering a reliable solution for long period. This type of drives is not recommended for storing file. It can be used as your Windows partition where you can install your application and work on same. 60GB space might be enough according to me if you have jobs like video editing, programming, graphic designing, etc. But if you are a gamer or an extreme user then Kingston also offers upto 480GB SSD. The Business series itself has 5 drive models among which Kingston SSDNOW KC380 is smallest one. It has Micro SATA power connector which might not be available in the regular psu. The other models are:
- UV100 – 60GB to 120GB of Storage Space. Maximum Read/Write speed = 425MB/s.
- V310 – 960GB Single. Maximum Read/Write speed = 450MB/s. Powered by Phison 3108 Controller.
- V300 – 60GB to 480GB of Storage Space. Maximum Read/Write speed = 450MB/s. Powered by Custom LSI Controller.
- KC380 – 60GB to 480GB of Storage Space. Maximum Read Speed is 550MB/s & Write Speed is 520MB/s. 1.8inch form factor.
- KC300 – 60GB to 480GB of Storage Space. Maximum Read Speed is 525MB/s & Write Speed is 500MB/s. Power Efficient.
The cost of Kingston SSDNOW KC380 60GB SSD is around Rs.8900 approx on Amazon. The drive offers you a 1.8-inch form factor that makes it very small and ultra light weight. It is very easy to connect it in laptop if you are having an extra space for hard drive in it. The drive is available upto 480GB in the same design. And it gives you a 550Mb/s of max read speed with 520MB/s of max write speed. This makes Kingston SSDNOW KC380 60GB SSD drive a good solution for laptops and netbooks.
Features:
- Fast — dramatic performance increase for any system upgrade
- Endurance — Data Integrity Protection featuring DuraClass technology
- Durable — DuraWrite optimizes writes to extend endurance
- Multiple capacities — the right capacity to meet your storage needs
- Supports SMART — monitors the status of your drive
- Supports TRIM — maintains maximum performance on compatible operating systems
- Guaranteed — three-year warranty, free technical support
Specification:
- Form factor – 1.8" micro SATA
- Interface – SATA Rev. 3.0 (6Gb/s), SATA Rev. 2.0 (3Gb/s), SATA Rev. 1.0 (1.5Gb/s)
- Capacities – 60GB, 120GB, 240GB, 480GB
- Sequential Read/Write – 60GB, 120GB (550MB/s / 520MB/s), 240GB (540MB/s / 530MB/s) & 480GB (530MB/s / 340MB/s)
- Maximum 4k Read/Write – 60GB – up to 86,000/ up to 79,000 IOPS, 120GB – up to 86,000/ up to 48,000 IOPS, 240GB – up to 72,000/ up to 40,000 IOPS & 480GB – up to 72,000/ up to 18,000 IOPS.
- Random 4k Read/Write – 60GB – up to 14,000/77,000 IOPS, 120GB – up to 17,000/45,000 IOPS, 240GB – up to 21,000/41,000 IOPS & 480GB – up to 21,000/13,000 IOPS.
- PCMARK Vantage HDD Suite Score – 60,000
- Power Consumption – 0.4W Idle / 1.2 (TYP) Read / 1.8W (TYP) Write
- Storage temperature – 40°C ~ 85°C.
- Operating temperature – 0°C ~ 70°C
- Dimensions – 78.5mm x 54mm x 5mm
- Weight – 27.43g
- Vibration operating – 2.17G
- Vibration non-operating – 20G
- MTTF – 1,000,000 Hrs
- Warranty/support three-year warranty with free technical support
Design:
Kingston SSDNOW KC380 60GB SSD is a 1.8" form factor drive. The dimension of this ssd is 78.5mm x 54mm x 5mm that makes it an ideal solution for laptops and netbook. It is also lightweight. The drive comes packed in a thin metal case. At the top lies the sticker with details about the drive.
This SSD has an mSATA connector. You have to check your psu power connectors first before buying this kind of drives. Or you can connect it using an mSATA to regular SATA power adapter. Compared to regular hard drive, this SSD is very reliable and can be managed easily. From design point of view, Kingston SSDNOW KC380 just brings the portable form factor. It works on very low power. Due to high data read and write speed your work becomes faster. Using the drive as your primary partition will boost your operating system output. For day to day usage, according to me 60GB storage is more than enough. But if you are having more requirements then you have to choose a higher space model.
Performance:
Less power consuming means less heat generated in the drive. And so the performance remains stable. This drive is powered by SandForce second- generation SSD processor. The maximum data read and write speed on this controller is around 6GB/s that is limited to various models. The controller takes care about the data integrity. When you are working, data continuously moves between the drives. Any HD raw video above 1GB in size uses maximum resources when you export the final video. At that moment you might realize that you are working on an age old pc. No doubt Kingston SSDNOW KC380 60GB SSD is going to boost the output in every aspect. The SSD is also supported by DuraClass technology. This ultimately offers you a high endurance hard drive, that means you can use for long period without worrying much. Dura Class Technology consists of few valuable features that make the drive an ultimate performance storage solution. It offers DuraWrite, Shield, Raise, etc. DuraWrite means more extended life compared to a regular drive. The performance of drive will never change as time goes on. This technology keeps on giving you the speed it promises. No doubt Kingston SSDNOW KC380 60GB SSD is an amazing product for all those who want a reliable storage. With a maximum read speed of 550MB/s & Write Speed of 520MB/s your programs will work with amazing fast speed. There is no lagging issue.
Conclusion:
Kingston SSDNOW KC380 60GB SSD internal Hard Drive costs around Rs.8900 approx. You might find this price high but if you take a look on the features the drive is offering, it will change your mind. When it comes to professional usage, data integrity is the most important thing. No one wants to lose his/her professional files. It is a kind of onetime upgrade solution. Kingston offers you some really impressive features on the drive that makes it a reliable product. There are very few 1.8inch form factor drives in the market. High performance drive means you can work faster. You don't have to wait for your pc to wake from sleep mode or try to fix long boot times. 1.8inch form factor makes it an ideal solution for old laptops also. All you have to check is that your laptop must have an additional space to put the drive.
Pros:
- High Data Read/Write Speed
- Powered by Kingston DuraClass technology
- Ideal upgrade solution for netbooks, laptops and netbooks
- Thin and lightweight.
Cons:
- Costly Upgrade
- Only for laptops and netbooks.
