Kingston SSD NOW V+Series 64GB SSD review

Results Analysis

Thanks to the speedy Samsung drive controller it shares with the Corsair P256 SSD, the Kingston V+ has plenty going for it when it comes to performance. However, because the drive we’re testing today is only a 64GB model and is running on a slightly different firmware, performance does differ a little.

Theoretical performance as measured in HD-Tach is very positive, with the 128MB DRAM cache providing excellent burst speeds, random access times of sub 0.1ms, and an excellent average read of 212.2MB/sec. Average write is a little slower than the P256 and Indilinx-controlled OCZ Vertex due to the smaller amount of NAND used in this drive, but it’s still 50MB/sec faster than the nippiest hard disk.

Switching to real world testing in FC-Test and the drop in write speed has a visible impact on the 64GB V+’s write and copy speeds, with the drive taking 1.4 seconds longer than the P256 to write our 1GB MP3 file pattern. Sequential read speeds though are excellent, exactly matching those of the Corsair P256 as you’d expect from drives that share the same drive controller.

Moving on to IOMeter’s theoretical random performance and we see that the V+ does differ a little from the P256 with higher maximum random read response times, although random read speeds and average response times are unchanged and as such are both excellent (albeit not as fast as the Indilinx-controlled Vertex).

Random write speed performance is a fair bit different though, due to the V+ 64GB’s lower capacity, with a write speed of 3.25MB/sec. This is some 30 per cent lower than the P256. Unlike the random read speeds though, average and maximum write response times are much more similar to the P256, although again are slower than the Vertex. In real world use these differences will be practically impossible to spot though, and it’s a rare occurrence that ploughs 3.25MB/s of random write data through a consumer hard disk drive. We run these tests to ensure the drive won’t hit any stuttering or handing issues and it’s safe to say the V+ passes in this respect.

Looking at real world performance we were a little surprised to find the V+ was noticeably slower than the P256 when both booting Windows Vista and loading our Crysis level. While the V+ still posted impressive speeds of 26 seconds for boot and 29 seconds for level load, the Corsair P256, a drive that shares the V+’s drive controller was two seconds faster when booting windows and a second faster when booting Crysis. This discrepancy is presumably due to the difference in random read speed we noted between the drives and is likely caused by the two drives using different firmware versions.

Value and Final Thoughts

So, the V+ certainly shows it’s stuff when it comes to performance, closely matching the Corsair P256 SSD and the OCZ Vertex SSD throughout our battery of performance tests. However, performance isn’t everything when it comes to SSDs: as they’re still a relatively new technology, support is equally important. In that regard unfortunately the V+ is let down by its Samsung drive controller.

Like the Corsair P256 and OCZ Summit Series, the V+ has not received any public firmware updates since release, and this is especially important with the imminent release of Windows 7 and its support of TRIM (a housekeeping command that maintains an SSD’s performance by ensuring NAND flash cells aren’t left partially filled and thus cause performance degradation).

The V+ also suffers from the full format bug we first found with the P256 insofar as when fully formatted (not quick formatted) the drive’s sequential write speeds take a big hit. The problem is only resolvable via a DOS-based low-level format using a tool like HDD Erase. While this issue becomes less critical once you’re aware of it, it’s still something to watch out for. If Samsung had been effectively supporting it’s drive controller, would have be fixed months ago.

In comparison, the Indilinx drive controller chip used in OCZ’s Vertex series, Corsair’s X series, Crucial’s M225, G.Skill’s Falcon and Patriot’s Torqx line of SSDs has been well supported since release with a continual line of firmware updates. The latest version (available early to Vertex users) even enables TRIM support, previously a feature only available on the latest Intel X25-M drives.

While not bringing anything ground-breaking insofar as hardware is concerned, the V+ is very competitive when it comes to value. At £133.40 or $199.99, it’s a good £30 cheaper than similarly sized Indilinx drives, which start at £160 and almost £50 cheaper than the mark ups OCZ is putting on its lower capacity drives (a 60GB Vertex is a whopping £180!). However, we’d opt for an Indilinx based drive at the moment, due to the superior manufacturer support.

Conclusion

The Kingston V+ is keenly priced, has a lengthy warranty and performs well in all our performance tests. The key issue is the lack of updates from Samsung for the drive controller, which has at least one major bug. Samsung has left its drive controller unsupported for almost six months in the face of the equally speedy and very well supported Indilinx chip. SSDs are still an expensive addition to any performance PC, and early adopters want to be reassured and looked after with ongoing updates when they take the plunge – something any drive that uses the Samsung controller can’t offer.

Until this changes (and we have heard rumblings that Samsung may be finally releasing a Windows 7 TRIM-ready update, although when is still uncertain) the V+ is a speedy SSD and well priced, but the Indilinx powered alternatives are the better choice.

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• 7/10

Score Guide