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(More customer reviews)A few days ago, I bought the Kingston SSDNow 128 GB SSD (second generation series 425) from the biggest computer retail chain in North America. The device is working okay on my notebook computer, but there are three caveats to be aware of.
Firstly, the included Acronis True Image software refused to clone the Windows Vista SP2 system installed on my notebook computer, reporting that there are errors in my (factory-installed) partition structure. I had to use the free edition of Macrium Reflect to get the job done, by creating a Macrium Reflect image of my hard disk, and then restoring the image onto the Kingston SSD inserted into an external USB case.
Secondly, according to the "Error Scan" test of the well-known utility, HD Tune Pro 4.50, my Kingston SSD has four bad sectors. The error report generated four lines, one of which is "Error at 61681 MB (LBA 105843611)"; the other three lines are the same but with different numbers. I do not understand what this really means, specifically whether these bad sectors have been mapped out. My gut feeling is that these have not been mapped out (in which case, this would be bad news!) because the CHKDSK utility does not report any bad sectors. Furthermore, the "Speed Map" feature of HD Tune Pro reports that the same bad sectors have abnormally slow access time. So far I have not noticed any system instability.
Thirdly and most surprisingly, my Kingston SSD actually consumes more peak electrical power than the notebook hard disk that it replaced. (As an electrical engineer, I have an interest in power requirements.) Yes, it is true that SSD technology is more power-friendly than hard disk technology, but that is so only at the level of the storage medium. When we are talking about the whole device INCLUDING the drive controller, that is not necessarily true. Moreover, we need to ask what kind of hard disk (desktop or notebook) we are stacking up against the SSD, because some 2.5 inch hard disks consume very little power.
Three observations indicate that the Kingston SSD may be consuming more peak electrical power (but less idle power) than did the notebook hard disk it replaced:
Firstly, according to the same utility, HD Tune Pro 4.50, my SSD is running consistently at 40 to 46 degrees Celsius after starting cold from 28 degrees. On the other hand, my hard disk (the one replaced by the SSD) was previously running between 34 to 38 degrees. This is the Hitachi HTS543232L9A900, a very typical 2.5 inch 5400 rpm 320 gb SATA device.
Secondly, the Kingston SSD's power specification, as printed on the device's label, is 900 mA at 5VDC, which is actually higher than the specification printed on the label of the Hitachi hard disk (700 mA at 5VDC). It is possible that the SSD has higher peak current but lower idle current than the hard disk, in which case the SSD will still have the overall advantage.
Thirdly, when I put the SSD inside an external USB mini-case, and then plug the whole unit into a USB port, sometimes the USB port cannot power the SSD device. Between my two notebook computers, I have seven USB ports, and only four of them can power the SSD externally. (You can overcome this problem by double-cabling, but this will occupy two USB ports.) By contrast, all seven USB ports can power the Hitachi hard disk.
After switching to SSD, I do notice an increase in speed:
It now takes 58 seconds to cold-boot Windows Vista SP2, compared to 80 seconds previously. It now takes 6 seconds to fire up Photoshop CS4 in a first-run cold start, compared to 13 seconds previously. It now takes 10 seconds to get the folder properties of a folder with 140,000 files and subfolders, compared to about 105 seconds previously.
HD Tune Pro 4.50 reports the following benchmarks for the SSD (with the corresponding Hitachi hard disk values shown in parentheses for comparison):
- Minimum read transfer rate = 172.9 Mbytes/sec (versus 12.8)
- Maximum read transfer rate = 182.4 Mbytes/sec (versus 65.8)
- Average read transfer rate = 178.6 Mbytes/sec (versus 49.1)
- Access time = 0.3 msec (versus 18.4)
- Burst rate = 94.2 Mbytes/sec (versus 92.1)
- CPU usage during the benchmark = 9.3% (versus 13.8)
- Temperature = 45 degrees Celsius (versus 34)
Sorry, I do not have the write benchmarks because HD Tune Pro refuses to run them unless I "remove all partitions" (whatever that means). Also, the above benchmarks may give you the false impression that the computer is now running several times faster than before. Most of the time, the computer feels only slightly faster. But there are situations in which the speed increase is very obvious, like when I fire up a program, or when Windows wakes up from sleep, or when copying files within the SSD, or when there is a lot of random disk access (e.g. when comparing two folders).
This Kingston SSD has a "primary hard disk" index of 5.9 in the Windows Vista Experience Index. Note that 5.9 is the highest possible score for Windows Vista (unlike Windows 7, where the highest possible score is 7.9).
I give 4.5 stars to the Kingston SSD.
UPDATE (October 15, 2010):
I wrote my review of this Kingston SSD four months ago. This week I bought another one for my new Acer Aspire One notebook computer. This time, I bought the Kingston desktop upgrade kit, whereas last time I bought the notebook upgrade kit. I can confirm that the SSD itself as well as the included Acronis True Image CD are identical between the two kits; the only difference is in the mounting hardware (hard disk enclosure versus mounting bars + power cable). This time around, even though I didn't need any mounting hardware, I bought the complete SDD desktop upgrade kit only because it happened to be cheaper than a standalone SSD, for a couple of days at least.
This time, the Acronis True Image cloning software worked flawlessly. For my Acer Aspire One notebook, my Windows Experience Index for the primary hard disk increased from 5.7 to 6.7 after switching to SSD. The bootup time for the same notebook (using 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium) went down from 104 seconds to 49 seconds, as measured to the time when the sidebar widgets appear.
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Kingston SSDNow V Series 128 GB SATA 3 GB/s 2.5- Inch Solid State Drive with Notebook Upgrade Kit Bundle SNV425-S2BN/128GBKingston introduces its second generation SSDNow V solid-state drive to help consumers and organizations of all sizes enhance the performance of computers that have a Serial ATA (SATA) interface and thus extend the lifecycle. SSDNow V drives increase performance with impressive input and output operations per second (IOPS). With higher IOPS than a standar mechanical hard disk drive (HDD), SSDNow V allows for faster boot times and faster application loads than HDDs, ultimately making any user more productive. The SSDNow V consumes less power and generates less heat than a traditional HDD, at a fraction of the cost of a new system. With no moving parts, it can handle demanding conditions and this is perfect for road warriors and those who push the limits of their notebooks. Features include uses MLC NAND flash memory, shock resistant, handles S.M.A.R.T functions. Specs include 200MB/sec sequential read throughput, 160MB/sec write throughput, SATA 1.5GB/sec and 3.0 GB/sec interfaces. Comes with notebook bundle which includes system cloning software, USB enclosure, and cable.
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